Speedy Sonic returns to Dreamcast (Sonic Adventure 2 (DC))

Member Name: pbyron

Product:	Sonic Adventure 2 (DC)
Date:	05/08/01 (149 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast gameplay, Great graphics

Disadvantages: Can get a bit samey

When the world was young and gaming was still 8-bit, two games characters ruled the world of consoles. Mario was the spokesman for Nintendo, the plumber with a per chant for mushrooms and dislike of turtles. Sega needed a rival and thus was created Sonic the Hedgehog. For a hedgehog, he was rather blue and had the ability to run at amazing speeds. Being a teenager, he also had a lot of attitude.

Travelling through time ten years, to present day, we encounter the latest in the long line of Sonic games, as the hedgehog with attitude shatters our TV screens in Sonic Adventure 2. Trying to beat the first Dreamcast outing was no mean feat, but creators Sonic Team have managed to put together an amazing game yet again.

The storyline unfolds as you play and we find our Sonic escaping from a military helicopter, ending up riding a makeshift surfboard down a busy city street. Apparently, Sonic has been framed for a bank job, but we all know that he didn’t do it. After the high speed chase, Sonic spies a mysterious dark hedgehog, named Shadow, who seems to be on some sort of secret mission. As you get further into the game, more characters appear to either help or hinder our hedgehog friend and more stages open up, allowing you to play as the different characters. One thing’s for sure though, you can bet Dr Eggman has something to do with it all!

Don’t expect the endless wondering around of the first game though, this is action all the way as you fight to get through each level, pausing only to pet your chao creatures in the chao garden. A nice touch is that you can play the game as the good or the bad guys, allowing the story to unfold from each of the two perspectives and watching as they cross paths in the middle. In fact, the best way to play this game seems to be doing one level of good and another of dark, so that you can see the story progress from both sides. Shadow is a formidable opponent to Sonic, having all the power o
f his rival and maybe more…

The levels vary quite a bit from each other as you play through the different characters stages. Sonic and Shadows levels are a 3D representation of the earlier Mastersystem and Megadrive games and as such are so fast and furious that you’ll have a job keeping up with them! The Tails and Dr Eggman levels are probably the slowest, running around in metal feet similar to those from Wallace and Gromit’s Wrong Trousers! The idea here is to target enemies with homing missiles and avoid endless drops into oblivion. Not as easy as it first looks! Other levels see Knuckles, and his main female rival, flying (or gliding) around looking for pieces of the master chaos emerald. These levels are exploration style events and break the action up well. The graphics are even better than those on the first of Sonic’s adventures. Sonic’s own sections are jaw-droppingly amazing, as you fly around loops and swing, tarzan-style, across giant gaps on vines. Everything in the game is a joy to look at and just showing a demo of it is enough to make all your friends want a go.

Chao gardens make a welcome return to the game and the chao races are much better than those in the first game. As you progress through the levels you pick up creatures and crystals to use with your chao pets. Hatching the eggs (by throwing them against a wall!) you can give your chaos attributes of the animals by placing them in front of the chao and watching as they change form. Be careful though as you will soon want to keep coming back to the gardens and after a while you might find yourself spending more time looking after your chao creature than you are playing the game!

With its mix of breathtakingly fast levels and some lovely exploration sections, Sonic Adventure 2 is a wonderful experience. New characters, lots of Chao fun and some of the best loops this side of Alton Towers make Sonic Adventure 2 a recommended buy. As Sonic
might put it, it’s the game with attitude!

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