Sonic IS back. I managed to receive my copy of Sonic Adventure on Christmas
Eve (thanks to FedEx) and have been playing throughout the entire weekend.
From one of the best opening intros since Tekken 2, to the trademark Sonic
gameplay, Sonic Adventure delivers. The speed of the game is absolutely
amazing, faster than any game I've played since the last Sonic, and the
graphics are top notch, albeit a little PC-ish at times. But then again I'm
probably not used to seeing a textured 3D platformer in high res on a console.
The game does run at 30 frames per second but it is barely noticeable
(compared to 60 fps) and doesn't hinder any of the games' speed whatsoever.
The main story involves Dr Egghead/Robotnick trying to get all the Chaos
Emeralds again. Each time he captures an Emerald he feeds it to his water
monster Chaos. With each Emerald, Chaos grows into a bigger and more powerful
water monster. The transparent effect on Chaos' watery body is jaw dropping,
as are many other special effects in Sonic Adventure.
The world in Sonic Adventure is huge. There are many places where Sonic can
run around at full speed without hitting a thing. The game is composed of two
sections- Adventure Mode and Action Mode. In Adventure mode you can talk to
people around the city or in another section called Mystic Ruins. Here you
basically have to find a stage to play in. These stages are the sections which
make up the actual gameplay. Running through corkscrews, jumping off springs,
and running at incredible speeds are present in all of Sonic's stages. So far
I've been able to run away at full speed from a whale, speed down the side of
a building, snowboard away from an avalanche with Tails, board Dr. Egghead's
"egg carrier" ship, shoot down airplanes and gun turrets with Tails' biplane,
and walk on walls in an Aztec temple. My single most favorite moment was going
through a level and then getting sucked up by a huge tornado! This wasn't a
small little cyclone, it was a big ass Twister that surrounded the whole
level! Then Sonic gets sucked into the core of it and you have to make your
way out! The tornado special effect was on par with the movie Twister, and the
whole experience was awesome.
Each of the characters in SA have their own storyline and gameplay
differences. Sonic speeds, Tails can fly, Knuckles can punch and glide, Amy
smashes things with a hammer, Big the cat uses his fishing rod to hit people
and to catch fish on some levels, and the robot E-102 uses his laser to fry
things. I just beat the game with Sonic yesterday and it took around 6 hours,
though the other characters might not have as much play time as Sonic (I
passed one level with Amy and it said I was 30% complete), but with 6
characters, each with completely different gameplay styles, this game should
provide more than enough hours to enjoy Sonic's return.
Being that Sonic Adventure was and is one of the most anticipated games for
Dreamcast, I can tell you that the game doesn't disappoint. Although at times
I'd like to skip straight to each level without having to walk around in
adventure mode (not understanding what everyone is saying is a bummer), the
mode does add some exploratory elements to the game and makes for some good
eye candy as well. Sonic's awaited return has finally arrived and U.S. fans
won't be disappointed when Sonic speeds back into the hearts of gamers
everywhere this September.
