Sonic and the Secret Rings (Nintendo Wii

Once upon a time, Sonic the Hedgehog was one of the biggest names in gaming.  Nowadays...eh, not so much.  Particularly after his disastrous debut on the Xbox360, it seemed our little hedgehog friend was doomed to a slow and painful death.Or maybe not.Though far from perfect, Sonic and the Secret Rings is definitely a step in the right direction of actually making Sonic games fun again.  The game's story veers away from the Final Fantasty-lite antics of the 360 game in favor of a tale that has Sonic warped to the world of the Arabian Nights by a friendly genie named Shahrah in order to do battle with the evil Erazor Djinn, who seeks to erase the Arabian Nights stories so he can escape into the real world.  Thus, you must control Sonic as he races across deserts, iron factories, pirate ships, and other exotic locales using the unique motion-sensitive controls of the Wii Remote.The basic gameplay consists of you using the Wii Remote, held horizontally in your hands, to steer Sonic by tilting the Remote left or right to make the hedgehog move the corresponding direction.  You can also stop in your tracks with the 1 button, jupm with the 2 button, thrust the remote forward while in the air to perform a homing dash, and turn the remote upside down to go in reverse.  As time goes on, you'll accumulate experience and earn upgrades and new abilities.  Visually the game's gorgeous.  The stages all have distinct, dynamic designs and are wonderful to look at.  Sonic as well looks great.  The enemy design's a bit on the weak side, but nothing too bad.  As with all Wii games, though, it's not the graphics but the gameplay that makes the game truly worthwhile.  There are still some snags, mostly left over from the Sonic Adventure model of games, mainly cheap fall-off-the-stage-deaths.  Backing up is also a pain in the ass, as it's difficult to control yourself in reverse and you'll more than likely end up bumping into enemies and obstacles.  When you're just on the run, though, it's like a blast from the past, back when the name Sonic guaranteed fast-and-furious gaming.  The homing attack is far more reliable than it has been in the past, and if you can think on your feet, manuevering through the complex stages is a blast.  It DOES take some getting used to, though.  You will probably have to go through a phase of trial and error to get a grip on it, but it won't be long before you're fully on the go.  As well, Sonic's speed-up and time-stopping abilities are fun to use and add a layer of strategy to the game.  The Party mode is alright, but nothing special.  A sparity of directions make some mini-games an excercise in hair-pulling, but when it clicks, it's good for a quick play.  Otherwise, though, it's nothing to write home about.All in all, Sonic and the Secret Rings is what the Sonic Adventure games failed to be: fast and fun, like Sonic was always meant to be.  There's room for improvement, to be sure, but if hope for the future of the Sonic name is to be found, Secret Rings is a great place to look.

Added: March 7th 2007
Reviewer: Gojira007
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