Sonic Colors Review
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Sega attempts again to bring Sonic The Hedgehog to his former glory. With mixed reviews on Sonic 4, can the Hedgehog run back to the top? Sonic Colors is the latest Sonic game to hit the Nintendo Wii, but how does it hold up?
Story - Dr. Robotnik/Eggman which ever you prefer has open a new Amusement Park in space. Each planet is made of a different attraction. But things are not as they seem. Eggman has kidnapped a race of aliens called Wisps, he plans to use their power for his own gain. It's up to Sonic and Tails to rescue the Wisps and destroy Eggman's park once and for all.
Gameplay - If you are familiar with Sonic Unleashed, you should feel right at home. The game plays from the 3D and 2D perspective. Players will be able to use the Wii Mote with Nunchuck, Gamecube Controller and Classic Controller. There are 7 planets in all with each having 6 acts and one boss fight. The only complaint is the levels are short, some can take you to 2 minutes to 3 minutes max. However the game is back to basic, no werewolves, no transformations, no over the top Sonic friends to annoy you. Just Sonic going through these well design levels to reach his goal. Throughout the level Sonic will need the aid of the Wisps. The Wisps will grant Sonic special abilities to help Sonic progress through the level, during the Wisps mode you will use the motion controls and it works really well. The game is easy but very enjoyable. The level designs are beautiful, you will be dazzled by the design of the Starlight Carnival. Finally this game has a unique way to unlock Super Sonic. The Game Zone is where players will be able to collect the Chaos Emeralds. This is really cool because this is where multiplayer comes in, you and your friends can join together and complete the challenges needed to obtain the emeralds. I love the design of the game world, because let's just say it has an 8-Bit feel to it. This is the Sonic game you have been waiting for. Here is a list of Wisps provided by Wiki.
Wisps
White Boost – Allows Sonic to boost at any time.
Cyan Laser – Turns Sonic into a laser which can bounce off surfaces and travel through power lines.
Yellow Drill – Lets Sonic drill through soft ground and water. Sonic loses a life if he is still underground when the power-up runs out.[15]
Orange Rocket – Blasts Sonic upward to tremendous heights, followed by a sky dive back to solid ground.
Pink Spikes – Turns Sonic into a pink spike ball which sticks to walls and ceilings. He is also able to "spindash" to gain more velocity with this wisp.
Green Hover – Sonic can hover and perform dashes across lines of rings.
Blue Cube – Sonic is able to switch blue blocks and blue rings, opening new routes. When using it and landing on ground, nearby enemies can be destroyed.
Purple Frenzy – Turns Sonic into a berserker that chomps through anything in its path, and increases in size every time it eats an enemy or obstacle. Interestingly, this wisp had been corrupted by negative energy, thanks to Dr. Eggman. The same thing happened to the Violet wisp.
Gameplay Video
Graphics - The graphics are good. This is a great looking Sonic game. Sonic Colors is a very colorful game. However there are some levels that make you cringe. I found the water level to be ugly to look at. You didn't get the feel that you were underwater, but just surrounded by blue stuff. On the flip side of the coin, the Starlight Carnival and Tropical Island levels are a wonder for the Wii. The environment really shines and comes to life in these levels. You would want to play these levels over and over again to look at the details. There were some hiccups in movement in certain areas, but it didn't happen when I played it a second time. It could of just been my Wii.
Sound - This soundtrack brings me back to the Sonic feel I had as a kid. It's fun, energetic and describes Sonic's personality and the world he's in. Unlike Sonic 4's music this one has life in it. I really love the 8-bit music in the game world :). As for voice acting that is another story. Sonic voice is a hit in miss depending on the scene. I personally still think Urkel was the best voice for Sonic. However the voice is not bad, but it's not epic either. I just felt it was missing that attitude. Tails on the other hand I enjoyed. Tails voice wasn't that whiny, high pitch voice we always hear. This tails sounds confident, bold and just enjoyable to listen too. Eggman sounds the same as always and thats how we like him.
Replay Value - If you are perfectionist you will want to get an A rank on everything. There is tons to do and tons to see from Super Sonic to the Game Zone. Not to the mention the game is just fun and you will want to play it over and over.
