Product description
-------------------
Sega's beloved blue mascot has been given the full 3D
in Sonic Adventure, the first game featuring Sonic the Hedgehog
on the 128-bit Dreamcast console. Sonic has retained his classic
moves from previous games in the series, so players will be able
to dash at high speeds, perform spins to defeat enemies and jump
into the air to reach suspended platforms. Sonic has also learned
how to pick up, throw, and even shake items in his grasp! In
addition, the spin attack has been refined: once Sonic is in
mid-air, pressing a button will have the hedgehog automatically
blast toward an enemy like a homing missile. The main game is the
Adventure Mode, where you'll be able to explore two areas forming
each level: the Adventure Field and Action Stage. The three
Adventure Fields (Station Square, Mystic Ruins and Egg Carrier)
serve as gateways to the ten stages in the game. Sonic will find
himself on a busy street, on a beach resort next to a train
station, inside a jungle, and various other settings filled with
people to talk to and objects to manipulate. Once Sonic is ready
to embark on an Action Stage, he can leave the Adventure Field at
any time to travel to a new destination. The Action Stage
requires the "Blue Blur" to complete a specific objective as fast
as possible, such as finding his young friend Tails or retrieving
one of the seven Chaos Emeralds in the game. These Chaos Emeralds
must be found at all costs -- the evil Dr. Robotnik is planning
on feeding them to a strange creature named Chaos. The problem?
The water-based alien grows larger and more powerful with every
emerald it consumes! Besides confronting Chaos and Dr. Robotnik,
Sonic will also have to deal with various robotic creations
designed to impede his progress; take them out with his patented
whirl and free the helpless animals trapped inside!
.com
----
After several years in video game retirement, Sonic the Hedgehog
returns as the star of a graphically stunning 3-D adventure game
that blows away every other game in the genre. Sonic is joined by
five of his friends in a massive quest that spans over 50 game
levels filled with remarkable visuals and a pulsating soundtrack.
Taking full advantage of the unprecedented processing power of
the Dreamcast, Sega's development crew, Sonic Team, has designed
several gravity-defying game levels that will keep gamers hooked.
Our favorite level is Windy Valley, which requires you to
survive the stormy perils of a tremendous tornado. This tyrant of
nature chases you relentlessly before ultimately sucking you into
the air and up through its eye. During the chase, the tornado
manages to tear up just about everything on the screen. This
dizzying visual spectacle moves so fast that you will literally
hold on to the game controller for dear life.
Assuming you survive the tornado, there are several more
challenging areas to conquer, including a level that requires you
to snowboard directly in the path of a fast-approaching
avalanche. During the Emerald Coast level, you will race across a
precarious dock as a killer whale attacks from below, destroying
the wood planks underneath your feet while you attempt to outrun
the crazed creature.
We also liked the numerous mini-games scattered throughout this
title. When you least expect it, Sonic Adventure tosses in some
old-fashioned arcade action, such as pinball or bumper car
racing. In between, you can raise virtual pets, known in the game
as "Chao." These characters, which are saved using the optional
Visual Memory Unit (VMU), can be combined with other Chao
characters exchanged between friends or downloaded via the
Internet.
Gamers looking to show off the strong processing power of the
128-bit Dreamcast will definitely want to pick up this title.
Simply put, Sonic Adventure's graphics surpass those of any other
game currently available on any home video game system. Let the
Sonic assault begin. --Brett Atwood
Pros:
* Strong replay value
* Stunning graphics
* Bonus virtual pet game
* Six different game characters
Cons:
* May be too fast-moving for some players
* Awkward camera angles can inhibit gameplay in some areas
P.when('A').execute(function(A) {
A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse',
function(data) {
window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100);
});
});
Review
------
Every once in a while, a game comes along that redefines a genre
and sends the gaming scene in a new direction for years to come.
Sonic Adventure simultaneously is and is not one of these games.
It keeps the linearity and structure of a 2D game and brings, for
the first time, real speed to a 3D platformer. Yes - Sonic is
back in classic form after an all-too-long hiatus.
Having been failed time and time again by technology, Dr.
Robotnik began to look elsewhere for world-conquering gear. In
his journeys he stumbled on Chaos, the water-based God of
Destruction. To reach his full destructive potential, Chaos must
absorb the seven Chaos Emeralds. Robotnik begins scouring the
world for the elusive gems, sparking the interest of Sonic. Five
additional characters also become caught up in the fight against
Robotnik and Chaos, and each character has his own agenda. Tails
seeks to become more than Sonic's sidekick; Knuckles searches for
shards of the shattered Master Emerald; Amy protects a small
bird; Big chases his amphibious friend; and Robotnik's E-102
Gamma sets out to relieve the world of his robotic kindred.
Several flashbacks are interspersed throughout each of the
characters' adventures to explain the back story, but the whole
picture is not revealed to the player until the game has been
completed with all six characters.
