Though this game has many new features, is still lacks in certain areas. This game did not live up to its potential.
Sonic- When you play as sonic; the controls are simple and easy to learn in the beginning.. The levels are cool and they gave sonic some serious speed. When you start to sun, he picks up about 5-20 miles per hour then stays at that speed until you step on a dash panel. The first level of the game is a really good intro to the game. The level format shows good graphics and brings back the “killer whale” just like the 1st stage in SA. Also, they added a somewhat unneeded feature to the game. You hit a mech into a wall or bridge to knock it down. Another great new feature is that they added a “super speed” stage. Witch I can see they used to replace the special stages in the other sonic games. Sonic runs a couple of hundred miles per hour chasing something, or running away from something. Witch is really awesome considering the great blend of blur effects and the skill of dodging spikes and obstacles. And yes people, they brought back the sing bar. YAY! Everyone loves the swing bar! They also brought back the “bounce bracelet” and the “ring dash” and many other “power ups” witch I can’t spoil for you.
Tails- Although you only get to play as him 2-3 times in the whole game, he’s an alright character. The really did a poor job of making tails run. Shoot, I can run faster than tails could in the game. But he makes up in flying. In this game, he doesn’t tail whip. Instead, he throws dud rings at enemies. You can hold it to do a “snipe” attack and you can throw them in mid air. Knuckles- just like tails, you rarely get to play as him in the game. His punch combos still good and he is as fast as tails. His glide is slower then SA2 and but I still like him.
Shadow- As he mysteriously came back to earth, unharmed, with multiple plot holes…Shadow makes his way into Sonic the hedgehog 06 as an agent for G.U.N. You first have to save rouge from a base in the icy mountains (Eggman’s base) you don’t get to use hand-held guns in this game, but instead, you use vehicles you get to use vehicles that shoot rockets. Although he isn’t as fast as sonic, he is more of a combat character. And they brought back air combos from Shadow the hedgehog. It doesn’t look as cartoonish as the combos looked before. His limbs stay in place and don’t stretch out. You can do this and he can do an acrobatic ending and go to the next enemy. You can also use chaos blast by completing certain tasks. Rouge- she’s the same as shadow, but she throws bombs.
E-123 Omega- He is a decent character. He shoots stuff. Nothing special.
Silver- As a new addition to the sonic team, silver uses his telekinesis to fight his way through time. Although silver is the slow one of the three, there is still awesome and adventurous gameplay in the game. His powers are pretty cool. You can use it to fly temporarily, pick up and throw almost anything. And I do mean ANYTHING. You can pick up cars, rockets, rocks, street signs, anything with matter. Hey, with glasses he could be in the matrix. Since you can pick up and throw stuff, they put his stages more puzzle-like then the other characters. Amy- just like the other games, she comes to Soliana to stalk sonic. Her only attack is her hammer. Her hit box is small so you will have to go really close to the enemy for it to hit. She can double jump and somehow, with her new power, turn invisible.
The one thing that really pisses me off is that there is no online play. It was said it was supposed to have it but it never did. It even said it in the manual for crying out loud. But I think they will just add levels to Xbox live to download.
There are also mini missions that you could do from helping other citizens. In some cases, you can play as other characters in your party. The speed is great and is a little better than SA2. Since sonic is the character of speed, he is the only one that shows the feature of speed. With his “super speed” levels and his super sonic awesomeness, you blast through the stages without breaking a sweat. Just as suspected from a 360 game, the graphics are stellar. The characters are well detailed. The blur was well brushed and the physics of items exploding are well put. This is just the push the next gen game needs.
The music doesn’t really fit together with the characters. They put some decent songs and in-play music in there but they could’ve done way better. For example, they put this as their ending: http://youtube.com/watch?v=895wU4jtEdY Not to be wrong, I like it but it just isn’t right for a sonic game. Kind of gives a final fantasy feel to it. The music consists of rock, rmb/hiphop, and techno.
As for the in-gameplay music, it’s alright. It gives a good “adventurous” feeling but it can get weird at times. Personally, my favorite is “The Inlet”:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ahXzlX6OH_8
now THAT is some good music for sonic.
Though this game has many new features, is still lacks in certain areas. This game did not live up to its potential.