Sonic Heroes

"X-Box and Sonic...they don't seem to mix...but hey, it's a great game nonetheless."

This game is a masterpiece. Everything in this game screams YAYNESS. Any more YAYNESS and this game would be too expensive to sell.All of the aspects of this game are combined so well together that it should be ranked in the Top 3 of the best games of all time. It's just that good...but not nearly as good as it's GCN counterpart.

Story: 9/10
What is good about this game is that each set of characters has its own story. If you are Team Sonic, you have to go after Robotnik yet again, and if you are Team Rose, you have to find Team Sonic. Team Dark is looking for their past, and Team Chaotix is ''in the game'' strictly for money, which isn't surprising. As you can see, all of the teams have set motives for traveling, which is what makes the game more dramatic and interesting.

Gameplay: 10/10
The gameplay in this game is pure genius! You can control three different characters at one time, which hasn't been done in any other Sonic games before. You have the speed formation, which is where you can go extremely fast. Next up is the flying formation. Here you can fly to unreachable heights and take different paths, along with attacking two enemies at one time. When you are in power formation, you can ride up fans and punch your way through block. Plus, which each level up, you can get your B move stronger. Getting level ups in this game allows your character to do different things, depending on the character you choose to level up. For instance, leveling up a flying character would allow you to kill enemies with your B move instead of just paralyzing them. Plus, the controls are easy to master. All you really need to do is move around, switch formations, and occasionally press the A button. The gameplay goes extremely well with the game's graphics.

Graphics: 7/10
Three words: Not too good. The graphics are really good in this game, but they could have been better. The backgrounds of these levels also looks three-dimensional instead of something painted on. Lots of games have loads of glitches and the graphics are sketchy, but this game has most of these problems ironed-out. There are a few glitches, but most of them are for the better instead of the worse. When I'm playing this game, I feel as if I'm actually in the game; that's just how smooth the game runs. Most games have a certain ''feel'', and this game feels like a masterpiece when it comes to its sound. The graphics, on the other hand, make it seem second-rate. In my opinion, the graphics on the PS2 are better than this.

Music/Sound: 10/10
WOW. The sound and music in this game is absolutely perfect. Sometimes it is hard for me whether to tell if this is game music or I'm watching a band play Sonic music. Some of the music gives me that ''Sonic 3 & Knuckles'' feeling that I haven't felt for a long time. Plus, the music goes great with its surroundings and the voices match the characters of the game almost word for word. I don't think that SEGA could have possibly done a better job in this section no matter how hard they tried, that is, in my opinion. The sound in this game is pure gold and deserves to be in the Top 5 of all Sonic music ever composed. Great job SEGA!

Replay Value: 7/10
This is where the game falls. This game is pretty long, fun, and challenging, but after you do beat it, there isn't too much left to do. There are very few extras for one-player and the two-player mode, which has about half the frame rate as one-player mode does, gets nearly all of them. I am disappointed in this, but there is some replay value due to the great cinema and awesome challenge this game presents.

To rent...or to buy...that is the question.
Hmm, now what could possibly be my final recommendation? If you are not a Sonic fan , you should first rent the game. If you are a Sonic fan...WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!! This game is a MUST have! You would be crazy not to get it. Trust me, you won't regret it. But please, if you have a PS2 or a GCN, get the Gamecube or PS2 version, because both systems have better graphics than on an X-Box, in my opinion, of course. ^_^

FINAL SCORE: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/03/04, Updated 02/09/04