Does Sonic and the Secret Ring a Mario killer or another Shadow the hedgehog

I rented Sonic and the secret rings a few days ago, I have heard mixed reviews on the game some like it some hated and for Sonic the Hedgehog games these days that’s actually a plus. While Sonic Heroes turn out to be a fairly good game the likes of Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 360 are only good because the discs can be used has coffee costers.

So does Sonic and the secret rings turns us back to the good old days when Sonic’s quality was compared to Mario is it more of the same. Well good news is that it is better then Shadow the Hedgehog, but it’s still far from a return to the genesis day but I’ll give Sega prompts for trying.

Graphics.
The graphics of the game really do stand out has one of the better wii graphics, the game does not look like it belongs on the PS2. The stages are lush and full of detail and the game frame rate keeps up with the action regardless of what speed Sonic is going. Since this game is on rails the camera is not a problem most of the time there are a few times though were the route you need to go is off the screen and you wind up pumping into an obstacle like cactus. While a better camera could have helped just putting a sign in the middle of the road would have also worked.

Sound.
If I hear the words Make Believe Reborn again I am going to start wailing on someone with my wii remote. The sound track is kind of iffy it has the usual nonsense singing that has come out of Sonic game of the late. The cast of the 4kids anime dub do Sonics voices now a lot of people say there subpar. I’d say the voice of Sonic is about has good as the one that did the original adventures series and other voices Amy and Tails sound better with the 4 kids crew, but I am not going to give the crappy voice for Knuckles a pass.

Gameplay
Ok first thing you should know is the game is completely on rails and while you can press 1 to stop sonic and you can reverse him and back him up by titling back the main direction sonic will always move is forward. You can move him to the side by titling and jump by pressing 2. This is not a bad thing for the most part once you get used to the controls because Sonic can now move at break neck speeds and you can actually have some control of him. The usual watch him bounce around while you do nothing scenes are now over for the most part your in full control of Sonic for most of the game.

To attack you jump and then you press the wii mote towards the TV really fast to have Sonic homing attack the opponent. The homing attack may be were the game is the most frustrating has there is often times when the wii remote is to sensitive and does it when you need a normal jump causing you to over shoot, or doesn’t do it causing you to get hit. Also getting him to back up can sometimes be a pain because sometimes you have to completely turn the wii remote on it’s side in order for him to turn around. While these don’t destroy the game they do keep it from being a classic Sonic title.

Of course next to the on rail controls that isn’t all that has changed. Since were on rails and can’t frantically picked up rings Sonic now only looses 20 rings at max when he gets hit, the catch is he can’t hold unlimited amount of rings. He levels up whenever you complete a stage or a bonus mission between a stage allowing you to hold more rings. Leveling up will also allow Sonic to equip different abilities allowing him to move around faster or to stop time. I kind of like this because it gives you incentive to go through the extra stages and get all the unlockables, secret moves, and missions.

Final Recommendation.
Sonic and the Secret Rings is by no means has good has the Sonic the Hedgehog games that can be found on the wii shop channel but it’s a start at the improvement. Sega actually tried to make a good game for the Wii and came close to succeeding, unfortunately a few wonky level designs and control issues keep it from being a great game. That said I do have some what good faith that working with Nintendo that there next Sonic Wii game which is Sonic and Mario at the Olympics might actually be good. If you’re a die hard Sonic fan then go ahead and buy it but it’s more of a rental game, your better of saving for the next Sonic Rush game hitting the DS in a couple of weeks.