RECOM: Sonic Colors by Rocket

Sonic Colors
by Rocket (Contributing Author) | Edited by Mop_it_up (Site Editor)

There's a nice trend on the Wii lately where we're seeing releases of brand new 2D platformers on discs. Sonic Colours fits quite well into this style of gameplay, and although there have been a few Sonic games released on the Wii already, this game proves that SEGA are getting really good at making them.

First things first, the load times are practically nonexistent. You're thrown into the first level straight away when you start a new game from the title screen, which is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

Tails provides tutorials in the game, but before you start you get a prompt with the option to turn him off if you don't want him. He's the only one of Sonic's friends that's here too. You may have noticed those little alien things on the cover of the game's packaging? They're basically powerups with eyes, which is the same as with Mario's powerups. They never interrupt the game's flow.

The gameplay consists of pure running and platforming like the daytime stages of Sonic Unleashed, but finely tuned so that there are much fewer cheap deaths. They put some really good thought into them too - for example, there are a few water levels, but they're less sluggish than usual, and you can carry out mid-air jumps an unlimited number of times while underwater.

The only motion control in this game is giving a quick shake to activate the powerups. Once activated, you're back to using the buttons to carry out what they do. They're lots of fun to use and are handy for finding hidden alternate paths toward the goal.

There are 45 stages in the game. On top of that, there's an arcade simulator mode with a hefty amount of its own levels. They feature red and blue Sonic robots and have the same gameplay as the main levels, and can be played by 1-2 players. This mode is single-screen only, so you can either play cooperatively or the second player can support the first without having anything to lose (like the way Tails could in the old Mega Drive games). They even have 8-bit NES style remixes of the music from the main game's levels, which is a really nice touch.

The cutscenes can be skipped, and the dialogue is noticeably lighter and wittier than it normally is in a Sonic game. The characters have new voices for you to check out and see if you like them.

There's even a challenge mode where you can play all the levels from start to finish without a map screen or a cutscene interrupting you.

Sonic Colours is one of the most focused and non-intrusive Sonic games yet. It's proof that SEGA are ever closer to perfecting that formula of what makes a good Sonic game. They are listening to your complaints!