Sonic and the Secret Rings review

Sonic and the Secret Rings
Reviewed by Pirate Yoshi

Over-view: Sega's blazing-fast hedgehog rips his way onto the Wii...and a whole new way to play!

Graphics: 9.7/10
I'm just going to come right out and say it: this game looks AMAZING. Sega pulled all the stops and the outcome is truly gorgeous to behold--the characters (outside of story-book cutscenes, which I'll complain about shortly) are life-like and faithful to their classic designs,while the environments are staggeringly beautiful. I think this may be the most eye-meltingly magnificent in-game graphics I've ever had the pleasure to play with, and it's almost a frustration that they're contained in the one game where stopping to gaze is NOT really an option... Fortunately, Sega included a lot of art, so rather than fail the mission to gawk, we can just unlock images to enjoy. Unfortunately, the in-game "cut-scenes" are all story-book style, meaning they're not much better than what a long-time fan may be capable of making on his Macintosh computer.

Sound: 6.8/10
Ah, the downfall of many a Sonic game. The soundtrack nicely compliments the graphics by being nowhere as good, and therefore making the work done on the graphics all the more impressively awesome. Most of the score consists of "butt rock," that classic "meaner-than-Mario" music meant to intimidate and get children to say, "Wow, that game sounds really cool and hip!" Unfortunately, it didn't work on this reviewer--the melodious and intelligently quirky pieces of the original games continues to be overshadowed by pop-inspired crap that, quite frankly, just cannot stand up to compensate. Hopefully, one day Sega will realize that hiring a band to sing "Seven Rings" does not make Sonic cooler or his games better--a thorough and well-orchestrated piece, however, might just do the trick.

Controls: 6/10
The controls are, to be blunt, not incredibly fantastic...but, fortunately, you don't need to use them very much. Players hold the remote sideways, like bicycle handle-bars. A simple sway of the remote's ends up or down steers the blue blur through traps and obstacles of all sizes, all lethal. By pressing the two button, Sonic leaps--by jolting the remote, he lunges into a homing attack. One thing Sonic really doesn't like to do, however, is stop--getting him to come to a halt and trod back through the level can be murderously difficult, particularly at particularly important points. Sonic's also not big on using his homing attack--he'd rather just barge through the enemies. In fact, Sonic's not really into...well...anything. He'd really prefer that you set the controller down and just let him take off running through the entire course. If you can successfully get a grip on exactly how much force is required to keep your hedgehog in line and under your command, however, steering him through the level becomes a piece of cake (even if cake full of razor blades).

Gameplay: 9.1/10
Well, there's good news and bad news. The bad news is that there's not much variety there for you, and that the game's not incredibly long or deep, and that it's made more frustrating by truculent controls, and also that the storyline isn't particularly enthralling. The good news, however, is that most of that crap doesn't keep one from enjoying Sonic, at least mildly. The speed is enough to make your palms sweat, and the added ability to slow time to a crawl or launch into a hyper-speed dash offer some variation on the running-fast formula. Additionally interesting is the new badge system--by equipping unlocked medals, players can experience new and helpful effects. Much like an RPG, achieving success in the game allows players to make Sonic stronger/easier to control/faster, allowing past levels to be played more effectively or new challenges to be taken on. Leveling up Sonic also allows players to equip him with more badges, giving players the chance to try unusual combinations. Defeating enemies, though sometimes difficult by the controls, is satisfying, as is running through stretches of traps. My only other complaint about the game play is that it's frequently stripped away from the player--Sonic moves through many parts on his own, with little or no response to the player. There's a few too many parts, in my humble opinion, where a corpse could successfully "pilot" Sonic to his destination... Fortunately, enough of the level design is tricky and creative to keep the "fun" aspect in tact.

Replay: 7.5/10
Helpful to the cause of keeping gamers entertained with Secret Rings is its extensive assortment of unlockables. Game art, music, and even multiplayer games and characters are all obtained through constant playing and replaying of the levels while improving scores. Each mission is equipped with a rating in the form of medals--a Gold metal score is often difficult to achieve, but can unlock some very big things. All in all, Secret Rings is tough enough that winning over all the treasures will take a lot of time and effort for most gamers--unfortunately, only the greed of new rewards will likely persuade players to continue their adventures.

**Story: 1/1
Behind Sonic and the Secret Rings lies a devious story about the world of the Arabian Nights and a particularly nasty character named the Erazor Djinn, who represents the generic evil villain we've come to expect from every game. Intelligently inserted into the story are traditional Sonic characters like Tails, Knuckles, and Eggman, each of whom play a specific role from the world of the Nights. While not terribly exciting or engrossing, the tale provides a new twist on an old story and certainly clarifies the exotic locations and characters. Quite satisfactory for its purposes.

**Multiplayer: 1/1
A surprising twist is that Secret Rings not only features multiplayer support, but even THRIVES on it! Think of it as a mini-Mario Party; packed with motion-sensative games and several modes to play under, Sonic and the Secret Rings promises a good party or two, even if some of the games are unusually frustrating in control or scheme. Modes include a basic "win the most" challenge, a tournament setting, a particularly-Mario Party-esque treasure hunt, and a cryptic game of luck we passionately call "The Genie Drinking Game." Of course, players can choose just to involve themselves with key games (good for playing favorites, such as a rug-pulling game full of injuries), but none of the multiplayer material will truly last for long before boredom (or frustration) sets in. For a single-player-heavy game, however, Sonic delivers extremely high results in the multiplayer realm.

Graphics: 9.7/10
Sound: 6.8/10
Control: 6/10
Gameplay: 9.1/10
Replay: 7.5/10

**Story: 1/1
**Multiplayer: 1/1

Total Calculated Score: 8.2/10

Total Assigned Score: 7.5/10

Final Score: 7.86

Last Words: While Sonic's latest game has some definite improvements over past (recent) incarnations, it's not without its share of faults, and some are just too blatant and significant to overlook. Sega's on to something, however, and with some proper cleaning up and adjustments, our favorite blue rodent may just climb his way back to the front of the pack in the not-so-distant future.

Rent, Buy, or Pass: Fans of Sonic games will certainly find this a suitable title to BUY. For everyone else, however, I would recommend PASSING or RENTING on this one.
Pros: Fast and intense game play coupled with fantastic graphics make Sonic and the Secret Rings award-winning material.
Cons: Stubborn controls and another excruciatingly irritating rock soundtrack keep Sonic from winning any of said awards, however.
Needs: Better controls; all cut-scenes to be featured in same CG style as game's opening. Real music.