Sonic Colors Review

Sonic Colors

Publisher: Sega Developer: Sonic Team Platform: Wii Players: 1 (Story), 1-2 (Eggman's Sonic Simulator) Release: 2010 Genre: 3D Platformer / Action Rating: 9.4 \ 10.0: Excellent 

Sonic Colors is my all-time favorite Sonic game. The 3D environments are remarkably detailed, the level design is excellent, the cut-scenes, complete with solid voice acting, are beautifully animated, and the gameplay is excellent. The plot has Dr. Eggman inviting Sonic and Tails to his interstellar amusement park to prove he's given up his evil ways. SPOILER ALERT: He hasn't. He's harvesting the essence of alien creatures known as Wisps to power his park, and Sonic and Tails must free them. Eggman will, however, spout out some of the most humorous amusement park-related jokes you'll ever here. Sonic, on the other hand, will deliver cheesy quips that go to show how much more kid-oriented this entry in the series is . There are seven worlds and a bonus world. The bonus world, Eggman’s Sonic Simulator. This takes place inside an arcade machine, which lets you play seven old-school-arcade-style worlds as a digitized Sonic. You can even play the Sonic Simulator as your Mii (with Sonic’s body), and a second player can join, but not in the main game. The partly orchestrated soundtrack is spectacular, as are the other tunes. This game introduces Wisps, small aliens that give you a powerful ability with the shake of the Wii remote when rescued. They’ve been trapped inside capsules by Dr. Eggman, who is planning to harness their power. There are a variety of Wisps: cyan Wisps, which allow you to streak forward with sound barrier-breaking speeds; yellow Wisps, which let you drill underground and freely speed around underwater without running out of air (at least until the ability wears off); orange Wisps, which rocket you into the sky, followed by you down slowly; Blue Wisps, which cause you transform into a cube and slam to the ground, converting blue blocks into blue rings and vice versa; green Wisps, which allow you to float upwards by repeatedly tapping the A button; pink Wisps, which allow you to morph into a pink, spiked ball and dash up walls, plowing through all enemies in your path; and purple Wisps, which allow you to transform into a purple shark and eat normally indestructible objects. Unfortunately, as you progress, you'll find that the difficulty level is inconsistent. This isn't a very challenging game most of the time, but then there's a handful of mind-numbingly difficult stages that have drastically hindered my progress. This game is almost nothing but fun (and occasional frustration) and I can’t recommend it enough to Sonic fans. Sonic Colors is one of the best experiences available on the Wii, so if you're not a Sonic fan, this is a great place to start.

Ups
Great gameplay
Amazing graphics and music
Excellent design
Awesome color powers

Ups
Those dang difficulty spikes!

ESRB: E Content: Cartoon Violence Price: $49.99 (Retail)