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
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
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.