Sonic Heroes

The Good
The graphics and design areas. The graphics are just amazing. The gameplay sometimes makes me feel dizzy and sick, after watching Team Dark use Chaos Control, that is.

Team Sonic are my true heroes. I like controlling Sonic, as he can run faster then ever before. Although, Shadow runs ten times faster then him. I'm always the Speed typed character on Level 3.

I also liked the return of the Chaotix. Vector is the best character out of that team. He makes Esipo do all of the work and make him agree with him. Charmy seems to be just like Tails and Cream.

The Bad
At first, in Knuckles Chaotix, Charmy was a sixteen year old, and in this game he is only six. Sega have taken ten years off his age.

It's too bad, that they didn't add a replay mode after the action stage, like there is in Sonic Riders.

The Bottom Line
Sonic Heroes is a game for everyone.

Team Sonic: People who are advanced in playing video games.

Team Dark: Out standing players.

Team Rose: People who are new to the Sonic the Hedgehog series, or younger players.

Team Chaotix: The same as Team Sonic, I guess.

The Good
I've read the many reviews both here and on other websites, and from personal experience with the as well, I can tell you it is far better then many give it credit. Sure, it has its problems, but there are plenty of positives that come out of the experience as well.

For one, it introduces a new play mechanic to the series, using three characters instead of the usual one in order to solve the awaiting puzzles and wizz through the arenas. Each of the different teams are the same design wise (one is used for speed, the second power and the third flight), and swapping between the three during play adds an element of strategy to the game, something that is rarely used in such a game.

Graphically, this has to be the best looking Sonic title so far. The earlier levels may not show off that much, but once you get into the later half of the game, the levels start to improve in detail and hark back to the early Sonic games design wise (especially Casino Park, that recreates the pinball like Vegas levels from the original Sonic games of old). In fact, the game has an amazing sense of speed, and those that hang around long enough will enjoy the hectic rush.

The Bad
There are areas of the game that just seem rushed, including the multiplayer mode that is simply tacked onto the disk. The music score is the old school rock pieces that seem to be a staple of this franchise, but to me it is getting real old, nothing like the more amusing and entertaining scores of Mario Sunshine or Jak II.

The control scheme takes a little getting used to at first, swapping between the three characters at will. But stick with it, as once you get the hang of things you'll be flying along.

Lastability is also a factor. The 14 levels on offer are fairly long, but at the speed at which you are going, they fly by quickly and without much fuss. Still, there are other teams to play as, so there's the added incentive to try again a few times.

The Bottom Line
So despite what some people might say, this is not the worst Sonic game ever made, and is far and away the best 3D rendition of the franchise from the three made so far. It is certainly the only title to really capture the speed and excitement that the 2D Sonic's had, that's for sure.

It has its problems, and there are the usual camera and bug errors, but overall Sonic Heroes is still well worth a play, and it is a step in the right direction for the future of Sonic in 3D.

The Good
When I heard that Sonic was coming to the PS2, I jumped for joy. I have been a fan of the blue hedgehog ever since his first game (Sonic The Hedgehog in 1991), and when I bought this shortly after it's release I was not disappointed. All the action and gameplay that has persisted throughout the entire Sonic series is here, right down to the ring-grabbing!

But what's so different about this game? I hear you ask. The difference is that you now have a choice of 3 teams (as explained in the review). You play all three characters in that team, each one with their own special abilities. In each team, you'll have characters that can either run fast, pack a punch or fly. For example, in the Sonic team it's Sonic who runs fast, Tails who can fly, and Knuckles who packs a punch.

This is a basic but fun game. The levels are well designed, with good baddies and some clever ideas. You'll also have to fight one of the other teams every couple of levels, which adds to the fun.

The audio in this game is stunning in every way. Both the music and sound effects are cool, and the voiceovers are the best I've heard in a long time.

Another highlight I must point out is the game's CGI cutscenes. These are the most beautiful ingame movies I've ever seen. The graphical detail and animation is just jaw-droppingly brilliant! It's worth buying a copy of the game just to see them! You also have the option of watching them in Dolby Pro Logic II sound.

