Video game review: Sonic and the Secret Rings

One of the popular memes in the video game community is that Sega's seminal video-gaming mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, has not transitioned gracefully into 3-D gaming. I'm not sure if I agree with that (I enjoyed Sonic R, though admittedly it was more of a racing game than a platformer), but I admit I was hesitant to pick up Sonic and the Secret Rings as a result. But with some glowing initial reviews (and a $10 discount coupon ), I decided to take a chance with Sega's newest title.

For the folks in the audience who got lost reading the above, let's backtrack: Sonic and the Secret Rings (hereinafter abbreviated to SatSR) is a video game for the Nintendo Wii. You control Sonic, an ultra-fast blue hedgehog, as he runs through eight vast environments, trying to stop an evil djinn from corrupting the Tales of the Arabian Nights and destroying two worlds, blab blab blab blab blab.

Gameplay-wise, SatSR plays like an original melding of an action-adventure game and a racing game -- if Tomb Raider and Burnout birthed a kid-friendly title, it might be something like this. Sonic is constantly running forward on a predefined track; the player controls Sonic by steering him left and right along the track, jumping, stopping, backstepping, and attacking the numerous enemies along the way. The player advances by completing different missions -- race to the finish, or rescue an imprisoned Ali Baba -- across the game's eight environments. Furthermore, the player can customize Sonic with different skills like faster acceleration or the ability to slow time. Rounding out the package are unlockable extras, secrets to be acquired, and a grab-bag of minigames for one to four players.

When everything meshes, SatSR is a fluid, kinetic ballet of action that keeps the player on the edge of his seat, in complete control of the focused chaos all around him. On the flip side, Sonic's always-running-forward mechanic sometimes clashes with the needs of the moment, such as areas where precision jumping is needed over raw speed-- these instances occur often enough to be a nuisance, but not enough to completely derail the fun. One minor drawback is that it takes a while to get in the groove; the game starts with Sonic being a little slow and plodding, and requires the player to earn several enhancements before his full potential is unlocked.

Being an original game created specifically for the Ninendo Wii, SatSR makes use of motion controls. They work well for the most part, though thrusting the remote forward to attack enemies is sometimes erratic, and turning the remote upside-down to go backwards is simply awkward.

The game's mission setup is also worth mentioning. Whereas the first task in each world is an exhilarating run across the entire course, subsequent missions will require running along a subsegment to achieve a particular objective. While these subquests offer a good dose of variety, some of them can be infuriatingly difficult, requiring repeated trial-and-error to succeed. The repetitive grinding may frustrate some, but fortunately, many of them can be skipped (or at least until Sonic acquires enough powers to make completing them easier).

How much you'll actually play SatSR depends on how you approach it. Folks simply looking to beat the bad guy and complete the main adventure can probably do so over a weekend, but finding all of the game's secrets and unlocking all of the extras will take considerably longer. The multiplayer minigames and contests, though, struck me as a waste of space with erratic controls and nonstop button-pressing just to keep playing.

Visually, SatSR is one of the most gorgeous games on the Wii to date, and seeing Sonic go full-tilt through a vast landscape as the camera flawlessly swoops along will take your breath away. On the other hand, the soundtrack and voices are strictly hit-or-miss; it's a little disconcerting to have achingly wonderful background music (such as World 4, Levitating Ruins) marred by half-hearted Saturday-morning-cartoon-level voice acting.

In the end, while Sonic and the Secret Rings is not an unqualified must-buy, it is still a decent title that's worth considering. There's a fun and exhilarating game here, but it's partially marred by some unavoidable nuisances. I'm personally hoping that Sega will develop a sequel which uses the same mechanic but with a traditional Sonic game structure (run through three Acts in each world, and relegate the missions as optional subgames), but that's merely another way of recognizing Sonic and the Secret Rings as a jewel in the rough.