When Sonic Colours was first announced I admit, I was a big skeptic despite being a general supporter of the series and more accepting than most. To me it alarmed me that Sonic was maybe going to be going in a direction of directly ripping off competitors as well as a variety of other issues I had with it in this blog post. Thankfully when I finally had a chance to check out the game due to a really amazing friend letting me borrow his Wii, my fears about this game had been put to rest and I was given a solid title that any platformer fan really shouldn't miss.



To start this off, this game means business. After pressing start and setting up your save file you are immediately thrust into the first level just like the good old days and while I admit I was disappointed at first not to be presented with a brilliant CG animated intro, I was okay with just getting into the game and going. This game plays very much like Unleashed but don't let that fool you, it has been fine tuned and some of the controls have been changed. I was playing with a gamecube controller so I have no clue really how that handled, but the gamecube controls were really tight and responsive and Sonic controlled well. The homing attack is no longer something you can do on a whim to gain some quick speed, rather the attack only activates whenever there is something for you to target onto. Instead if you double tap the jump button while no enemies are near you can have Sonic do a short double jump instead. The boost is no longer an infinite thing and it isn't as invincible as it was before, instead it requires the power of white wisps that you can find in various capsules around the level. The quick step from Unleashed also makes a return and instead of using the shoulder buttons it was a simple left to right movement. I admit this threw me off at first since I was so used to using the shoulder buttons but once that initial instinct to do so was gone, it worked out pretty well. Sonic was also equipped with the slide again and just like in Unleashed, you use this to get under various walls that only a slide will get you passed.

The game operates with the same 2D and 3D transitions as the previous title although it felt like there was more of the 2D sections than the 3D this time around. This was by no means a bad thing as there were some creative puzzles woven into these sections that the 2D portions could only provide, while the 3D sections were mostly like crazy rollercoaster rides through bright colourful levels. Starlight Carnival was a really nifty experience that had Sonic going upside down and through lit up roads in space, twists and turns everywhere. The transitions are just as seamless as they were before and keep the player interested the entire way through. Each of the six stages have six acts to play through and then a boss battle and for the most part they are all decent sizes and none seem to drag on too long. There are a few quick levels but when they are of this quality it didn't really bother me. That being said, this game is pretty short in the grand scheme of things, despite having upwards of 40 levels to play through. I managed to complete it in about 5 hours, thankfully there is still many things to keep the replay value high such as the red rings which unlock more multiplayer levels, S ranking levels, and speed-runs to name a few. Another good source of replay value is that as you unlock more Wisps as you go along through the levels, you can return to ones you have already completed and discover new pathways to play through.



Which brings us to the Wisps, which are essentially just this games versions of powerups. They do not drastically alter the gameplay but rather supplement it with different abilities you can use to take out enemies or use to get around the level. The best part about them is that they are generally not required in order to beat levels and you can ignore them if you really want to, but they're pretty fun for the most part and the green hover wisp eventually became my favourite since you can use it much like the light speed dash from previous titles to zip through lines of rings. Some wisps are also able to be refilled while in use, such as the drill and hover for example, but some like the laser and rocket abilities were one time use. It also doesn't feel like it is a big ripoff of other titles as well in this department. Overall the Wisps were not intruding on what makes Sonic great and added to the experience rather than taking away from it, so for those worried about this becoming another werehog-type scenario can rest easy knowing that this isn't the case.



The graphics in this game are also top notch with each area standing out from the one before it even though they all have a very spacey theme to them. Each level looks incredible with lots of little details in the background as well as some very spectacular lighting in each stage. To go along with the great attention to the graphics was the audio, with each level sporting three different music tracks. Generally each track I found was repeated twice throughout the different acts, since there are only three tracks versus six acts, but it never was repetitive at all. The music is catchy and enjoyable. The only issues I have with the soundtrack is the vocal themes but I guess that comes down to personal taste there, but I've never really been a huge fan of any of the vocal tracks as it was.

SEGA also swapped out the voice cast recently, which I think was a great move as this game has a very well written script and having it be delivered by better voice actors than they previously had really give this game a push in the story department. Sonic is cocky and a bit of a dick to everyone he comes across and I wouldn't have it any other way. This game is relatively light on story compared to the previous titles, not opting to go the deep and edgy route, nor trying to preach about friendship all the time. Instead Sonic Colours just takes a lighthearted journey through a space amusement park with the simple plotline that you can sum up as "Sonic VS Dr.Eggman".



Overall this is a title that any platformer fan shouldn't miss, but most importantly if you like Sonic The Hedgehog you should really give this game a go. I can only hope that each new release is going to build upon the type of quality and charm that Sonic Colours brings with it, even though I have enjoyed many of the recent titles, this one made me smile from beginning to end.

9/10

Oh, and I swear I'll find something else to blog about one of these days. I do realize my blog has been very SEGA/Sonic centric!