(WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS!)
Pros: Great graphics; wonderful music soundtrack; controls are easy to learn; game runs at 60 fps
Cons: Adventure Mode is gone; the characters in both Hero and Dark side in Story Mode are dopplegangers; Knuckles/Rouge stages are very difficult and time-wasting; English voice actors are HORRIBLE; camera angles are HORRIBLE; the difficulty in this game is a little too high
Plot summary: When a black hedgehog that resembles Sonic starts tarnishing his reputation and making him a criminal in the public eye, Sonic joins forces with his friends Tails and Knuckles once again to stop him and Dr. Eggman's latest evil plan to take the world. Using a powerful weapon on his great-granfather's space colony, known as the Ark, Dr. Eggman plans to fire a powerful laser cannon on Earth unless his demands are met. Not only assisting Dr. Eggman is Shadow, the evil hedgehog that resembles Sonic, but a female bat named Rouge, who wants Knuckles's Master Emerald for her own desires.
Review: Since this was Sonic's last appearence on a Sega video game console, I had high hopes for this game. Unfortunately, Sonic Team has really let me down. It's not that I hate this game; it's just that Sonic Adventure 2 was really frustrating. As always in video games, graphics come first, and they really look good. The game's stages and backgrounds are detailed and look beautiful, and listening to the game's soundtrack that goes well with the stages doesn't hurt at all. Unlike its predecessor, SA 2 moves at 60 fps in contrast to SA 1's 30 fps. The controls are a cinch to learn, so you really won't have any problems with them. Unfortunately, here's where SA 2 goes downhill.
First off, the Adventure Field is gone, so it's just straightforward with the characters after the game's cinematic cut scenes. Second, unlike in SA 1 where you could play as 6 characters in their own stories which intertwine with the other characters, both the characters in Hero and Dark stories are basically the same characters. Sonic and Shadow have the "traditional Sonic game stages"(the most fun out of the entire game), which include moving at insane speeds and getting from point A to point B. Tails and Dr. Eggman pilot robotic machines in their stages, blasting enemies away in first-person view. It's good, but nothing spectacular. Knuckles and Rouge have the treasure-hunting stages, wich are the most annoying and time-consuming stages in the game. While similar to Knuckles's story in SA 1, it's much harder since the radar really doesn't help that much, and you have to find the specific target in the order from left to right. To make matters worse, the camera in this game sucks. I wish Sonic Team would have worked on the camera angles like they did for the American version of SA 1, because the camera will end up getting you lost or killed in the game a lot. The game's story isn't anything original, but it would have helped a lot if the English voice actors tried to act! They are REALLY bad! They don't even try to act in this game! Fortunately, you can switch the voices over to Japanese. Even if you don't know Japanese, you're better off playing the game listening to the Japanese voice actors than the American ones. And last but never least, this game is HARD, especially the boss fights later in the game. When I play a video game, I want a challenge that isn't so hard that you'd have to be God to beat the game. In short, SA 2 is a major disappointment to the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
My rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Great graphics; wonderful music soundtrack; controls are easy to learn; game runs at 60 fps
Cons: Adventure Mode is gone; the characters in both Hero and Dark side in Story Mode are dopplegangers; Knuckles/Rouge stages are very difficult and time-wasting; English voice actors are HORRIBLE; camera angles are HORRIBLE; the difficulty in this game is a little too high
Plot summary: When a black hedgehog that resembles Sonic starts tarnishing his reputation and making him a criminal in the public eye, Sonic joins forces with his friends Tails and Knuckles once again to stop him and Dr. Eggman's latest evil plan to take the world. Using a powerful weapon on his great-granfather's space colony, known as the Ark, Dr. Eggman plans to fire a powerful laser cannon on Earth unless his demands are met. Not only assisting Dr. Eggman is Shadow, the evil hedgehog that resembles Sonic, but a female bat named Rouge, who wants Knuckles's Master Emerald for her own desires.
Review: Since this was Sonic's last appearence on a Sega video game console, I had high hopes for this game. Unfortunately, Sonic Team has really let me down. It's not that I hate this game; it's just that Sonic Adventure 2 was really frustrating. As always in video games, graphics come first, and they really look good. The game's stages and backgrounds are detailed and look beautiful, and listening to the game's soundtrack that goes well with the stages doesn't hurt at all. Unlike its predecessor, SA 2 moves at 60 fps in contrast to SA 1's 30 fps. The controls are a cinch to learn, so you really won't have any problems with them. Unfortunately, here's where SA 2 goes downhill.
First off, the Adventure Field is gone, so it's just straightforward with the characters after the game's cinematic cut scenes. Second, unlike in SA 1 where you could play as 6 characters in their own stories which intertwine with the other characters, both the characters in Hero and Dark stories are basically the same characters. Sonic and Shadow have the "traditional Sonic game stages"(the most fun out of the entire game), which include moving at insane speeds and getting from point A to point B. Tails and Dr. Eggman pilot robotic machines in their stages, blasting enemies away in first-person view. It's good, but nothing spectacular. Knuckles and Rouge have the treasure-hunting stages, wich are the most annoying and time-consuming stages in the game. While similar to Knuckles's story in SA 1, it's much harder since the radar really doesn't help that much, and you have to find the specific target in the order from left to right. To make matters worse, the camera in this game sucks. I wish Sonic Team would have worked on the camera angles like they did for the American version of SA 1, because the camera will end up getting you lost or killed in the game a lot. The game's story isn't anything original, but it would have helped a lot if the English voice actors tried to act! They are REALLY bad! They don't even try to act in this game! Fortunately, you can switch the voices over to Japanese. Even if you don't know Japanese, you're better off playing the game listening to the Japanese voice actors than the American ones. And last but never least, this game is HARD, especially the boss fights later in the game. When I play a video game, I want a challenge that isn't so hard that you'd have to be God to beat the game. In short, SA 2 is a major disappointment to the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
My rating: 5 out of 10