Sonic Colours

Sonic Colours, devised exclusively for Wii and Nintendo DS, came out of the blue earlier this year, promising a gimmick-less, smooth experience that’s been absent from Sonic’s adventures for many years. How? By going back to basics. Here we have a hedgehog that can run at a decent speed, jump and slide in a smooth, tight way. Gone is the daunting prospect of our blue protagonist slipping about and tumbling over like some sort of clumsy oaf, and instead we have a solid, precise system that’s almost reminiscent of the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive means of controlling Sonic.

The format is as it was over 20 years ago; head towards a goal, collecting golden rings along the way, all the while jumping onto robotic enemies and carefully leaping over deadly platforms, trying to avoid sneaky traps, plus doing all of this in the fastest possible time. In recent years’ releases we have been locked away in rooms smashing enemies, ventured on treasure hunts, had a tough time poking hordes of enemies with swords and parading around as a "Were-hog". Enough was enough! That said, however, the last decade of entries into Sonic's catalogue has seen some worthy moments, with batches of innovative and involving gameplay, and thankfully these elements have been coupled with classic Sonic mechanics and incorporated into this smooth and worthwhile adventure.

Movement and control has been an issue with the series since when it first dipped its toe into the muddy waters of 3D over a decade ago. SEGA’s hedgehog is far too fast to provide a reliable and, most importantly, enjoyable means of controlling him in the world of three dimensions. Lessons have definitely been learned with Sonic Colours, though, with a tighter, much more precise system now firmly locked down. For example, the rather shaky homing attack introduced in previous games is quicker, more responsive and adds to the experience now, rather than detracting from it. The improvements let you feel at ease with Sonic’s speed, making those tougher situations more accessible. Slip into the inevitable pit of death? This time round it is probably down to a slip of the fingers rather than the fault of glitch-ridden systems found in previous games.

 

It’s not all traditional, though, with SEGA adding an alien race called the Wisps. The almost-always optional power-ups let you transform Sonic by waggling your Wii Remote, or quickly tapping a button if you’re a traditionalist, to let the hedgehog transform into a whole range of different temporary creatures with varying abilities. You will find Sonic drill deep underground for secret cave routes, gently hover upwards to a large tower, cling onto walls or ceilings, as well as transforming Sonic into a fearsome beast. There’s even a Wisp that makes the obligatory water levels far more forgiving.

Whilst the use of power-up Wisps does sound rather gimmicky, these power-ups are more beneficial than a hindrance, and are often completely optional, helping you earn higher scores and find secret paths above and below ground. Most importantly they are good fun to use, making up for the lack of secondary playable characters.

With all these abilities and a solid control system, does the game provide a sufficient enough foundation to use them, though? Most certainly! With five unique worlds that have been stained and dominated by Eggman and his robotic minions, each of these broken down into six lengthy acts (levels) and a boss sequence for each. With more than three acts per world you would expect repetition, but each offers a distinctive and often new challenge; some relying on speed, others reflex and platform based. You will be zipping around loops, carefully pouncing on floating platforms, leaping over and ducking under blocks whilst moving as fast, yet as accurately, as you can. Aside from a handful of minor niggles in design that crop up on occasion, the levels themselves have been carefully crafted, letting players glide through and explore. There is also a surprising lack of 3D play, with the ratio of 3D-to-2D being roughly 20:80, allowing the trickier sequences to be navigated in 2D with more reliable precision, rather than hoping Sonic won’t slip up in a 3D space.

 

Boss battles, on the other hand, whilst varied and different from past games, do tend to be more troublesome and frustrating than the main experience. There is one sequence, for instance, where players must try to pin down a huge robot holding a disc, and another that springs to mind as being quite irksome where the game requires Sonic to run down a rainbow strip in order to thwart a rocket blasting ship.

The whole experience looks and sounds great on the whole, however. With the game exclusive to Wii on the home console front, the development team has had time to give the game a lot of much needed care and attention. The theme park setting is bursting with a huge palette of colour and rich animated detail that provides a large sense of planetary scale. In the distance you can see a bustling world full of moving space cars, swaying trees, balloons, buildings and a mismatched set of pipes, construction and general Eggman evilness. A static backdrop would probably have sufficed, yet Sonic’s world has never looked so dynamic and varied on the Wii. The worlds are complemented by a mixed soundtrack full of cheerful piano riffs, slick guitar licks and even a few cringe-worthy jingles. Each world has three different level sounds, spread over the six levels to provide contrast and memorable backing tunes.

 

The experience is bound together with a handful of cut-scenes, finding Sonic, Tails and their new Wisp friend trying to unravel the mysteries behind Eggman’s fiendish plans. Surprisingly, the minute or so sequences are well written, blending a solid story with hilarious jibes between the three. The characters sound great too, with a new, deeper voiced Sonic, and the slightly more sarcastic tone for his partner definitely being a worthy addition to all the action.

Once the levels, of which there are well over thirty, are completed, the new “Sonic Simulator” lets you and/or a friend tackle a series of levels inspired by the ‘pixel arcade’ look and feel of the classic games. Using a series of Wisp powers and general good teamwork, players will be making their way through over twenty levels of varying difficulty. They may be rather basic, but are still an enjoyable inclusion nonetheless. When playing with a friend it is slightly trickier to manoeuvre, but it is a solid start to what will hopefully encourage future co-operative play in the Sonic World. There are also 180 hidden emblems buried within the single player worlds that add more incentive to building up the ranks, coupled with online leader-boards to boast your hard-earned points and times to the globe. Complete the game to the 100% level and there is even a rather special treat that cannot be spoken about for fear of spoiling the unexpected super surprise...

EXTRA THOUGHTS
Third time's the charm SEGA, and boy did you nail this one! A seamless blend of balanced speed and tricky platforming, coupled with gorgeous visuals and outstanding music, plus cut-scene interactions straight out of a Saturday Morning Cartoon, help to give Colours the pioneering honour of being Sonic's finest 3D adventure. True, a large portion of it is in 2D, and Sonic still controls a little floaty in comparison to Mario's platforming feel, but you won't care when you witness 'Starlight Carnival' for the first time. Mmm...Goosebumps.
- Shane Jury, Cubed3 Reviewer.