Dont listen to gamespot! This is a good solid game made for almost any type of gamer!
So it starts out with an epic opening where there's seems to be some kind of battle with Eggman and Sonic. Eggman catches him in his trap, turning Sonic into the creature of the night and splitting the Earth into 7 pieces, releasing Dark Gaia. Sonic is shot to Earth and meets up with a little creature who doesn't know his name. Eventually Sonic decides to name him chip for his love of food. Now they are off on a quest to save the Earth and find Chip's true identity.
- I think the story is very basic and easy to follow, just the way I like it. It's not that bad of story either. Pretty epic.
History
Not many know this, but the game is a threequel of the Sonic Adventure series. Many people have commented on how the gameplay is so similar to the Adventure's series and well… that's why. The game is even called Sonic World Adventure in Japan. They decided to keep Sonic as the only playable character because it takes more quality out of fewer characters. If you've played Next Gen, you would understand that reason. Though the game does offer a stage where Tails is flying the Tornado, though Sonic is still the character operating the gun. The 2D concept was also brought back to the Sonic series, in high hopes to get old fans back. Though some of those fans decided to bash the game for… stupid reasons.
Controls/ Game play
There are two different kinds of levels: day and night time stages. The controls overall are pretty easy to understand.
Day times Stages:
x- jump
square- boost and Homing attack
circle- slide and crouch
L1 and R1- "quick step"
L2 and R2- drift
Night time stages:
x- jump and double jump
square- slash
triangle- punch
circle- grab
R1- unleash
L1- Shield
R2 and L2- dash
The Day time levels is your typical 3D sonic fast paces game play. It offers a few classic 2D moments to bring back old school Sonic. It is basically a fast paced platformer.
Night time levels were meant to bring old school Sonic truly back to the series. It is still a platformer like day times but much more similar to old school sonic classics. These stages are also brawlers. There are enemy fights all over the place, just like your typical beat 'em up type game. They remind me of God of War and a better version of the Crash series.
At the end of each level, you are put into a grading system depending on how well you played the stage. The ranks are S A B C D and E. You normally only get an S if you have mastered the stage perfectly and getting an E would be a typical FAIL.
- I love both the day time and night stages. They bring a good variety to the game. Fast paced level followed by a slower paced level to calm you down a bit. The day time stages are exciting and fast moving. Though I have noticed the buttons can be a little in responsive at times. Many people say the Night levels drag on way too long. I agree to an extent. But many people over exaggerate a bit. Just because they are a bit slow, doesn't make them unfun. It is quite enjoyable to watch Sonic beat up enemies picking them up and bashing them against the wall or even against other enemies. It makes me laugh almost every time. And the combos can be bit messy and normally result in random button smashing. But it's still fun. Also in these stages the camera can be a bit frustrating at times.
Sometimes to get to certain stages, you need a specific amount of Sun or Moon Medals. It can be very frustrating trying to find them. One time I had to collect SIXTEEN sun medals! That made me very mad. But it kind of reminds me of star collecting in Super Mario 64 (I love that game btw)
I also noticed in the later stages there are some frame rate issues (mostly in Adabat and especially in Eggman Land). I think the reason for that is because it had a date that it needed to be finished and they were in a rush near the end of the game. Kind of like in Sonic Next Gen.
I simply love how good the replay value is! You can replay any stage or boss you've beaten any time you want! Even the final boss! It is so amazing. Possibly my favorite part about the gameplay.
Overall, the gameplay is nice and solid.
Design/ Graphics
The graphics are AMAZING. They are simply beautiful! You can see every detail of every little thing. From the shine in his shoe to the inside of a cute shop from a window in day time stage where you typically zoom by, not even noticing it's there. The night time stages are my most favorite designed levels. I guess that's mostly because of the bright awesome neon colors in every punch you throw and every enemy you see. Neon in Sonic FTW!!! *ahem* But like in many games the out game cut scenes are much better designed than the in game ones.
Good and Bad aspects
GOOD
Beautiful graphics.
NEON!!
Good story
Well put together gamplay
Catchy Music
Challenging
BAD
Worst voice acting in the history of gaming! The only voice I can stand to listen to is Sonic's.
Lame jokes (Professor PICKLE?!?)
Annoying camera in Night time stages
Cheap deaths in certain levels (Eggman Land Especially)
Collecting Sun and Moon Medals
My Rating:
Story 5/5
Gameplay 4/5
Graphics 5/5
Final Rating 14/15
I HIGHLY recommend getting this game! It is truly fun for the whole family. You'll spend hours playing and have fun doing it!
-The true honest game reviewer,
Raydalmonster