Tag: Sonic Colors

Video Games

RE Review: Sonic Colors for Wii

Robert CarnevaleLeave a comment

RE Reviewing season is back, folks. As I look upon my earlier works, I realize my original takes on Sonic’s adventures sounded like something out of a *insert negative place here*. So, I’ve got two re-reviews in mind, starting with Sonic Colors, my first review ever. Thanks to Colors, I would later become the reviewing wonder we all know and value today, so what better a game to re review?

Story: Eggman abducts aliens. Sonic stops alien abductions. Giant epic final boss on a space bridge.

Sound: From the title song to the orchestrated final boss theme, the music is fantastic. I still listen to it today, and enjoy every awesome track this game has to offer. It’s got the perfect blend of pop/techno mixed with real instruments. Sound: 9/10

Presentation: The first few seconds of the first level are on par with any Xbox or PS3 game, but after that the whole SD factor of the Wii starts to take its tole. Graphics are good, but could’ve been sooo much more if only they’d reached an HD console. On the bright side, environments are super-varied and explosively creative, which is enough to distract from the 480p resolution. Presentation: 9/10

Gameplay: A little too 2D for my tastes. The platforming itself feels a little dull, and there’s so much of it that the minimal time spent in 3D feels revolutionary, even though it really isn’t. With that said, it’s still a fun gameplay experience that gets mixed up by the Wisp power-ups, but just isn’t the definitive Sonic experience that Unleashed was. The Wisps feel pretty gimmicky at times, with the cube and hover feeling completely unnecessary. I mean, a third of the time the Wisps have abilities Sonic already had in previous games? Lightspeed ring dash and spindash used to be Sonic’s basic move-set, but now they’re confined to green and pink aliens. Ooookay.
On a better note, the boss battles are fantastic. I like that the fourth through sixth battles copy the formulas of the first battles, because the original three were amazing. This is probably the only game where I replayed the battles out of sheer fun, either for the great 2D level design or the best 3D gameplay in the entire game. Gameplay: 7.5/10

Multiplayer: Do you AND a friend have a need for speed? Well, Colors has you covered. Now, both of you need to be good at the game or it’ll pull a New Super Mario Bros. Wii and kill off the slower one of you, but as long as you’re both fast and relatively good at platformers the two-player levels will be a fun diversion from the main experience. Multiplayer: 7/10

Length: The story lasted like four hours. Not cool. On the bright side, there’s hours and hours worth of collectibles outside of the initial runthrough, and Super Sonic as an unlockable was genius, so all going through all of the extra effort to collect every hidden item is well worth it. Length: 7.5/10

Overall: Sonic Colors gets an 8 out of 10. It really was a good Sonic game, just not the mind-breaking revolutionary one that critics called it. For that, look to Sonic Unleashed, my next RE review. For a blast from the poor grammar-filled past, look here for my original Sonic Colors review!

The Scrap Yard

Review of Sonic Colors for Nintendo DS

Robert Carnevale4 Comments

Although it isn’t the newest game, I thought it was one worth checking out. So is this older title a gem that sparkles even now, or is it just another missed opportunity of a Sonic game? Read on to find out!

Sound: Well, similar to the Wii version, this game sports an amazing soundtrack that is as amusement park-esque as it gets. Aside from that, the DS version even has a sound test menu for listening to specific songs, not to mention an amazing and DS exclusive “Reach for the Stars” 8-bit (or 16-bit?) remix. Sound: 9.5/10

Presentation: Same exact graphical style of the Sonic Rush games with almost no visual variation except for when wisp powerups are active. One thing I particularly liked about this version though is that there are loads of stage specific gimmicks that just look right in place with the level and really add on to the theme of that location, which is a nice touch that the Wii version could’ve used a little more of. Presentation: 8.5/10

Gameplay: Again, Sonic Rush rehash. The wisps are fun powerups that make gameplay feel slightly varied, whether it be cyan laser bouncing off walls of red burst popping all over the screen (red burst and violet void being DS exclusive might I add) but other than that it’s the basic boost to the goal gameplay that Rush had. With that said, if you liked the Rush series this will be right up your alley, even with the somewhat gimmick-y feeling wisps. I guess the reason the wisp powerups just don’t feel good in this version is because the controls are slippery and the wisps just don’t feel very powerful. One last thing to mention is that I especially like the DS exclusive bonus at the end (I won’t spoil it) and I really wish the Wii version had had something like it. Gameplay: 7/10

Multiplayer: A really fun versus mode, quite a bit thicker in content than Generations for the 3DS. A lot of tracks and modes are sure to keep you and a friend busy for quite a while. And you can even play against a computer! Multiplayer: 8.5/10

Length: I completely wrecked this game in under two hours, no joke. But after blazing through the story, there’s also the red rings which are given almost no incentive to get in the DS version. So yeah, other than the addicting gameplay factor this game should be done within the time it takes to watch a standard-length movie. Length: 3.5/10

Overall: Sonic Colors DS gets 7.4 golden rings out of 10, being a nice handheld addition but still lacking in both content and gameplay in comparison to it’s console big brother. I suggest you get both if you can though, because they both have their unique and enjoyable quirks.