Sonic Heroes

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.