The Bad
With a few fixes in the programming code, this game could've been much better. For one thing, the PS2 version suffers from a nasty controller bug when switching characters. The 2 character switching buttons are sometimes a little responsive, making you select the wrong character! Another problem is the camera not being very good. Sometimes you'll walk off the edge of a platform without knowing it's there.

Also, they are not the best graphics I've seen, and unlike the GameCube or XBox versions, it runs at 25 frames a second. I've seen PS2 games with more detail that run at 50 frames a second.

Another slight problem, although it's not much to worry about, is the fact that you cannot turn off the subtitles during the CG movies.

The Bottom Line
Despite the fact that it has some annoying bugs, this is one quality title that Sonic lovers will want to play again and again.

The Good
Some of the Team Rose levels are quite fun, as are early levels some of the other teams have to make their way through. The graphics look nice and characters like Big are finally doing something useful.

The Bad
The characters are often completely out of control. You're trying to make your way across narrow bridges, platforms, grind-rails three pixels wide and the like and your character is darting about all over the place. The ability to switch characters could have made for an interesting game, but instead you spend half your time fiddling about with controls trying to select the correct character (the character-selection control often selects the wrong one). The camera angles are dodgy, all too often you can't see what's right in front of you until it's too late, and sections like the 'rising lava' are rendered impossibly hard. Some of the bosses are just tedious - Robotnik's big ships need about 300 hits or something like that. And why did they have to include those grind-rails? They were a stupid gimmick in Sonic Adventure 2 used to promote some hideous brand of trainers or other. These games need good ideas, not pointless marketing ploys. The storyline and the 'humour' are just terrible, especially compared to games like Twinsanity. 'Humour' in Sonic Heroes seems to mainly revolve around spaceships with 'egg' in their name. In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, released in 1992, the Death Egg was a humorous send-up of the Death Star. Now, thirteen years and many Sonic games later, the 'egg' jokes are wearing very thin. So Dr Robotnik is fat and bald! We get it!

The Bottom Line
You must choose one of four teams in order to make your way through varied 3-D levels. Each team contains a fast member, a tough-nut and a character able to fly. You can switch between characters in order to cross the levels filled with platforms, dangerous robots, collapsing scenery and the like.

The Good
The smooth graphics used in the movies of this game were great because they were fluid and smooth. At most points, the story was interesting and left you wanting more. Many characters (although it is more accurate to say 'groups of characters') and various unlock-ables were good.

The Bad
Although the quality of graphics are good, the detail to which they were used was quite sad. For example, knuckle's hand consisted of an oval sphere with three miniature spikes sticking out. That's something that you would expect to find in the previous gaming generation, but surely not in this one. Also, although the motion was fast and action-packed at some times, it went so quick you simply could not catch up - for example; on most levels you would run up and down massive loops but by the time you realize where you were, you have already been attacked by a group of enemies.

If all this is not enough - the most baddest thing is the lack of variety! Looking back, I only remember there being 4-6 types of enemies without any variation. Wow, such creativity!

The Bottom Line
I really think Sonic and his crew belong in the 2D world. He should stick to consoles like the GameBoy Advance or Nintendo DS, where he is more suited. Sure, Sonic is Sega's biggest mascot, but he just clearly does not belong in 3D until a time when interest in him was been revived. Sonic is Sega's mascot, just like Halo is to X-Box, but it seems that Sonic is no longer wanted - or needed. Sonic was the biggest thing to ever land on Sega's black little box, and that's probably why this game was so disappointing - it simply had to much to live up to. I only advise Sonic fans to buy this game.

The Good
First of all, I like its "arcade-style" gameplay (in my opinion, it is more enjoyable than "mixed" style of Sonic Adventure 1 & 2). The game is fast, you can quite quick learn how to play and without irritating "demurrages" - enjoy the gameplay! I was afraid a bit, that the same set of levels for every team will make it quite boring, but I was positively surprised - despite quite similar experience in case of Sonic's Team and Dark Team, every time I had different experience and I had the motivation to end all scenarios. It's graphic and animation are really nice, but one of the strongest point is the music - memorable, dynamic, exciting - it's one of the best set in whole Sonic's history. I liked some of the multiplayer modes (like bobsleigh race or action race), they're simple, but enjoyable.

