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The
last time I played
Sonic
on a portable system
was
Sonic
the Hedgehog…
the original
Sonic
the
Hedgehog
for Sega Game Gear.
Yeah… that was a
long time ago. I
gave up on portable
gaming and Sega went
into straight game
developing mode (and
poorly on some
fronts too.) I never
quit Sonic though
and I stood by him
on some terrible
efforts for Nintendo
Gamecube and other
systems. Sega’s
flagship character
was always a decent
amount of fun but
never as much fun as
he was in his heyday
for Sega Game Gear
and Sega Genesis.
Anyway, I heard
Sonic
Colors was going to
be awesome for DS
and Wii and I was
immediately back in
and ready to run
around in a 2D
flurry- and in the
Wii’s case a full-on
3D flurry.
The
DS version of the
game is outstanding.
It immediately
brings me back to
the character’s
glory days where
there’s not much
more that you need
to know other than
you have to run to
the end of the level
as fast as you can
with as many rings
as you can. You
speed around a
variety of switches,
slides, loops,
ramps, jumps,
buttons, and other
devices that guide
you- all the time
you’re jumping on
some bad guys and
collecting as many
rings as you can.
Add that with the
addition of the
little alien whisps
that give you
different powers
(instead of the
power boxes from the
old days), and
there’s enough new
and old to make
Sonic
Colors
a blast. There’s
great level design,
great controls and
mechanics, a solid
amount of difficulty
involved, and some
of the most fun on
DS that you’re
likely to have.
As
far as the Wii
version of
Sonic
Colors-
it’s vastly
different from the
DS version as you’d
expect. It’s in a 3D
format, but they
managed to keep the
reinvigorated spirit
with
Sonic
Colors
involved with the
Wii version of the
game too. You’re
doing the same
thing- going through
a level as fast as
you can collecting
as many rings as you
can- with the end
point being ruining
Dr. Eggman’s evil
plot. You also get
to enjoy the power
giving whisps with
some more
inventiveness- they
each do different
powers and give you
different abilities
but in 3D they’re
effectiveness and
the extra gear that
they put into the
game- it’s just more
effective in 3D.
The
gameplay, sound, and
graphics with both
versions of the game
are good but there’s
only one problem
with the game and
really it’s hard to
poke too much fun at
it. The cut scenes
look great but the
writing in it is
nothing short of
brutal. At least the
old days had better
dialog with Knuckles
bringing a different
dynamic to some
stale dialogue. This
feels more like the
awful
Sonic
the Hedgehog
cartoon.
The
final verdict on
Sonic
Colors
is that it’s
magnificent. It
should immediately
head to the top of
your Christmas list
for any kid under
the age of 10 for
either DS or Wii and
everyone else should
definitely give it a
look as well.
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