Sonic and the Secret Rings

After several attempts to modernize Sonic for the 3-D gaming landscape, Sega has taken a big step back in their approach, and that's a good thing. [Apr 2007, p.84]

The classic sensation of speed, coupled with some of the best locations, makes this Sonic game one of the best additions to the series in a long time.

An encouraging sign that good Sonic games can still be made. I had a tremendous time exploring the different stages and the skill points add a bit of depth to an otherwise straightforward game.

Polished and entertaining, but not without moments that make you scream and curse your slumsy playing. This is a great Wii start for a franchise we'd given up on years ago. [Apr 2007, p.42]

By no means perfect, but it's still a fantastic game that finally gives the blue blazer the sort of fast-paced, slick action he deserves. It's tricky to master but once you do it really shines. [Mar 2007, p.62]

Sonic Team has taken Sonic, put him on rails, added a ton of variety, and made something that is definitely worth a rental. Some might find it too short to be a purchase, while others may just enjoy playing the levels over and over again with different setups in order to unlock the many goals available.

This is a game about Going Fast and Jumping, and, at last, its designers have realised that that's exactly what we want to do with Sonic. The Going Fast is brilliant, the Jumping is fantastic, and we have big smiles on our faces. Sonic is back.

For those who have gotten tired and/or fed up of the Sonic series, SATSR offers enough improvement in the gameplay to warrant some serious consideration.

An almost triumphant return to form, Sonic and The Secret Rings at the very least creates the sense of urgency that's been missing from recent Sonic titles.

Sonic finally delivers what the fans have been waiting for - simple, speedy action! [Apr 2007, p.68]

While the mini-games aren't great and there are still a few niggles when it comes to trial and error gameplay at times, there is finally a real reason to be optimistic for the future of Sega's mascot for the first time in a long time.

The finest 3D Sonic game to date, and for many, that is reason enough to warrant a purchase...Unfortunately, it is also a game hampered by ear bleeding music, a terrible camera and an unrefined control system.

The game is full of flaws in both game and level design that are sure to push your patience and raise your blood pressure. That being said, when the game works like it should, it is a hell of a lot of fun.

Sonic and the Secret Rings delivers an excellent sense of speed and plenty of depth, and what's just as impressive is that it makes Sonic fun again.

Frustratingly fun. By that, we mean it’s frustrating how fun the game can be, before it hits a part that’s decidedly the opposite. The sense of urgency the series is known for is definitely in-tact, and the first few runs through each level can be a blast. But you're forced to play this game with precision to move on, and the controls simply aren't there.

Overall the multiplayer experience is sort very vanilla. This is mostly because the games don’t feel very innovative and the formula itself has been done more than Paris Hilton by the Mario Party series and other Wii mini-game titles like WarioWare and Rayman Raving Rabbids.

Although Sega deserves praise for Secret Rings' innovative single-player adventure, the less said about the four-player party mode, the better. It's another low-budget "Mario Party" rip-off that stretches out a few weak gameplay concepts into multiple multiplayer contests.

The game is tough, and not in a good way. You better tighten up that Wii Remote strap because you will feel the urge to throw the controller through the television, especially early in the game, before Sonic gets a lot of his abilities. But once you get Sonic up to speed, the game is fun, but still really challenging.

The controls are a little rough and can be quite frustrating at first, the camera can be a pain, and the level design is pretty basic. However, the reflex-based gameplay effectively brings Sonic back to his roots, and the experience can be quite fun once you get used to the controls.

At its worst it can be as irritating as its recent predecessors, but when you’re sliding down the back of a dinosaur, skipping gracefully over deadly spikes and screaming through the air on little more than a beam of light the game is immensely fun and rewarding.

Using the Wii remote just feels natural, too, and although it's not a monumental success, this is a Sonic console game you can feel proud to own. It's been a while since we could make that statement.

Because of their speedy nature, Sonic games really necessitate fresh surroundings, and especially in an on-rails game, different locales help to give the feeling that you’re actually progressing. Unfortunately, because of that these forced challenge levels work against the game, and that’s a shame, because otherwise Sonic and the Secret Rings may have very well been that comeback game Sonic has desperately needed.

With a variety of missions and many distinct worlds, Secret Rings provides the fairly solid Sonic game for which fans have been clamoring.

It uses the Wii’s main advantage, the controller, to decent effect – there needs to be a good bit of tightening up Sonic’s response, though.

Despite the backtracking issues, Secret Rings remains an altogether more satisfying platform game than many of its peers. [Apr 2007, p.116]

It's time to either do the right thing or say goodbye. [Apr 2007, p.43]

The missions provide plenty of challenge with a steep learning curve and little forgiveness. Even the multiplayer provides a decent demonstration of what the WiiMote can do. The only truly awful aspects come with the horrendously crafted controls and camera.

Sonic and the Secret Rings offers moments of greatness where I find myself caught up in the intensity of the experience and, oppositely, moments where I want to pull my hair out or throw the Wii remote down because of imprecise control or insulting design choices.

The control scheme could be improved upon, but as it stands, the motions are fairly intuitive and you won’t have a major problem with steering sensitivity.

The camera system remains unchanged and continues to show the action from the same focal point, even as you have to attempt to guide Sonic backwards. This becomes increasingly difficult and frustrating.

While Secret Rings does a decent job at stopping the bleeding caused by the recent 360/PS3/PSP Sonics, it's not quite there yet. [Apr 2007, p.76]

One of the first fun Sonic experiences in some time. The overall experience of navigating through Sonic and the Secret Rings doesn't manage to bring the series back to glory, but at least it gives it some life.

We really do believe it’s a step in the right direction for the much-maligned franchise, and contains a lot of elements that feel like real ‘Sonic’ moments. However, it proves to be as frustrating as it is fun, with several flaws that interfere with one’s enjoyment of the game.

A few dozen mediocre party games let up to four friends compete in unimaginative tasks such as paddling boats or shooting balloons but add little depth to the package.

The control scheme is poor. While it “works” on a basic level, steering Sonic through levels like an Excite Truck vehicle while flicking the remote to attack enemies is, more often than not, a mess.

Sega delivers inaccurate Wii controls, ridiculous objectives and a bad guy named Erazor. On top of that, it somehow screws up fixed camera angles while attempting to convince the gaming public that a group of rampaging triceratops runs faster than Sonic.

Where Secret Rings really falls apart is in level design. Replicating the main mistake of Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Team has put too many obstacles in the way of Sonic as he attempts to zoom through a level at high speed.

For every good moment there's a handful of annoying ones, with everything from the Wii-mote controls to the game structure causing problems at some point or another.

There’s a fine-line between rote-learning frustration and seat-of-the-pants glee in on-rails arcade games, and Secret Rings wobbles either side of it perceptibly, but seldom stays on the wrong side for too long. [Apr 2007, p.81]

Though Sega once again stumbled with this outing, I have slightly renewed faith and am cautiously optimistic for Sonic’s next appearance.

I’d like to get past my seeming bias for the Old Days, but every mistake and death reminds me of some comfortable feature from yesterday’s Sonics that didn’t make it into Sonic and the Secret Rings. Sonic is just too fast for his own good.

From its incongruous RPG-style leveling up to its endless recycling of levels to its utterly ridiculous Arabian Nights-themed story, Sonic and the Secret Rings feels horribly padded from top to bottom.