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Sonic and the Secret Rings
Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Racing
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: SEGA
Console(s): Wii
Rated: E for Everyone
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By The Oracle (10/2/07)
"The land of mystery meets the legend of speed." Right off the bat you can assume that this game is going to be a corny ride playing as a midget, blue rodent. Though this game has many, MANY faults, it also has some interesting points worth noting in this review.
To start the very short list of acceptable parts of this game is the long, but informative tutorial. As in most games, the tutorial can get tedious and time-consuming, but trust me, in this game you need the tutorial to learn all the new aspects of the moves as they transition from the Gamecube controller to the Wiimote. As you progress in the story, new "chapters" in the tutorial become available to assist you in proceeding further in the game. Some of the tutorial chapters do not have to be completed, but some you must finish in order to unlock more chapters in the actual game.
Now that I have explained the tutorial, I will be able to explain a little more about the plotline of the game. Like most Sonic games, the plot isn't the greatest, but it revolves around a magical genie appearing one day, interrupting Sonic's nap. The genie's name was Shahra and she explains that she comes from a world in great peril, a world located within the pages of the book, The Arabian Nights. An evil genie named Erazor Djinn is erasing (bad pun intended) the pages, and in doing so the worlds, of the Arabian Nights. Shahra goes on to explain that once her world is destroyed he will continue and seek to wreak havoc on the real world. In agreement, Sonic enters the world of the Arabian Nights searching for seven world rings in hope to defeat Erazor.
If it doesn't sound like a crappy way of wasting your time yet, it will with these following rants. I have decided to lay out for you, in a simple context, seven bad things about the game, for the seven worlds in the game: 
7. Bad camera. The camera is positioned to face Sonic's back so closely, that it 's difficult to realize what's going on around you. The limited camera space is often a reason why players fail missions.
6. Easy bosses. The boss battles barely require any skill and as creative as they are, you can defeat them in less than three minutes tops.
5. Moving space. Sonic seems to run in an automatic line. The path is narrow and there is not much freedom to choose different paths or successfully dodge obstacles.
4. Bad plot. As stated above, would you really want to play this game with its cheesy characters and poor dialogue? However, the graphics and cinematics are excellent. The idea of making some cinematic scenes into a comic book/drawing clip gives the game an already used, but nonetheless cool look.
3. Sonic as the only character. Sonic is the only main character from the series that makes a major appearance. He is the only playable character in adventure mode, and the Tails, Knuckles, and Eggman only have minor cameos in the story. And, in multiplayer, there is no 3-D Sonic game essential, multiplayer racing!
2. Anachronisms? Some of the worlds and objects seem out of time, and more importantly out of place in this game. Some of them have nothing to do with the Arabian Nights. For new game makers, no matter how cool different stages may look, remember to always stick with a basic plot! I mean, come on. There's a Dinosaur Jungle stage!
1. Finally, the most important disgust I find in this game is lack of originality. If the game is not using plots, themes, items, and dialogue from previous Sonic games, Sega also borrows the complete story of the Arabian Nights. I don't know if Sega wanted to informs children of a great piece of literature or just ran out of ideas, but this game is basically a compilation of other games and ideas.
Hopefully after reading this you have a good understanding of how the game is and whether of not you should buy it. If so, my job here is done. Till next time!
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| Gameplay: |
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1.5
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Average:
(2.0 stars)
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| Graphics/Sound: |
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3.0
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| Design/Story: |
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3.0
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| Lasting Appeal: |
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1.5
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| Overall: |
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2.0
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