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Sonic And The Secret Rings from Sega of America, Inc.
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Rating:  
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Our Editorial Review
Product Description Sonic and the Secret Rings gives you Sonic action in a completely new setting. When Sonic reads the book of Arabian Nights, a Genie comes out and tells him the last few pages are missing! Using his magic, the Genie transports Sonic into the world of the Arabian Nights. Embark on his most outrageous journey to date through an expansive 3D world brought to life with realistic water reflections, light bloom, and lifelike physics.
Customer Reviews
AWESOME!!!! Posted 14 March 2007
This game is a huge amount of fun. With all the complicated video games of today, this is just fun. The controls work amazingly. Anyone who likes fun games, not shoot-em-up games should get this one.
Sonic is mostly back, but not completely Posted 11 March 2007
Sonic, after a long vacation of none speed oriented games (excluding Sonic Rush) is finally back and ready for some fast moving action. Although not perfect, the controls definitely add something and do respond to your motions almost immediately. The graphics are colorful and fit Sonic with their cartoony feel. Eggman (Dr. Robotnik) is taking break in this game and the storyline does take a hit from losing its infamous villain, but still is interesting in a deferent way. This game also introduces something Sonic's never done before: minigames.
Storyline:
Some reviewers have jumped on the fact that this game has a weak if not bad storyline. I agree with them, but it's still a good game even if it does have a bad storyline. Sonic has never really had a great storyline, but it did have a good one. This game's plot is that an evil sorcerer is taking away the pages from the 1001 Arabian Nights. The Erazor Djinn, as he is called, is the villain. The cutscenes that reveal what's happening next in the plot are shown in a comic-book-like way. This is sort of cool, but I'd rather have the classic 3-D animation type. The plot is sub-par, but that is no reason to hate the game.
Gameplay:
The gameplay is smooth and uses the Wii-mote well. You move Sonic by tilting the Wii-mote left or right to make him move left or right on the screen. The game turns for you so you just have to move left and right to avoid obstacles. As you get used to the controls you can control Sonic more easily and allow him to gain more speed. Speed is what Sonic games are supposed to be about and the controls really capture this. To jump you press the 2 button and to use the Homing Attack (Sonic jumps in the air and lunges forward to attack a nearby enemy) you jump then shove the Wii-mote forward as if tackling the enemy. All this works smoothly and responds well to your actions. The only thing I don't think works well is walking backwards. When you miss an item or something and you want to go back, you tilt the Wii-mote backwards. For some reason it doesn't pick up this motion, and even if it does it doesn't allow you to easily keep going backwards. I found myself twisting my wrist as far as it can go to get him to move and keep moving. Altogether the controls mostly consist of tilting the Wii-mote in the direction you want Sonic to go in and generally work well.
Level Design and Music:
Each individual level is designed well, but you must replay the same course multiple times while trying to complete different missions. Because each level is designed quite well this is okay, but a little more variety in levels would be nice. There are only really 7 totally different levels each with its own song, single song. By the time you've played the course 10 times, you have probably memorized what it's like. Luckily the obstacles change and the enemies move, but unluckily the music is the same. The first time I heard the music I liked it, but after listening to the same song twenty times in a row I got really tired of it. The music is good, but nothing special. I really liked the music in Sonic Adventure 2, and was hoping for more of that, but this isn't as good. Okay music is replayed way too many times and the levels are recycled over and over, but each in its own is good and is okay to play multiple times. This game makes you play or hear them a few too many times though.
Replay Value:
This game has many unlockables, and many secrets, but there isn't really a good reason to get them. Sonic gets experience after every level and every once in a while grows a level. If he beats a level and gets more secret items he gets more experience. When he grows a level he gets skills. These skills allow him to do new things, like start the level with a few rings, make his homing attack range longer, and many other things. Very few of these actually help you, so there really isn't a point to get them.
Minigames:
The minigames are addictive and fun, but the AI (artificial intelligence) is terrible. Most minigames are quite fun and great for groups of people, but a few are boring and stupid. The AI is horrible, but sometimes when you're playing with a bunch of people it's fun to watch the CPU mess up so badly. In one minigame you're supposed to play a violin. In this minigame the CPU players will squeak and hold notes WAY too long until its impossible for you to lose. Even though this is hilarious, if you want to have any challenge in the minigames you're going to have to play with your friends, not CPUs.
Overall:
If you like the classic Sonic games you'll probably like this one. Even if you've never played Sonic games before this is a very good game and uses the Wii-mote well.
Pros:
-Gameplay uses the Wii-mote well
-It's easy to go fast and have fun speeding through levels
-The music is good
-The levels are long
-The minigames are fun and funny
Cons:
-Music is played over and over
-Levels are recycled
-Storyline is boring and bad
-The AI is horrible
Sonic steps up Posted 11 March 2007
Sonic hasn't aged very well. His fast, hyperactive youth has long since been replaced by mediocrity and disappointment. Once an A student, this hedgehog was sent to the counselor and in need of serious changes, lest he be shunned further away from his gaming peers. SEGA and Sonic Team seem to have done just right with their little blue guy; Sonic and the Secret Rings marks his first appearance on Wii and he shows a lot of promise and improvement.