The Bad
First of all - camera & controls. Camera is sometimes really terrible and making some fragments unreasonably hard (harder than they could be in case of properly working camera). If someone prefer to play on game pad, probably he won't have any issues with control, however I like to play on keyboard, and guys from Sega didn't allow us to change control! And the default configuration is rather bad. Fortunately, using combo "keyboard + mouse" is helping to have more comfortable experience (but why I can configure pad and even mouse, but not keyboard?), but still - it's a serious lack. I didn't like more "slippy & clunky" style of controlling characters (especially in case of speed characters), it was made better in SA 1 & 2). Some voices are unfortunately quite weak - Rouge should has more dynamic voice, Knuckles too (I had impression, that they're slowly falling asleep). And there was a couple of fragments, when game suddenly (and in totally unpredictably way) t ended some longer sequence (for example riding on the rail) and I didn't have even time to react/jump/whatever. Some of multiplayer modes are almost totally unplayable (like team battle), I also really regret, that for every mode there are only 3 stages. And since it's PC version - I also regret, that there is only local multiplayer (I really wish that they could add "online" variant too). Getting back to single player scenarios - I didn't like these two "halloween-style" levels - their project was trivial, boring and a bit irritating.

The Bottom Line
Sonic Heroes is really dynamic 3D platformer, this time quite far from the mixed style of two previous games (Sonic Adventure DX and Sonic Adventure 2). And this time plot doesn't have too important role - it's rather an ornament, being some excuse to a couple of cinematics (they're looking quite good, by the way) and "carry on". But it doesn't hurt in any way - the game meant to be dynamic, with rather simple rules, and it's doing it quite good. It has four scenarios - all on the same set of levels, but fortunately with different style, and believe me, you can feel it. It's quite long game in comparison to other Sonic titles, but while you'll probably end all "normal" scenarios, only the most devoted and persistent fans will end all (or at least most of) challenge levels. It also has a couple of multiplayer modes - unfortunately, only local.

The Good
It's Sonic...that's about it. That is literally the ONLY reason I bought it (and subsequently will also be the only reason I will buy the PS2 and X-Box versions later this month). I need to keep my collection up to date.

The Bad
Practically EVERYTHING. The control is disgustingly inaccurate, the GameCube's 8-notched control-stick well didn't help much when you needed to make finite direction changes at full speed. The music is boring..plain and simple. I would love to hear some sort of throwback to the Genesis era, instead of this new techno-ish + rock + j-pop GARBAGE from Jun Senoue (spelling?). Sonic Team's effort to revive the older type of run and jump Sonic completely does NOT fit the atmosphere the music creates. On top of that, the game itself is lame...I could sit for hours with Sonic 3 & Knuckles (and when I first got them, I did just that) and explore levels, find different paths, etc etc... With Sonic Heroes, the time it takes me to go through a level ONCE is already longer than I want to spend on it, not to mention the fact that once AGAIN we have the whole stupid "Emblem" crap. These are levels that are boring, monotonous and repetitive, TEDIOUS, and just outright lame. No real complexity at all. The graphics are all spiffy shiney (Must be whatever that "RenderWare" logo is on the back of the box), but that's about it...Sonic Team again wanted eye candy rather than a full bodied game. Despite the graphics being crisp and smooth, the camera still sucks... Like, we all know how bad the camera was in the Adventure series...well take that camera, make it boring and stationary, and you've got Heroes' camera. The game is akin to the early Crash Bandicoot games on PS1, only you have more mobility, and you CAN rotate the camera around you to see other things. There's just something about this game I cannot stand......on top of everything else, Sonic Team didn't even get some of their OWN CHARACTERS traits correct... when Sonic runs at full speed...uhm...he either holds his arms at his sides, or stretches them out behind him...he does NOT move his arms when he runs! His spindash is nearly non-existent now as well, reduced to nothing more than a swift kick from a fellow teammate. And Knuckles' biggest claim to fame, his ability to climb walls... is gone. Uhm... What the hell?

