"3D Sonic works very well."

Introduction
I think every one was excited to play Sonic Adventure when its first screen shots were shown and if they say they weren't then that person was obviously lying. Sonic Adventure was a massive step up over anything we had seen before and just wowed the socks off me. This generation of gaming rarely manages to do that.

Story 5/10
The typical Eggman wanting world domination storyline. With the help of the seven Chaos Emeralds, (Why is it that Sonic and Tails always need to find them in every game? Do they just throw them away at the end of every adventure so that once again they allow Eggman to fail miserably in his attempts to round up all seven and use them for evil? Wouldn't Eggman also jailed for life as well??? Anyway....), Eggman plans to use them to power up a creature called Chaos, and plans to manipulate Chaos in order to rule the world. The story this time though is moved along with cut scenes. They are pretty nice to watch the first time, but when you can't skip pass them the next time you play you'll get annoyed.

Gameplay 8/10
Sonic Adventure really does show the Sonics early potential in 3D. The game runs smoothly and at great speeds. As usual, the main objective is to get to the end of the level as fast as possible, collecting rings and killing enemies. Apart from Sonic levels there are others. Tails requires you to race against Sonic. Knuckles requires you to search for gems. Amy requires you to escape a murderous robot hell bend on capturing her. Gamma requires you to kill enemies bring sown your seconds score. Big revolves around a Fishing game throughout numerous levels. Sonics Casinopolis level is superb and involves two pinball boards, one of which pays respect to another cult Sonic Team title, the infamous NiGHTS into Dreams.

During the game, you'll come across abilities with power up your characters. You'll come across emblems hidden throughout (don't know what they unlock). Upon completion of each level, you'll unlock a second and third challenge respectively allowing the game more length.

My only qualms with Sonic Adventure are the facts that you have to walk around to each level. Kind of like a large open world hub, where all the levels are connected. This really slows down the pace of the game and made Sonic Adventure feel more like a slow and boring platformer than a game full of speed. Plus you have to watch the horrid cut scenes.

Visuals - For their Time 9.5/10 - Now 7/10
Sonics first real outing in 3D (excluding the crappy Sonic 3D Blast). Each level looks fantastic and is a massive step up from the lame visuals the Playstation and Saturn were developing. No longer were characters faces unrecognisable, no longer were backgrounds bland and still, Sonic was vibrant, vivid and jammed with tons of detail and right from the very first stage we are blessed with fantastic animated levels. The first level begins on a pristine beach packed full of parasols and enemies, soon a boardwalk, loop de loops, and visually impressive seas. Later in the level were give a magical sequence of whales crossing each others pathways over the boardwalk before diving back in to the sea. Sonic Adventure provides a feast for the eyes.

Audio 8/10
Audio features a rocking rock soundtrack with the vocal talents of Jun Senoue and his bad ass band Crush 40. The music really does rock and thrusts Sonic in to greater stardom. The voice acting though isn't very good. It's corny, cheesy and the bad thing is that you're forced to watch the horrid cut scenes and so avoiding them is a no go.

Replay Value 6.5/10
SA isn't as infinity playable as its Genesis counterparts. Though the games levels are much fun, they just don''t have that classiness that the other titles have that make them so playable even today. My prediction, Sonic Adventure won't age very well.

Conclusion
Sonic Adventure was the first Sonic game in true 3D. It provides everything you'd expect from his first 3D Adventure. Sure SA has obvious flaws (like the hubs) and they were improved upon in the sequel. In fact, SA provided a great engine for many Sonic games after it, though some of the later Sonic games aren't that great. SA is a great title, is it a classic? I don't think it is.

Pros and Cons

+ Superb Visuals at the time; Sonic looks good in 3D
+ 3D is better than 2D, it just needs a little working.
+ Fantastic, large and very interactive levels, full of action pace and detail
+ Sonic is fast, baby. Oh Yeah

- I hate Hubs. They're so lame.
- Can't skip the mundane, babyish cut scenes
- Boss Fights can be a little too frustrating.
- Every other characters adventure apart from Sonic and Tails' are rubbish as they don't introduce speed.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/03/09

Game Release: Sonic Adventure (EU, 10/14/99)