Sonic Advance 2

"Wayy too short for a Sonic game"

Well, my friend suggested me this game at Gamestop. I picked it up and tried it out. The game was going so fast I thought it was really cool. Then I thought again and didn't really like it as much as I thought of.

Gameplay: 6/10
This is what wrecks the game right here. The game is way too easy. You can easily beat the first act of the first level in under a minute. There are a lot of speed boosts, almost no challenge or obstacles in the game, almost nothing. The game can be a challenge if you decide to attempt to collect all the Special Rings, and if you do you get to play a special stage when you beat the level. But in most levels you can easily memorize the location of the special rings, so that gets rid of the challenge partially. Also, the only character you can pick out at first is Sonic, as you unlock other characters by beating bosses.

The bosses have little to moderate challenge. At the beginning of the game the bosses are really easy, but as the game progresses they get harder and harder. You also travel through 7 levels (excluding the final zone), but the challenge in the later levels increases by only a little.

And, if you have a friend with this game, a GameBoy Advance link cable, and a another GameBoy Advance, you can link up and do multiplayer, where you can race in any level or act that you've played. You can link up to 4 people to have a 4-way race which can be fun. But since the game is too fast and has all kind of speed boosters, it could be a fast, short, but competitive race. But there are items that can slow the opponent(s) down. And with a single pack (where you have 1 game pak, a link cable, and two GameBoy Advances), you can have a race to collect the most links and whoever has the most is the winner. So, the multiplayer ain't too bad itself.

Graphics: 8/10
One of the good parts of the game, the graphics are pretty good. They are colorful and easy to see. Most of the characters look great, the level backgrounds are great and they go with the level, some enemies look nice, and the bosses. There are no main problems with the graphics, just standard GameBoy Advance stuff.

Sound Effects: 6/10
The sound effects are the same old stuff from the Genesis days. The "bloop" when you jump, the sound of drowning, Eggman (Robotnik) getting hit, etc. Nothing really new except the voice announcer at the character select screen, just the same old stuff from an old Sonic game.

Music: 9/10
Another good part of the game. The music is really great. I like the music from the levels "Hot Crater" and "Music Plant". Most other music levels are nice and there's no major problems with the music.

Controls: 8/10
The controls are just the same old stuff from Sonic Advance and the Sega Genesis game. A to jump, etc. The only new real control in this game is the "trick" where you jump off a spring and press R + Up in the air to gain a little more height. It is a bit tricky to do and it took me a while for me to get used to it. When you also start playing Special Stages it's hard to control your character at your first attempt but it's easy to get used to the next time. So the controls are good and they are easy to get used to.

Replayability: 8/10
There's no problem playing this game again. You don't have to start over, as this is on one file, and you can select any act or level (that you have played) from the start to try and get the Special Rings and collect all the Emeralds to unlock new things, become a better player at bosses and such, or for your fun, as the game isn't terribly boring.

Rent or Buy?
Depends. If you are looking for a quick and easy game, this is for you. If you are a true Sonic fan, go out and buy this, but you won't be impressed as much. If you are not a Sonic fan, I recommend renting it first, then buy it if you like it/want it.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/07/04, Updated 12/07/04