The Bottom Line
This game is CRAP. I'm saying this, with Sonic gaming experience from the day Sonic 1 was released... I'm probably one of THE biggest Sonic fans in New England, I have just about every Sonic game that has been made (along with its European and Japanese version counterparts as well). I know the older games inside and out, but I still enjoy playing them... in contrast, any Sonic game that was made from 1999 and after, has been the complete opposite- I barely know the levels at all but I dislike it so much I can't even force myself to play it.

TOTALLY rent it first... don't waste 50 bucks on something you'll wind up shelving in a day and a half. If you want a GOOD 3D Sonic game, push for Mike Wallace to find the working Saturn demo of Sonic X-Treme, or just pop 3D Blast into your Genesis/Saturn.

The Good
Well it's a sonic game, it's fun,it's got just the right number of levels,it's got a good story line,the bosses are fun,above all it's FUN!

The Bad
Well some of the levels are a bit to hard,doing the same levels over with different teams is some times boring.

The Bottom Line
well don't pay 50 bucks for it,but if you can get it for 30 buck get it,this game was a bit of a disappointment for me but still was fun I find myself playing it again and again(it's a classic).

The Good
This game is a great game but the Adventure ones for Sega Dreamcast and Nintendo Gamecube had more different game play. The graphics are good, the gameplay is great, Team Chaotix is the best. The sound is great, Crush 40 music is in this game. This has speed, fly and power.

The Bad
The bad thing is that when you finish a team, in the cinema, you can't view the credits, you need to play through Egg Fleet on story mode. Also we need treasure hunting again. Team Chaotix may be similar but it isn't the same.

The Bottom Line
Good graphics, good gameplay, good music. So go and buy it or at least rent it.

The Good
The graphics for this game are nice, the way the characters look, I like it. The level designs are pretty cool.

Although to be honest, I would prefer a 2D Sonic The Hedgehog game

The Bad
A lot of things, the gameplay, the music, it is just horrid.

First of all, getting a band like Crush 40 to do the music is like getting Lady Gaga to do the music for Resident Evil. It is nothing but a waste of crap.

The controls are nothing but junk, they are slow at responding. Using a PC controller is a pain in the ass, unless you get a program to get it to work on the game. If I wanted to go through that much of a hassle I would play another game.

The Bottom Line
Sonic Heroes is a 3D, 3rd Person Action/Adventure game. If you are a hardcore Sonic the Hedgehog fan you may like this, but if you are one that likes the older games, then this game is junk. The controls suck, the music sucks, the gameplay sucks. Only real good thing is the graphics. Then again, I would rather play Sonic 3D Blast then this game. All and all. A waste of time to play.

The Good
Nothing

The Bad
THE GOD DAMN GAME IS SO HARD I CANNOT GET PASSED LEVEL 4 POWER PLANT AS TEAM SONIC BY THE LAVA PART I HAD GOD DAMN HELP ON IT TWICE AND STILL I CANT GOD DAMN GET PASSED IT ON GRAND METROPOLIS AS TEAM SHADOW I CANNOT GET PASSED IT ON SEASIDE HILL AS TEAM CHAOTIX AND CANT GET PASSED LOST JUNGLE AS TEAM ROSE

I MIGHT AS WELL JUST FUCKING GIVE UP ON THE SON OF A BITCH GAME THIS GAME IS NO FUN WHEN YOURE NO GOOD AT IT WHICH I KNOW IM THE ONLY PERSON IN THIS WORLD WHO CANT GET PASSED THOSE LEVELS AND ITS PISSING ME OFF I HAVE LOST ALOT OF PATIENCE WITH THAT GAME

IM THINKING OF SELLING THE SON OF A BITCH GAME OR TEARING IT UP AND CUSSING THE SONIC TEAM OUT

The Bottom Line
BAD UGLY STUIPD ENOUGH TO BE SHAME AT ALL THE TEAM CHARACTERS