The 128-bit generation has not been kind to the game mascots of the ’90s. Mario, Sonic and Crash – characters who moved millions of systems in their heyday – have all suffered a general fall in prestige. Developer, Sonic Team, hopes to recapture former glory with “Sonic Heroes,” recently released for GameCube, Xbox and PlayStation2.
“Heroes” is an improvement over past 3-D “Sonic” games, but the series has a long way to go before rejoining gaming’s elite.
The new gameplay idea in “Heroes” is that the player controls three characters at once, switching between them at any time to capitalize on the strengths of each to negotiate the constant obstacles. It’s fun and works intuitively, and a short tutorial helps the player quickly adapt.
To add longevity, four teams are available to play through the game, with remixed levels and difficulties. Team Sonic and Team Dark are easily the most fun – the levels are built for speed, and these two really capitalize on it. Team Rose is a slow, easy Team Sonic. Team Chaotix features Knuckles characters from the obscure Sega 32X system outing and level objectives that are scavenger hunts reminiscent of the less-exciting quests of the “Sonic Adventure” titles.
“Heroes'” biggest strength is the way it often recaptures the series trademark of blazing through levels at top speed, giving the player a thrill that most adventure games fail to provide.
The level design is a general collection of “Sonic’s Greatest Hits.” The new areas will look familiar to “Sonic” veterans, with Green Hill, Casino, Metropolis and Jungle remakes in tow. Sonic Team even pulled a page out of their Sega Saturn system classic “NiGHTS,” with a railway-construction level emulating Spiked Canyon.
However, the big problems that plagued Sonic’s previous 3-D adventures are back. Levels often contain minor glitches that take a few character deaths to figure out. The camera can be a problem in close-quarter combat and boss battles, as well as random spots on each map. The control is often too twitchy as well, resulting in characters careening off edges instead of attacking a minor enemy.
Graphics are hit or miss, depending upon the system. “Heroes” was developed for GameCube and then imported to the other two systems and it shows. The GameCube version runs at a constant, smooth 60 frames per second worthy of Sonic’s speed. The Xbox edition copes with minor frame-rate loss, but the PlayStation 2 version chugs along at around 30 frames, which is a disappointment compared to its big brothers. The graphics models themselves are not overly detailed but are as colorful and likable as in classic “Sonic” games.
Once again, Sega has crafted a fun, yet mildly frustrating, “Sonic” game that could have been much more. A little more development to tweak the camera and control random glitches and this could be as top-tier as the blue hedgehog’s original, unforgettable outings.
