Sonic Heroes

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Please note : This review may contain slight a spoiler to the game.

After the incredible ending of Sonic Adventure 2, we were all desperate for the next installment. There were so many
questions we wanted answers to - was Shadow really dead? Had Eggman changed his evil ways?

But you won't get your answers straight away. First you have to watch Rouge break into Eggman's base (even though she said
she was giving up being a thief at the end of SA2), free Shadow from a capsule (Shadow, who disappeared...) and then become
a team of three, with her, Shadow and a robot found in the base (E-123 Omega) and then run off through the beach without
explaining any of the story. The plot is extremely confusing throughout the game.

The main difference between Heroes and the other games is that you control teams of characters instead of one at a time.
There are four teams - Team Sonic (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles), Team Dark (Shadow, Rouge, Omega), Team Chaotix (Espio, Vector,
Charmy) and Team Rose (Amy, Cream and Big). During gameplay, you must switch between the characters to overcome obstacles.
Speed characters like Sonic can run along walls and bounce over enemies at high velocity, power characters can smash
enemies and barriers to pieces and flying characters...yep, you guessed it. They can fly over large gaps for a short while!
Fans of older Sonic Adventure games will find it confusing at first, but you'll soon be instinctively switching characters
without thinking about it. The team system adds a new aspect to the game, but sadly it is not as good as single characters.

The storyline goes something like this : Eggman is taking over the world in three days and Sonic and his friends are going
to stop him, as are Shadow's team. Team Chaotix Detective Agency are following Eggman for a mysterious client and Team Rose
are looking for Sonic (who has been framed of stealing from them). The story leads all of the teams onto Eggman's flying base
where they find the real threat, and it's not Eggman!

Like the other games in the series, Heroes has an excellent soundtrack featuring music by the same singers and musicians of
Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, including the brilliant Crush 40. Each team has their own theme song, and there are two new tracks
by Crush 40 - "Sonic Heroes" and "What I'm Made Of" which are well worth listening to.

The graphics for this game are just like the previous hedgehog outings - outstanding. Bright, sunny locations to dark,
haunted castles. The levels are extremely detailed with crystal clear graphics and awesome effects during gameplay (though 
some characters can look a little rough during the stage end sequences).

Sonic Heroes is a worthy addition to Sonic's 3D outings, but only just worthy. The storyline lets it down after the
incredible plots of Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 and the team system wasn't required. The camera angles can get messed up and
affect gameplay sometimes. If these were fixed, the game might just beat the previous two. Oh well, we'll just have to wait
for the next Sonic Adventure (which has been announced as Gamecube exclusive).