Final Grade B+/8.5 - Sonic is back in glory. Mario might have to watch out if Sega keeps this up. Good Graphics, smooth simple gameplay, no annoying extra characters. This is what we want Sonic to be simple, fun and exciting. Final Grade is a B+/8.5.
Story - Dr. Robotnik/Eggman which ever you prefer has open a new Amusement Park in space. Each planet is made of a different attraction. But things are not as they seem. Eggman has kidnapped a race of aliens called Wisps, he plans to use their power for his own gain. It's up to Sonic and Tails to rescue the Wisps and destroy Eggman's park once and for all.
Gameplay - If you are familiar with Sonic Unleashed, you should feel right at home. The game plays from the 3D and 2D perspective. Players will be able to use the Wii Mote with Nunchuck, Gamecube Controller and Classic Controller. There are 7 planets in all with each having 6 acts and one boss fight. The only complaint is the levels are short, some can take you to 2 minutes to 3 minutes max. However the game is back to basic, no werewolves, no transformations, no over the top Sonic friends to annoy you. Just Sonic going through these well design levels to reach his goal. Throughout the level Sonic will need the aid of the Wisps. The Wisps will grant Sonic special abilities to help Sonic progress through the level, during the Wisps mode you will use the motion controls and it works really well. The game is easy but very enjoyable. The level designs are beautiful, you will be dazzled by the design of the Starlight Carnival. Finally this game has a unique way to unlock Super Sonic. The Game Zone is where players will be able to collect the Chaos Emeralds. This is really cool because this is where multiplayer comes in, you and your friends can join together and complete the challenges needed to obtain the emeralds. I love the design of the game world, because let's just say it has an 8-Bit feel to it. This is the Sonic game you have been waiting for. Here is a list of Wisps provided by Wiki.
Wisps
White Boost – Allows Sonic to boost at any time.
Cyan Laser – Turns Sonic into a laser which can bounce off surfaces and travel through power lines.
Yellow Drill – Lets Sonic drill through soft ground and water. Sonic loses a life if he is still underground when the power-up runs out.[15]
Orange Rocket – Blasts Sonic upward to tremendous heights, followed by a sky dive back to solid ground.
Pink Spikes – Turns Sonic into a pink spike ball which sticks to walls and ceilings. He is also able to "spindash" to gain more velocity with this wisp.
Green Hover – Sonic can hover and perform dashes across lines of rings.
Blue Cube – Sonic is able to switch blue blocks and blue rings, opening new routes. When using it and landing on ground, nearby enemies can be destroyed.
Purple Frenzy – Turns Sonic into a berserker that chomps through anything in its path, and increases in size every time it eats an enemy or obstacle. Interestingly, this wisp had been corrupted by negative energy, thanks to Dr. Eggman. The same thing happened to the Violet wisp.
Gameplay Video
Graphics - The graphics are good. This is a great looking Sonic game. Sonic Colors is a very colorful game. However there are some levels that make you cringe. I found the water level to be ugly to look at. You didn't get the feel that you were underwater, but just surrounded by blue stuff. On the flip side of the coin, the Starlight Carnival and Tropical Island levels are a wonder for the Wii. The environment really shines and comes to life in these levels. You would want to play these levels over and over again to look at the details. There were some hiccups in movement in certain areas, but it didn't happen when I played it a second time. It could of just been my Wii.
Sound - This soundtrack brings me back to the Sonic feel I had as a kid. It's fun, energetic and describes Sonic's personality and the world he's in. Unlike Sonic 4's music this one has life in it. I really love the 8-bit music in the game world :). As for voice acting that is another story. Sonic voice is a hit in miss depending on the scene. I personally still think Urkel was the best voice for Sonic. However the voice is not bad, but it's not epic either. I just felt it was missing that attitude. Tails on the other hand I enjoyed. Tails voice wasn't that whiny, high pitch voice we always hear. This tails sounds confident, bold and just enjoyable to listen too. Eggman sounds the same as always and thats how we like him.
Replay Value - If you are perfectionist you will want to get an A rank on everything. There is tons to do and tons to see from Super Sonic to the Game Zone. Not to the mention the game is just fun and you will want to play it over and over.
Final Grade B+/8.5 - Sonic is back in glory. Mario might have to watch out if Sega keeps this up. Good Graphics, smooth simple gameplay, no annoying extra characters. This is what we want Sonic to be simple, fun and exciting. Final Grade is a B+/8.5.
