Sonic Heroes is all about teamwork. At all times the player is in control of a group of a three characters on the screen simultaneously. There are four teams, each comprised of three characters, to choose from at the start of the game. They are Team Sonic, Team Dark, Team Chaotix, and Team Rose. Each team will traverse the same levels, but will have different objectives to complete. No matter what team you decide to play as, each of the three characters harbors one of three special powers. In Team Sonic’s case, Sonic has speed, Knuckles has power, and Tails has flight. The character leading the group will dictate the powers available at that moment. As you can imagine, the team must be constantly repositioned to successfully explore the levels. Sonic’s powers are wall-jumps, tornado wind attacks, and homing jumping. Knuckles uses Tails and Sonic as punching gloves to break through stone blocks and to kill off ground enemies. Giant fans scattered around the levels can propel the team up into the air when Knuckles is at point and the three join hands. With Tails at the helm he can lift the entire group up in the air to reach new areas. He can also use the Cyclone Attack whereby Sonic and Knuckles home in and attack enemies in the air. Other teams have similar attacks and powers that must be used to successfully pass each level.

While the objectives given for each level may differ slightly depending on the group you’re currently playing as, the overall goals of collecting rings, killing enemies, and reaching the end of the stage remain intact. The familiar sights and sounds of the Sonic universe are lavishly experienced in Sonic Heroes. The textures and frame rate are exceptional and the levels feel like they were ripped right out of one of the Genesis Sonic games, tweaked, pumped up, and then put into 3D. The character models all look great and the sense of speed is perfectly illustrated throughout the game. The level design is by far the best yet seen in a 3D Sonic game, with huge sprawling stages featuring plenty of alternate paths to explore. In addition to the excellent visuals and special effects, the game has that Sonic Team look and sound to it. The menus are extremely slick and the music and sound effects are very similar to those heard in Phantasy Star Online and NiGHTS. Upbeat tunes and a few 80s-like riffs are standard fare in a Sonic game and this one’s no different. The game supports Dolby Pro Logic II and even those of you with standard Pro Logic will benefit from the great use of the rear speakers. The characters are all voiced and offer in-game play advice at key moments. The voice acting is actually pretty good, but Tails gets annoying real quick.

Sonic Heroes is a very fun 3D platform-adventure game. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised upon playing it because the last two games really left much to be desired. The levels are a joy to play through and the team play works extremely well. There are a few blemishes that bring the game down a couple of notches. The first problem, and one that has plagued the entire franchise since it went 3D on the Dreamcast, is the camera. One has to wonder why it’s so difficult to program a camera to properly show the action. Sonic Heroes improves upon previous Sonic games in this department, but it’s still a nagging problem that can crop up at the most inopportune times. I have lost rings more times than I can count thanks to shoddy camera angles that hid enemies from view. The bad camera direction has led to falling off ledges on more than one occasion, and then there are clipping problems that show up when characters get too close to walls. The camera can be repositioned on the fly, but with a game that’s supposed to be all about fast action it’s often difficult to stop and adjust it. Also, there are points in the game where I began to wonder if I was even controlling the action on the screen. There are huge loops and speed boosters littered about the levels that when ran over I could set my controller down and the game would play itself for a few seconds. In fact, a few times when I tried to control the action by pressing directions on the control stick while in a loop the game threw me off the ledge and into the abyss below, costing me another life.

Another small problem is the way the game holds your hand as you play. Littered throughout the game’s levels are signs showing which character should be in the lead at that point. While this would have been fine in the very first level, it’s ridiculous to need them later on in the game. Players are smart enough to figure out when to use which character. If that’s not bad enough, oftentimes one of the characters will pipe in and tell you which character should be in the lead. “Let Tails handle this!” and “Knuckles, can’t you break through this glass?” are heard throughout the game. What ever happened to letting the players figure out things for themselves? Even the youngest players could ascertain how to get past the obstacles in this game after a little experimentation.

Sonic Heroes surpassed my expectations, but it’s still got room for improvement. The bottom line is the game is fun to play and I think the younger crowd will especially enjoy it. I do need to mention the game includes a 2-player racing mode, similar to Sonic Adventure 2. This adds some longevity to the game and is a nice bonus. Awesome audio-visuals and spot-on gameplay (most of the time) make Sonic Heroes the best next-gen Sonic game available. Get rid of the camera problem, put in some truly innovative puzzles and the next Sonic game will really shine.