Sonic and the Secret Rings
Wii
The Sonic series hasn’t been very well received in recent years. The obnoxious, fast moving blue blur has lost his mojo in the move to 3D, and unfortunately Sonic and the Secret Rings doesn’t do too much to restore the Hedgehog to his glorious past as a legitimate gaming icon. It’s better than Sonic on the Xbox360, but then again that’s like saying a ham sandwich is better than a cheese sandwich when you are hungering for a steak.
At the very least in this game you play as Sonic throughout the game. No Tails, Shadow or Silver in this game, except in the multiplayer minigames, which we’ll get to later. Although Sonic’s friends (and enemies) also appear throughout the story as characters, Tails is Ali Baba for example, the story, whilst clichéd and trite does pull you in. The narrative sees our intrepid blue hero enter the world of Arabian Nights, and he’s got to save the world from an evil Djinn who is erasing the pages of the fantasy tale. The Djinn also curses Sonic, so Sonic must go about finding a cure for himself.
Each chapter is set in different world, and these worlds are quite remarkable to look at. Although the Wii is meant to be massively underpowered compared to the Xbox360 and PS3, this game looks just as impressive as Sonic on the 360. The worlds are quite big, which is good because you’re going to be spending time going around and around them. Part of this is simply the way Sonic games are presented, and part of this is due to controller issues.
The sense of Sonic’s speed has finally been realized in this game. As you run through the levels you start to feel the familiar sense of cool you got playing the old 16 bit versions on your Sega Master System. However, if you run into an obstacle or wall, Sonic tends to stop flat, and take a great deal of time building up his inertia again.
And whilst Sonic is about knowing the level through repetition, the control system can lead to frustration. You hold the Wiimote sideways, like handlebars, and control sonic by moving the ends up and down. However, whilst it is fun on the areas where you simply run through the level, with you swaying and tilting with the action of the screen, others where you have to use precise controls to avoid obstacles and fight enemies become exercises in frustration. The controls simply aren’t responsive enough, and whilst innovative, just don’t translate well to the action.
The Multiplayer aspect of Sonic comes in the form of an electronic board game, much like Mario Party on the Gamecube, and the minigames are ripped straight from Warioware. Whilst they add a small element of fun – it’s always funny to see a bunch of people waving the Wiimote around like morons – it does feel like an afterthought tacked on to the main game.
However, without a doubt the worst part of this game is the sound. I know it’s aimed at kids, but even they would be offended at the stupid, trite dialogue and ridiculous music. The dialogue sounds like badly dubbed Asian cinema and Sonic himself elicits violent reactions from the most passive of people. The pseudo-rock music that plays when you finish the level is equally obnoxious and seems radically out of place given the setting of the Arabian Nights.
Whilst not a total flop, after all you can have some fun with this game, the sketchy controls, and the tacked on minigames all seem to show that Sonic still needs a lot of help to find his place in the “next gen” world. It’s a game that seems to still be a proof of concept rather than a full game. Although it’s streets ahead of the other Sonic offerings out there, it’s still not a patch on the original, which is over 10 years old now, and that’s a real shame.