Sonic Heroes Review (no fat)

Game Description

The legendary hedgehog and his escapades have earned a cult following among the gaming community. A benchmark for platform style games, the Sonic franchise has been SEGA's crown jewel for many years now. The reason for Sonic's success is the adorable characters and the addictive gameplay that it brings to the table.

The transition from 2D to 3D has been a difficult road for Sonic but with Sonic Heroes, it seems that SEGA has finally succeeded in making a decent transition into the third dimension. SEGA also goes back to basics and prunes the game. Much of the unwanted shooting and chaos has been eliminated to make room for better sprite movement and overall gameplay.

The cast comprises of 12 sonic characters including Tails and Knuckles, spread across 4 teams of 3 each. The dastardly Dr. Eggman is back to essay the negative role. Players can select either Team Sonic, Team Chaotix, Team Dark or Team Rose and then commandeer all three sonic characters at the same time. Each character has its own strengths and weakness.You'll also have to bank on your team's combined abilities to get through missions and eventually capture Dr. Eggman.

A notable difference between this and previous titles is that the missions are much better thought out and there's plenty of content in them. Packed with many paths and approaches to navigate, the game ensures that there's plenty of possibilities and hours of running, punching, gathering rings and collective fun to be had.

Sonic Heroes - Gameplay

Addictive gameplay was one of the strong points of the 2D versions of Sonic. Being built on similar lines and plot and featuring the same lovable characters, the game starts off on a positive note in this department. The three characters at the same time feature is a great innovation and it adds an element of strategy to the game as you utilize each characters strength. Each team member has it's own colour code with blue for speed, red for punching ability and yellow for flight. Players can cycle between the three members and utilize their strengths to carry the team forward. It takes time to master this control swapping though.

Sonic Heroes replicates the frantic speed and all the signature elements such as bumpers, loops, corkscrews and like that were part of the Sonic games of yore. The level themes also borrow heavily from its predecessors and those awesome pinball levels are there for some serious bouncing and rolling action. The massive levels feature multiple paths that teams can take and each path banks on a specific ability of a team member for successful navigation. Players have to be wary about the terrain and if the wrong member in in charge, it can lead to disastrous results.

The game does have it's fair share of graphical woes that include unruly controls and bad camera positioning. There's also a lot of clipping which indicates that SEGA hasn't devoted much time and effort in improving on the graphics. Sonic Heroes does have those charming sound effects and background score.

The flip side is that the game can be fairly easy to tame. Also, Sonic was much better off when he was the solitary character that a gamer had to think about. Back then, he also had lots of room to run and roll whereas now, his style has been cramped by 11 other characters and changes in level design.

Overall, its better than Sonic Adventures in the gameplay department.

Sonic Heroes - Graphics and Sound

There is no revisions in graphics or any incorporation of cutting edge technology. Moreover, the flaws remain. Graphics are good enough for ensuring smooth gameplay but does nothing to gain a fresh set of admirers. But the sounds are sweet and they add immensely to the game's cause. Hopefully, SEGA will realize the importance of these elements and revamp the graphics in the forthcoming titles.

Sonic Heroes - Summing Up

Being a franchise that enjoys cult status has its advantages as the success rate is more or less guaranteed by default. However, developers tend to take things for granted and do not strive to bring forth enough innovations and put enough thought into a game to appease the loyal fan following.

A hurdle that SEGA must overcome is the graphics and controls department and like other platform games like Prince Of Persia, the transition from 2D to 3D was a painful one. However there are plenty of templates to go by and with some serious thought and development, SEGA can push the hedgehog to an all new level of gaming.

Still, Sonic Heroes is a much better experience than Sonic Adventures. The minor revisions that SEGA made were positive ones and the game still has a lot of life in it. Overall, a good game that's worth buying if you own a Gamecube.

The Simpsons Road Rage - Cost

Sonic Heroes currently retails at $19.99US at the time of writing.