Sonic Adventure's levels come in two flavors - action stages and
adventure fields. The action stages are, as the name implies,
action oriented. Each action stage is entirely self-contained,
with play mechanics varying from character to character. Sonic's
levels play exactly as they did in the 2D Sonic games, but a 3D
element has been added. Knuckles' levels, on the other hand,
center around Knuckles' search through various levels for shards
of the Master Emerald. The large adventure fields are more
exploratory in nature and tie together the action stages. The
field areas are inhabited by various people to talk to, and they
contain no enemies other than the game's bosses. Finally, hidden
throughout the field areas are items that enhance the characters'
abilities, allowing them to access new areas.
While Sonic's game is roughly twice as long and a far more
thrilling ride, each character's game is fun in its own way. Even
with the characters' respective play differences, Sonic
Adventure's design is very straightforward and linear, so the
game is always fast and fun. Yes, fast - Sonic is easily the
fastest 3D platformer to date, setting the game apart from the
largely collection- and exploration-based games that fill the
market. The game's few bosses are well done and inventive, but
they only seem to whet the player's appetite for more - or at
least more difficult ones.
As is fashionable these days, Sonic Adventure is also chock-full
of minigames. From the game's impressive snowboarding sequence in
the Icecap Zone to the bumper car race in Twinkle Park, Sonic
Adventure is constantly putting new spins on its speed fixation.
However, the most interesting minigames center on the slow
process of raising Chao. Taking a cue from the NiGHTS's
Nightopian A-Life simulation, the game lets players hatch these
adorable, tear-headed creatures from eggs in three breeding areas
scattered throughout the game. The Chao learn from Sonic and his
friends, grow, lay new eggs, and genetically diversify. Each Chao
is rated in swimming, flying, running, and strength - numbers
that come into play in the Chao racing game in the Station Square
breeding area. You can work on your Chao's stats by downloading
them into a VMU and helping them though a mini-adventure of their
own. You can even mate them by linking two VMUs together. While
really just a diversion, the Chao simulation is surprisingly
interesting and fun to play around with, especially if you trade
and compete with friends. New to the US version of Sonic
Adventure is an Internet-based Chao trading system, which lets
people trade Chao over the phone lines.
While its level design almost never ceases to amuse, Sonic does
have a few signs of rushed production that directly affect
gameplay. The game's camera is the most notable issue, but
collision problems occasionally show up, as well. Most of the
time, the camera doesn't get in the way of play, but it's
annoyingly spastic in tight areas, and it can get caught under
floors and behind walls, sometimes resulting in unnecessary
deaths. Collision problems can also result in Sonic's untimely
demise, sometimes causing Sonic to careen straight through a
normally solid wall. Some of the worst instances of bad
camerawork have been fixed for the US release, but some problems
still remain. Either way, these problems don't ruin the game -
they only add an occasional element of unwelcome frustration.
Sometimes, Sonic will get stuck on an incline, and while this is
usually remedied with just a jump, it can sap valuable seconds
away from a winning run for that final emblem. But these problems
are minor s at most.
Sonic Adventure's graphics are easily the best in a 3D
platformer, surpassed only by Soul Calibur's graphics. Under the
high-resolution, mip-ping, and other graphical buzzwords lies
a genuinely attractive game. The game's huge, detailed
environments exude the visual style that made the Sonic games
some of the best-looking on the Genesis. The textures are crisp
and varied, and the midlevel load times are short and sweet. Most
of the game runs at a nice frame rate, but slowdown does show up
in some areas, and it is usually concentrated in a few of the
game's levels. Pop-up is noticeable in many areas, as well, but
usually it's far away from the player, so it doesn't affect
gameplay in the least. A vast majority of the game's cinemas are
done with the game engine itself, and they are nicely
choreographed. The FMV-based scenes are excellent, as well, but
sometimes one has to wonder why they had to be prerendered. The
game's music is top-notch Sonic-style rock, sporting
crystal-clear playback and nicely understated vocals. Most of the
sound effects are the standard Sonic sound effects, which still
work well. The game's voices, overall, are surprisingly well
done, with only a few lines delving into the depths of
translation mediocrity that players have come to expect from
ports of this nature. While the voices are good, Sega completely
ignored the lip-syncing - it looked weird enough in the Japanese
version and it looks much weirder now.
Sonic Adventure is a must-have game for the Dreamcast, and it's a
blast for the entire twenty-odd hours of gameplay. With the
Chao-breeding simulation and the minigames, Sonic offers much
more beyond the completion of its story. Fans of the Sonic series
will definitely be pleased with Sonic Adventure - it truly
carries and builds on the style of the original games. Even with
its flaws, Sonic Team has produced a 3D experience unlike any to
date. --Peter Bartholow
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction
in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written
permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot
logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc. -- GameSpot Review
See more ( javascript:void(0) )