The colors feel so right.
What a journey Sonic the Hedgehog has been through over the years, a journey unfortunately filled with far far too much mediocrity.
It's no secret in the gaming world that Sonic has gone through rough times with not necessarily terrible but otherwise bad, and mediocre games. But all that might as well go out the window with this all new installment exclusive to the Nintendo Wii.
Sega seems to have really listened to exactly what players want and so they brought in their well put together Hedgehog engine first introduced in Sonic Unleashed for all new fast paced action. Despite the game being extremely fast, furious, and hectic, one might be surprised to learn that the game has an extremely strong emphasis on platforming, requiring you to not just run, jump over obstacles, and dodge at high speeds, but to take it slow and use your head.
In truly classic styling, Sonic's adventure includes amazing new "Color Powers" given to him by the help of his new friends, the Wisps who grant a variety of different abilities.
The quality of the story is questionable at best. Sonic and Tails are out to stop the evil Dr. Eggman from using their new alien friends to power his space station amusement park. It's odd, and it gets even odder when you listen to the dialogue with copious amounts of one liners, nods to the audience, and banter from Sonic making him sound like a 1990s cartoon character. It's enough to make one do a facepalm but it's strangely charming considering how Sonic was made a household name with his comic book series, and cartoon series back in the 1990s.
The kookiness of the dialogue and story... it all just feels right, but some might not think so, making this narrative an acquired taste.
Graphically, wii processing power isn't used to it's best with character models, however the environments are a sight to behold; all bright and colorful but thankfully not impairing to gameplay. Needless to say it's such a breath of fresh air in a market saturated with games nesting in the color range of dirt and mortar.
Music is par for the course of Sonic games, utterly excellent; with some fantastic and memorable background music. This music is so good it made this reviewer consider purchasing the original soundtrack.
The games one true shortcoming is that a lot of people will get frustrated with all of the trial and error, which isn't too much of a problem considering that's one of the hallmarks of platforming action games.
Another con to this game is how short it is. There are over 6 zones, with 6 stages each, and numerous challenges to partake in but the main story can be completed in a matter of a day. Level rankings, red ring collecting, and the Sonic Simulator help to lengthen gameplay, which if you enjoy a lot of challenge will give the game much more content, as well as a super special surprise upon completion.
Sonic Colors is a solid game, a must own title for any and every Wii owner. Even surrounded by Mario Galaxy, Donkey Kong Returns, Kirby's Epic Yarn, and Epic Mickey, other wii platform games, this should definitely be near the top of your most wanted list.Read full review