Our hedgehog friend is awakened one day by a genie named Shahra. Her dilemma is that the Erazor Djinn is erasing pages right out of the book Arabian Nights, and without Sonic's immediate help, Erazor will destroy the story in the book and begin dominating Sonic's world. The story is a departure from the typical Dr. Robotnik schemes of the past, but familiar characters make an appearance in the Arabian-themed world. Unfortunately, the story doesn't take advantage of Wii hardware as much as it could. Similar to Elebits, Red Steel, and Trauma Center: Second Opinion, the majority of the story is told in artistic frames rather than real-time scenes.
Sonic's disappointing line of recent games have shared similar problems; bad camera angles, terrible controls, and uninspired level design have since been thorns in his shoes. Sonic and the Secret Rings fixes this problem by being much more like the hedgehog's two-dimensional adventures. In fact, it is accurate to say that the game plays like the 2D games, only turned forward so that Sonic is running into the screen rather than to its side. Using Wii's motion-sensing controller, all of the gameplay is done by turning the remote to its side and tilting it, pressing buttons to jump, brake, and activate special moves. Moving Sonic around the screen as he constantly runs forward is a breeze, and feels similar to but better than games like Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam and Excite Truck. Not all control mechanics work so well, but I'll get to that in a second.
The gameplay is fleshed out in Adventure Mode, which features seven different worlds and more than 100 missions to play. Missions range in difficulty and ask different things of Sonic. Some simply ask that he reach a certain point, others have him collecting rings, defeating enemies, or racing against the clock. As Sonic completes missions and earns experience points, he can earn and equip different skills that let him become an even more agile character. These skills vary in utility: some expand Sonic's homing attack range or increase the smoothness of his running and sliding, others aren't as useful and allow him to do things like hop backward and harm enemies. Adventure Mode is quite deep and offers, at the very least, 15-20 hours of gameplay. Earning gold medals on all of the missions would take much, much longer.
Sonic's only gameplay flaws come from some of the inconsistent mechanics. Sonic's homing attack is sometimes wild and uncontrollable and often sends him flying past enemies or objects that he's locked onto. Jumping is done differently here than in any other Sonic game: rather than pressing the 2 button to send Sonic into the air, Sonic has to "charge" his jump with the press of the 2 button. This makes jumping a heinous task that it shouldn't be. Moving backward at any time during the game is particularly annoying, since the camera doesn't reverse or even pan out to allow for an improved view of what's behind Sonic. Stoppage in the fast-paced action is abrupt and sometimes forced; for example, the camera mechanics and level design go hand-in-hand. Some obstructions were intentionally placed in the levels to slow the game down and allow the camera to catch up; this certainly detracts from the fast sense of speed and seems like a cheap way to put in difficult jumps and platform sequences. These gripes actually don't harm the overall experience much, but they come along and are definitely worth mentioning.
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is the only Wii title to date that looks better than Sonic and the Secret Rings. Sonic's Arabian surroundings vary in design and detail. The levels are all quite different in theme, and therefore look nothing like each other. The floating sky levels, sandy deserts, the pirate ships-they're all fun to look at and run through. Special effects are done very well for the most part. Unfortunately, the soundtrack is among the worst in video games. I'm not sure why Sonic Team and SEGA are adamant about featuring such crummy music for their spunky character, and Sonic and the Secret Rings has quite possibly the most annoying background menu music I've ever heard. Fortunately the voice acting isn't as miserable as it has been in the past and the sound effects are appropriate.
Sonic's Adventure mode isn't the only noteworthy feature: there's a four-player party mode that has around 40 mini-games to play. It's a very nice addition to the game that would almost make a fine game on its own; in fact, the only multi-player games on Wii that offer more are Rayman Raving Rabbids! and Wii Sports. The multi-player offering doesn't ever feel shallow, either-in my experience, the game lasted for quite a lot of time and never ceased to be entertaining.
Sonic still isn't quite up to grade with his peers, but at least he's managed to get around the harsh reprimands of his critics (mostly). Sonic and the Secret Rings is a great addition to one's Wii library. I'd hope that in the future, SEGA and Sonic Team work on improving this formula rather than that used in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 Sonic the Hedgehog title. Sonic on Wii is much more entertaining, accessible, and most of all, fun.
A Very Frustrating Game Posted 10 March 2007
This game had promise. I was dying for a new game on the Wii and what better game to choose than one starring Sega's long-time mascot? Boy was I wrong.
This game is incredibly frustrating. The controls are very clunky. The camera angle changes without notice. I had to force myself to play it. There was no enjoyment in playing the game. The enjoyment came when I completed a few levels so I could stop playing.
I wish I could add more to this review but all I can do is shake my head in disgust.
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