REVIEW: Sonic and the Secret Rings for Wii

REVIEW
Sonic and the Secret Rings
Wii
Sega

Reviewed by Eric Leamen

Sonic returns in an all new adventure on the Wii! Secret Rings brings the blue hedgehog back to his roots: just a simple collect rings, kill enemies, and run fast type game!

The Secret Rings follows Sonic as he is brought into the world of the book "Arabian Nights". The evil Erazor Djinn is taking over the book, and erasing the pages! Prophecy foretold of a blue hedgehog that would save the land. How ironic!

Holding the Wii remote sideways, you'll guide Sonic through a multitude of levels and challenges by simply tilting the controller. Use 2 to jump, and thrust the remote towards the screen to dash forward. This is how you defeat enemies. The first level, Lost Prologue, is a basic tutorial, and new moves will be added to this "chapter" as you unlock them. Not only do you have "race to the finish" type levels, but each chapter of the story also includes side quests, like collecting a certain amount of rings, killing a certain amount of enemies, or simply completing a level without dying.

Since this is a Wii game, the graphics are not as crisp or lifelike as what you might find on other next generation systems. But, some of the landscapes, especially the water, will make you think "I can't believe this is on the Wii!" Sonic himself looks pretty cartoon like in the actual single player mode, but the cut scenes are amazing. Like anyone cares. Despite some serious flaws graphic wise, it is pretty impressive for a console that some consider to be behind in the graphics department.

The goal of Secret Rings is to find all 7 of the, you guessed it, secret rings. You can also equip yourself with rings, each holding their own powerups, like turbo boosts, that you can use throughout the level.

Unlike most of the Sonic games in the past, this game does not feature any of the other characters from the series. Well, not quite. Characters like Dr. Eggman, Tails, and others do appear, but as characters from the Arabian Nights stories. They also appear in the multiplayer challenge mode. But the in game characters that Sega has included in this game, like the Erazor Djinn and your helpful aid, Sasha, aren't very well developed. Yes, you do learn a little about the background of each character, but you don't feel as "attached" to them as you would, say, Midna from Twilight Princess!

The games controls feel a little wonky at times. Say you're running down a hallway, and you need to go from one side of the room, to the other. Crossing the hallway takes some time, and doesn't feel very natural. As does walking backwards, you almost have to tilt the remote completely upside down to get Sonic to move back. For the most part of the game, Sonic is on a set track, and always in motion. The set track gives the game more of a racing feel, which isn't what Sonic is really about. Since Sonic is pretty much always in motion, getting back up to full speed once you've stopped (and you'll have to do it pretty often) takes a long time.
And on a side note, the music in the game is very repetitive, and gets very annoying. Just thought you'd like to know!

The mini games and all of the unlockable side quests do add a lot of re-playability to the game. Which can be a good thing. The multiplayer is in "Mario Party" fashion. You actually move around a board, playing random mini games. They can be a blast! And it almost makes it feel like you bought two games in one!

Overall, I enjoyed Sonic and the Secret Rings. Sega could have improved the game by doing away with the whole set path idea, and giving the player a little more free control over Sonic and his movements. None the less, this game is very enjoyable and you should at least rent it, if not buy it.

Gameplay: 7
Story: 6
Graphics: 7
Sound: 8
Controls: 7
Re-playability: 7.5
Tilt: 8

Editor's Score: 7.2/10