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 It’s a new year, and a new milestone for Sega and its spikey blue mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog. It was around ten years ago that Sonic was introduced to the world through his fast, 2D platformer magic on the Genesis, and Sega and Sonic Team are commemorating the 10th anniversary with the release of Sonic Adventure 2 for the Dreamcast. The second time that Sonic and friends have spun their way into 3D, the sequel hopes to qualm all the problems that gamers had with the original (such as the problematic camera, collision detection and sometimes boring adventure stages), and bringing the series back to its roots by making Sonic faster than ever before.
While Sonic Adventure gave the player a wide variety of gameplay styles due to all the characters that were included (Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, E-102, Big and Amy). E-102, Big and Amy’s areas were somewhat entertaining, but for the most part, they were a rather boring derivative that took away from the speed and intensity compared to the other characters. In Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Team seems to be taking the focus away from not only a multitude of playable characters, and concentrating on the loveable (and not so loveable) characters that we’re already familiar with, like Sonic, Dr. Robotnick, Knuckles, etc. So far we’ve only had a brief glimpse at a new potential entry into the line up: a metallic-looking Sonic that glances down at Dr. Robotnick as he’s moving up in a lift. Gaming Age recently was able to try out the brief, one level demo of Sonic Adventure 2 included with Phantasy Star Online in Japan, and it’s incredible to see what Sonic Team has been able to achieve between the time of Sonic Adventure 1 and 2. Hands down, it’s easily one of the most visually impressive Dreamcast titles out there, with vibrant, lively textures that surround Sonic and his world. Running at a brisk 60 frames per second, there are few problems that can be said about the game, since slowdown is virtually non-existant and few other complaints could be made. Sonic has received a facelift in the model department, especially with his mouth movements, which are made to be more accustomed to the actual words he’s saying, instead of randomly opening and closing his mouth. Likely as a tribute to the 10th anniversary of Sonic, Sonic Team has made the levels that you race through much more constricted this time around, resulting in a more classic feel akin to the 2D counterparts. There’s less searching around, and more zipping around corners, doing tricks off of ramps and hitting the turbo boosters at just the right time. This is definitely an excellent thing, and if the one level from the demo of Sonic Adventure 2 is any indication, the Sonic Team is on its way to producing the best Sonic the Hedgehog installment yet. We won’t have to wait much longer to get our hands on Sonic Adventure 2, since if rumors are to be believed, we could see it hitting as early as February. We’ll simply have to wait and be patient, however, and continue to play the demo over and over in anticipation.
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