Electronic Gaming Monthly: Sonic Heroes

SHANE: Ever since Sonic Adventure 2 (for GC and Sega Dreamcast), Sonic’s status among the pantheon of top-tier mascots has been in jeopardy. That ill-conceived title unsuccessfully tinkered with the traditionally speedy Sonic experience by forcing players to suffer through tedious crystal excavation and hovering stages that simply sucked. Nearly every review (be it critical or from li’l Jimmy the consumer) boiled down to “I just want to run!” Thankfully, Sonic’s handlers listened: Heroes has the ’hog doin’ what he does best in a rewarding return to form.

Heroes’ basic gameplay echoes the classic, side-scrolling Sonics of yore, but with an interesting twist—team play. The four teams you can choose from have minor differences (see below), but with each one, you’re simultaneously controlling three characters: one speedster, one powerhouse, and an annoying, chirpy one that flies. A simple button press switches leadership among the three guys, and the clever level designs basically guarantee that you’ll have to switch leaders in order to break a few walls and soar over pits to succeed. This constant switching seems confusing, clunky, and forced at first, but after a few levels, it becomes natural, and it’s fun to experiment with different leaders to find new paths. Plus, by the time the gameplay clicks, the Milquetoast early levels give way to wildly cool areas that have you spinning through giant pinball machines, reversed-gravity haunted mansions, and stratospheric airship armadas. Heroes offers a surprisingly long experience (for a Sonic game), and it’s one that gets better the longer you play.

In classic Sonic fashion, the game looks spectacular, with dazzling Day-Glo colors, ultrasmooth movement (well, on GC and Xbox at least—scope the sidebar), and trippy effects: Every single stage explodes with breakneck speed, insane loops, absurd corkscrews, and other gravity-defying razzamatazz. It’s a breathtakingly gorgeous game that’s unmistakably Sonic.

So, what’s not to like? Mostly stuff that no 3D Sonic game has managed to get right, including an annoyingly touchy camera, lame bosses, and an overabundance of deaths caused by falling off edges. These issues seem almost endemic to the series at this point, but it’d be nice if a future update could clear ’em up. Still, don’t let these quibbles (or the hateful grumblings of the other reviewers) deter you—Heroes is worthy.

CJ: I could go on and on about how Sonic just doesn’t work well in 3D, but it wouldn’t change anything. He’s here to stay. Thankfully, most of what made the Adventure games a bore—in particular, everything that didn’t star Sonic or Tails—is gone, and as a result, Heroes plays more like the balls-to-the-wall Sega Genesis Sonics. It’s even got a classic-style casino stage, something that the previous 3D efforts didn’t even dare to try. But for each brave step forward, it takes a few back. Racing full speed through stages that take 10 or more minutes to complete while constantly switching characters for the most mundane of tasks becomes exhausting.

It’s even worse when you consider that you have to play through the same stages four times (once with each team) to get the real ending. I don’t have the patience for it, especially when the terrible camera and hit-or-miss lock-on attacks that leave you plunging to your doom (and spelled trouble in the last two Sonics) still haven’t been adequately addressed.

Once at the forefront of platforming action, the Sonic series hasn’t aged well. And while Heroes is better in some respects than the last two, it still leaves me disappointed.

JOHN R: For a character as recognizable and symbolic as Sonic the Hedgehog, you’d think Sega would spend a little more time polishing each of his adventures before shipping them to stores. Sadly, this is not the case. As with the previous two 3D Sonic outings, Sonic Heroes is a solid platformer that could’ve been a lot better if the developers had spent more time balancing the levels and tweaking the unbelievably frustrating camera.

The team-based gameplay is interesting enough, but instead of having four separate teams, three of which play virtually identically, Sega should’ve just stuck with Team Sonic and focused on making it a more cohesive, enjoyable experience. The one team that does play differently—the exploration-based Team Chaotix—isn’t even fun, as Heroes’ stages were clearly designed for speed, not adventuring.

That said, it is nice to have a Sonic game with a bit of real depth to it. Switching formations requires careful consideration, making Heroes more than just another glorified roller-coaster ride. But given that the horrendous camera disrupts the flow of the game more often than not, I’m not sure it matters. And one more thing—the whiny preschool voices really have to go.

Good: Fantastic visuals, creative levels

Bad: Touchy controls, steep difficulty curve

Coolest Character: Anyone but Vector the Crocodile

Verdicts:

Shane 8.0

CJ 6.0

John R. 6.0

Meet the Teams

From the game’s outset, you can choose to play as one of four teams. All of them have a similar mix of speedy, powerful, and airborne members, but you’ll find that each group offers a slightly different gameplay experience and story line. Of course, you’ll have to finish the game with all four teams if you want to fight the true last boss and see the real ending....

Good: Fantastic visuals, creative levels

Bad: Touchy controls, steep difficulty curve

Coolest Character: Anyone but Vector the Crocodile

Verdicts:

Shane 8.0

CJ 6.0

John R. 6.0

Meet the Teams

Team Sonic — Ah, the old standbys…. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles deliver a basic, balanced game. If you’ve played the Adventure titles, feel free to start out as these guys.

Team Rose — If you’re new to 3D Sonic games, acclimate yourself with Amy Rose, Cream the Rabbit, and Big the Cat. Their game is a lot like Sonic’s, only much easier.

Team Dark — If you’re a veteran player, give this team of miscreants a try. Rouge, Shadow, and Omega play the same levels as Sonic and Rose, but they’re way harder.

Team Chaotix — If you’re looking for something completely different, give these oddball castoffs a shot. Their levels have weird goals...like harvesting hermit crabs.

Nelson Rocks

From bland hip-hop to brazenly hideous metal, the past few Sonic games dished out awful tunes. Heroes’ music is surprisingly decent...well, all except for the Chaotix team theme, a hideous piece of butt rock by Gunnar Nelson. Yeah, he of the Nelsons fame. (You might remember their one hit, “After the Rain.”)

Sorry, PS2

Which version of Heroes should you get? The GC and XB versions look fantastic. The PS2 version, however, chugs along at about half the speed of the others, sports longer loading times, and somehow even sounds worse. Avoid it if possible.