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> Results: Sonic and the Secret Rings
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The ESRB says:
Cartoon Violence:GamerDad enjoyed bouncing on the enemies and occasionally clobbering other players in the party games, but it's all very light-hearted For this latest entry in Sega's famous Sonic the Hedgehog series, the fastest and bluest of the erinaceidae family finds himself within the pages of the Arabian Nights storybook after being contacted by a female genie who needs his help. An evil genie named Erazor is destroying the world within the book, gradually amassing power as he attempts to break free from the pages and wreak havoc on Sonic's world. To stop him, Sonic must find seven powerful rings scattered throughout the game's levels which range from a suitably Arabian desert environment to a creaking pirate ship. All the familiar characters from Sonic's world make an appearance here, taking on the roles of characters from the book. Don't be fooled by the game's impressive 3D graphics, as the gameplay here is actually very similar to the old Sonic games, and that's a good thing. Instead of being able to freely roam around the levels, you are always rushing headlong, with limited ability to move from side to side to avoid obstacles as well as jumping. You don't have to do anything to propel Sonic forward, as he will do so automatically unless you are specifically holding the "brake" button. The controls make extensive use of the Wii's motion sensing ability ﾖ to play, you turn the Wii remote sideways and tilt it left and right to make Sonic sidestep. The control scheme is the single biggest criticism you can level at this game, as while thrusting the controller forwards to attack enemies does get the adrenaline pumping, the imprecise nature of the motion controls combined with the behind-Sonic viewpoint (making it harder to see upcoming hazards) can make the game almost unbearably frustrating at times. What makes this harder to swallow is the knowledge that when you first begin the game, controlling Sonic is artificially harder than it should be, as later power-ups make it much more fun to play. Sonic and the Secret Rings is broken up into a series of tasks for each level such as "Defeat all the enemies", "Collect 100 Rings", or "Beat Uhu" (your genie sidekick). Depending on your performance, you are given an amount of points that can be used to add new abilities such as running faster or jumping further. As you decide in what order to complete the tasks, there is some strategy involved in putting together the right collection of skills to beat a particular level, as only a certain number of skills can be enabled at the same time. While choosing your own path does reduce the number of "walls of frustration" you can hit, jumping around the various menu screens between tasks does reduce the hectic pace a bit. As well as the main single player game, there is a whole 'nother aspect of Sonic and the Secret Rings, a series of multiplayer party games. Four people can play as any of the major Sonic characters (the computer taking over control if you don't have three other humans handy), competing in events like spearing fruit, target shooting, and knocking each other off of pillars, all using the Wii remote in interesting ways. There are a few duds, but the mini games are largely a lot of fun to play in a group, and the different modes of play help keep things fresh. The only real complaint is that not all the games are available until you have unlocked them in the single player game. Despite the game being incredibly frustrating at times, I had a lot of fun with Sonic and the Secret Rings, and I look forward to a future iteration on the Wii. The game looks beautiful, and the cheesy rock soundtrack fits the action perfectly. With tighter controls, the removal of the pace-slowing skill assignments, and more variety in the gameplay, this could be a great game, rather than the decent game it is now.  
There is nothing hidden away that makes me question the ESRB's "E for Everyone" rating. The very youngest players might not be too keen on some of the skeletal enemies, but even those are cartoony. When you're fighting enemies, you're doing nothing more than bashing into them, and then they disappear ﾖ for the most part, you are attacking enemies just to use them as platforms to reach different parts of the level rather than any violent motivation.
Reading skill isn't necessary for playing the game (only for managing Sonic's ring skills) and the lack of complicated button presses means that younger children could conceivably handle the game, but this title is not for an easily frustrated child. They will hit a wall very quickly if they can't get the hang of the jumping and attacking controls, or if they're unable to hold the remote steady. The simplistic nature of the party games is much more accommodating, and as long as the object of each game is explained to children, even the youngest could enjoy some of them (while others suffer from frustrating controls just like the single player game) Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Browse Amazon.com's selection of "sonic the hedgehog" themed games Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Sonic and the Secret Rings |
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