I was really anticipating this game from the first rumors that came out about it. I loved all the previous Sonic games back on the Genesis. Still do and from time to time I still give em a whirl. Sonic is just the type of game where it never gets old. It�s like a James Bond movie with a lot of popularity and high expectations. When the Dreamcast came I had doubts about Sonic but when I finished playing Sonic Adventure I was wowed again. It wasn�t an easy task to bring back Sonic from the dead and especially in 3D. Nevertheless Yuji Naka and his team pulled it off.
Soon after the thought of the next Sonic came into everyone�s minds. The game play changed dramatically from the previous Genesis games. Sonic Adventure was more of a fast paced running game with a great RPG like fell to it. Many liked it but many also complained it was hard at times to figure out where to go, which in full slowed the game down. So after running a poll on sega.com The Sonic Team roughly had an idea what people liked and what they didn�t. With this set they began work but with a little twist. They actually crossed the ocean to work on this title down in San Francisco. [If you played it you can tell that the game closely resembles some parts of the city.]
If there is to be a theme to both this review and the game it would have to be �difference�. The game is all about the fight between the dark and hero sides. Before in the previous Sonic games you would always play as the hero, Sonic and his friends and try to stop the evil Eggman (aka Dr. Robotnik) from his evil plans. Well those days are over. With the coming of SA2 we are finally able to play as Eggman and have the chance to either take over the world or save it. The story starts off with Eggman freeing an ultimate life form known as Shadow. It was a project his grandfather worked on. Throughout the story Eggman learns more about his grandfather�s plans and finds out about a secret space colony Ark. Soon after our hero Sonic the Hedgehog is chased and captured by the military mistaken for Shadow. With that set the question arises. Will Eggman finally take over the world or can Sonic stop him once again? The choice is yours.
Now this might be a little spoiler here so if you haven�t played the game skip to the next paragraph. I don�t know if it�s just me but I felt that the game turned weird at the end. Sure it was nice and almost a perfect ending. The problem I have with it is that they put too much into it. Now wasn�t Eggman, Rouge and Shadow against Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails? Eggman�s plan was to destroy the planet with the blast all along. Now why did they all of a sudden turn good and turn against Professor Gerald? I know it can be explained that they realized that this type of action would be wrong. The thing is that, that makes them look weak and also ruins the previous point of the game of the hero vs. dark. The evil villains should stay evil. Shadow was a new character and he was confused all along so his ending makes sense. I didn�t like how they got rid of him but hey if he stuck around Sonic wouldn�t be as cool anymore cause everyone would like Shadow better. I also think it would be better if Eggman just left in his little eggship like he always does at the end when he is defeated. All together this was a different ending. Sure it was somewhat surprising but it left you with a feeling off dissatisfaction. It made me wonder now what? Is Eggman a good guy or is he going to turn bad again? I guess it�s what Sonic Team wanted. The difference.
The entire structure of the game is amazing. Anywhere you look you can see just how much work has been put into it. Since this game is a sequel I will compare things to the previous SA game. The only thing I didn�t like was that there wasn�t an opening video in the DC version. All they had was just the logo of Sonic Adventure 2 and the space in the background. I know many people just skip past them and never watch it anyway but I think it�s a great option to have. It presents the entire game and gives you a preview of things to come. O well. The menus are also nicely done. They all have a lot more movement than in the previous game. In SA once you selected an option you would be thrown into it. In SA2 you see all the buttons just fly off. It�s a little thing I know but I found that neat. SA2 still has the tutorial on how to use all the options and the famous Internet Website for Sonic like in SA so that�s nice. Perhaps the greatest thing about the menu is how new things appear once you pass certain stages. After each level you complete you are able to go into the Sound section and listen to all the music tracks that have been encountered in the game. You might remember in SA that once you passed the game you still would be able to replay the levels but in order to see the video clips in between the action stages you would have to play the game from the start. In SA2 due to the complaints, this has also been fixed. Once you beat all the levels you are able to choose a clip from the list and watch it any time you wish without having to start the game all over from the beginning. The one thing I liked more about the menu�s in SA was that they were brighter. In SA2 they are usually dark blue and green but they don�t hurt your eyes so it�s all-good. Menu�s are just menu�s but they do help in making the presentation of the game more enjoyable.
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