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| Sonic Adventure 2 (rated E for Everyone) Who says the Dreamcast is dead! Sonic Adventure 2 is definitely the best of the series so far. This marks the tenth anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog and this game truly honors the franchise. With six playable characters, a kart racing game, a digital pet aspect sort of thing to it how can it be a flop? Whether you choose to be the good guys or the bad guys you can surely have fun with it. The Plot rolls out like this, the nefarious Dr. Eggman, A.K.A. Dr. Robotnik, has stumbled across some old notes of his Grandfather. His grandfather was also a mad scientist with a huge grudge against the Earth. So he raids a government depot where his Grandfather was once held in search of �Project Shadow�. He arrives only to learn that Shadow is in fact an evil being with a striking resemblance to Sonic. Meanwhile Sonic is captured and held by the Government due to the resemblance. A side story that ties into the Main story is a conflict between the high gliding gem guardian, Knuckles and the gem hunting femme fatal, Rouge the Bat. If that isn�t enough for hardcore fans of the franchise we have Tails returning to counter the evil playability of Dr. Eggman. Both characters drive around Gundam-style mechanical suits. To make the game even better there are hidden character alterations in the multiplayer mode. With collecting 180 Sonic the Hedgehog Emblems, which comes from winning certain aspects of the game. One alternate costume per character, or you can play a whole different character depending on what is selected. With such Sonic Legends such as Big the Cat and Metal Sonic available for unlocking, how can you not consider this a plus? Also with collecting 180 Emblems you unlock a 3-D version of the very first level from the very first Sonic game that was released on the Sega Genesis over 10 years ago. Still say that�s not enough? Well as one more twist you can set text voice in the game back to the original Japanese, I have rarely seen an import from Japan be bold enough to offer the original dialogue. However there are negative aspects. The game isn't d-pad controlled meaning that it relies heavily on analog control to move the characters around the screen. I have said before that an excellent game can be ruined with analog control. The music while widely varied sometimes borders on the edge of teenybopper pointlessness. There are times where the music is terrific, granted, but it is usually catered to those who prefer the annoying teenage sounds of newer alternative rock bands that cater to the boy band audience while also trying to cater to the purists that think that instruments are critical to a band. Lets discuss how it makes use of the Dreamcast's 56K Modem. You can visit the Sonic Adventure 2 main page and download playable aspects for this game. I downloaded a new course for the Kart racing game. The Kart racing feature is there to add the presence that it's still a superior copy of Mario Brothers. Bottom line, is Sonic Adventure 2 worth the time and effort to play it? Well if you are a video game history buff or just a person looking for a way to kill some time, Sonic Adventure 2 is THE way to do it. Not only is it fun but also it�s intelligent, challenging, and emotionally compelling. |
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