Sonic and the Secret Rings
SCORE: 90
Sonic and the Secret Rings
is Sega’s first Sonic video game designed specifically for the Nintendo
Wii. The control scheme level design, and extras exhibit that quite
well. Players hold the Wii Remote sideways, lower the left side to go
left, and lower the right side to go right. Pulling the Wii Remote back
towards the player’s body puts the breaks on, whereas shaking the Wii
Remote towards the screen will launch Sonic towards an enemy if there is
a target lock. The ‘2’ button is used to jump, and charge up the jump.
Sonic can be stopped with the ‘1’ button, but he really does want to run
forward. This is Sonics first solo game in awhile. The storyline follows
Sonic as he helps Shahra (genie of the magic ring) stop the evil genie
Erazor. Both of these genies come from the book Arabian Nights. Erazor
is deleting pages in the book in an attempt to get out of that world
into Sonic’s world. So Sonic agrees to take part in a pre-emptive
strike. Quite a few of the regular Sonic characters make cameo
appearances in this game, as characters in the book, who are not familar
with Sonic.
There are two sides to the
graphics of Sonic and the Secret Rings. The first comes from the cut
scenes, which are artistic in their nature, and look like an old book.
There is little animation in them, but the way it is done is actually
pretty nice. The second comes from the game levels themselves. The
graphics look better than I would have expected, especially on the
Nintendo Wii. The polish and shine is not at the level of the
Playstation 3, and Xbox 360 game (completely different game). The camera
works just as it should in this game though. In fact the first thing I
noticed while playing Sonic and the Secret Rings is just how well the
camera kept up with the super sonic speeds. Sonic can attack the bad
spirits in this game, and they vanish after being hit. This animation
usually happens so fast that the violence is kept at a minimum. I like
the art work, and style used in this game. Sega did a wonderful job with
some very bright and colorful graphics.
My son and I enjoy
watching the Sonic X cartoon on DVD. We get an entire season at a time,
and have really gotten into the intro theme. That intro theme is
different from the one used in Sonic and the Secret Rings. I do like the
music in this game, and the intro song has an awesome beat to it. It
reminds me of 1980’s rock in a way. Bear in mind I am someone who
normally likes Christian Contemporary, Praise & Worship, and Gospel. I
could not find all the lyrics, and the music can not be turned off
easily, so if the music does bother you, muting the television is the
only solution. The normal Sonic sounds are in this game, and work quite
well.
Sonic and the Secret Rings
starts out pretty easy at first, and becomes much more difficult later
in the game. As the player plays, they wind up leveling up Sonic. The
more Sonic levels up, the more skills he learns. These skills can be
used by equipping them on one of four different rings Sonic can equip.
There is a lot of diversity within the game levels. There are straight
getting to the goal, finding so many coins, beating so many enemies,
racing through the level, unlocking someone’s cage, etc. Sega also
included an amazing array of unlockable content. Some of that content is
the movie scenes, other content is drawings of various character. As if
that was not enough a complete party game is also included. I am
honestly quite a bit surprised that Sega spent so much time and energy
on this game. More than one player can compete in the party games, and
there are plenty of reasons to replay this game. In my humble opinion
this game is worth your hard earned dollars.
Sonic is always wanting to
run forward. Running into a spot where a jump needs to be performed
because an obstacle is in the way really displays this. Sonic will
bounce back, and then bump into it again. Going backwards can be very
difficult at times, especially when Sonic is going at a breakneck speed.
This game does control more like a racing game, but the player can jump.
It can be difficult to really classify the controls other than the
explanation given at the beginning of this review. There was one level
where Sonic has to put four dinosaur eggs in their nests. Missing the
nest, or getting hit means having to loop back around the level again.
There was also a level where Sonic rides a piece of wood over some giant
tidal waves that was pure brilliance. Overall the level design is really
good, with a rare exception here and there. I had a lot of fun playing
this game, and will continue to do so with the Party mode.
The genie part of this
game seems way more fantasy to me, and does not get occultic. Sonic
takes a fiery dart for Shahra, and this selfless act costs him. Still
this sacrifice is very honorable. At times Sonic cares more about fun
than stopping the evil character, but that is more of Sonic having fun
while stopping evil. I would love to see a sequel to this game on the
Nintendo Wii, for now though I will enjoy this game that will most
assuredly become a classic in the future. This is one game your family
may want to check out.
- Paul
Graphics: 89%
Sound: 94%
Replay/Extras: 99%
Gameplay: 85%
Family Friendly Factor: 83%
System: Wii
Publisher: Sega
Rating: 'E' for
Everyone
{Cartoon Violence}
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