Metareview: Sonic and the Secret Rings (Wii)
by Blake Snow 
{ Feb 21st 2007 at 11:45PM }
Does The Secret Rings for Wii usher in fresh Sonic mojo? Mmm, not so much, at least according to several early reviews. Granted, critics aren't slamming this hedgehog outing quite like they did the PS3 and 360 game before it, but in short, reviews are mixed. Like all over the place from the low 50 to the higher 83. What is it with the extreme variation of Wii reviews? Whatever the reason, here's a sampling:- Gaming Age (83%) - "An encouraging sign that good Sonic games can still be made. I had a tremendous time exploring the different stages and the skill points add a bit of depth to an otherwise straightforward game."
- GameBrink (81%) - "Sonic Team has taken Sonic, put him on rails, added a ton of variety, and made something that is definitely worth a rental. Some might find it too short to be a purchase, while others may just enjoy playing the levels over and over again with different setups in order to unlock the many goals available."
- 1UP (75%) - "Although Sega deserves praise for Secret Rings' innovative single-player adventure, the less said about the four-player party mode, the better. It's another low-budget Mario Party rip-off that stretches out a few weak gameplay concepts into multiple multiplayer contests."
- IGN (69%) - "Sonic and the Secret Rings offers moments of greatness where I find myself caught up in the intensity of the experience and, oppositely, moments where I want to pull my hair out or throw the Wii remote down because of imprecise control or insulting design choices."
- GameDaily (50%) - "Sega delivers inaccurate Wii controls, ridiculous objectives and a bad guy named Erazor. On top of that, it somehow screws up fixed camera angles while attempting to convince the gaming public that a group of rampaging triceratops runs faster than Sonic."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
steve17 @ Feb 21st 2007 11:56PM
god i used to love sonic. back in its fast paced rolly, polly side scrolling glory. what have they done to my sonic???
REUYL @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:06AM
Meh, I'll stick to my good ol' Genesis sidescrollers.
NintendoFanbot @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:07AM
Both Gamespot and IGN's respective writers said in their reviews that it's the best Sonic in 3D thus far, but to many that's probably not saying much.
Game reviews (especially the larger ones) provide such puzzling context.
I really need to see this game for myself.
KC @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:09AM
I bought and played this game for about 4 hours today.
After my play time, I feel its going to be a 8/10 when its all said and done.
VERY solid game.
The only two gripes I have with it are the throw away story and the lengthy tutorial that couldve been placed into one stage.(The tutorial is actually be used to add extra medals so its not all bad).
The music is cool, if you like past Sonic music, the graphics are great, and most importantly the gameplay is SPOT ON.
DO NOT TRUST is ANY reviewer knocks the controls. They work perfectly. Any error someone may THINK they have had happen is on their part. There are even powerups to equip that allow you to move faster and tighter. So any "pro" reviewer that says otherwise hasnt played the game much or plain SUCKS at it. Simple as that.
Speaking of powerup, they add a lot of depth to the game and are fun to use and upgrade Sonic with. Theres alos quite a few unlockables that can be attained with some hardcore gameplayin. The game offers a god challenge especially if you want those gold medals.
Anyway. This Sonic is great. Its different, and in a good way.
I can understand peoples complaints about walking backward, but honestly in this game you shouldnt have been able to do that anyway. High speed twitch action gameplay here folks. Not for gamers who arnt good at the games they play. Again, thats the only reason people would say the controls are poor, because they died one to many times. When you turn ou turn, when you jump(the jump is a charge jump like skateboard/snowboard games) you jump. Homing attack is all about timing, and you can do it when the cursor on the enemy turns red. It TELL you when you can do the attack, unlike the other 3d sonics when you simply had to eye ball it.
Anyway, thats my mini review. The game is great.
Count Chocula @ Feb 22nd 2007 7:26PM
Another slam dunk for the Wiiiiii!
steve17 @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:18AM
thanks KC. nice to hear honesty from someone who actually took it home. i dont trust game reviewers(exept x-play, they give it to u straight and honest).
might check it out someday. when i get a wii. i do like sonic.
tmmoore_nc @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:20AM
I think GameDaily has some issues to work out, with Nintendo, and more importantly themselves. Their review isn't mainstream, and just seem to hate everything just because it's a Sonic game. Has that reviewer ever played a difficult game? They're supposed to be annoying. Totally totally out to lunch.
KC @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:26AM
Sorry for my gramatical mistakes, I was typing quickly :P
But ya'll get the point.
One other note, I haven't tried the multiplayer yet.They sound like they'll be along the lines of the MonkeyBall minigames.
I'd be playing but I'm working tonight. :(
fatchris @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:31AM
In all fairness I think that IGN was way too harsh on Sonic, especially when matt camassina was praising it so much on their podcast (wiik in review), and knocking anyone who said other wise. I mean if you read the review he actually says they were too generious with the previous 3d sonics, and now that sega has gone out of its way to fix that, they shouldnt reward them, not even for changing the entire way the game is played. The worst part? Is that games like ratchet and clank (and their god awful clones for sequels) get better ratings than a company that tryes to breath life into their franchise.
(Id rip on gamedaily but i m sure that them already being part of aol nullifies their cred)
Capt. Castellanos @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:32AM
i'm probably just gonna rent this.
my friend on the otherhand will buy it.
i'm too busy to play any wii games lately.
=(
shame..
oh well, spring+summer wii-ing will rock though.
fatchris @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:33AM
for got to say that i think that the gamespot guy got his review pretty dead on with how the game is.
C.A. @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:38AM
So basically what Gamedaily is saying is "We are losers who have no imaginations, yet we will play games that showcase a super fast blue hedgehog". If you can't handle some fast triceratops maybe you should question first that a hedgehog is being chased by triceratops.
comtar @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:41AM
I just wanna be clear on one thing... Does this game take 2 minutes for a guy to say "Hey"?
Sensai @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:45AM
KC, thanks for the honest review. You probably just convinced me to buy the game, and it will be my first 3D Sonic game ever (well, except 3D Blast...).
Fatchris, I'm unsure that you actually listened to the Wiik in Review. He didn't say much anything about the game, and the only thing he did say was that it was, at times, difficult to control.
Ryan @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:45AM
#9
you do know AOL owns weblogs Inc. right?
Brian @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:58AM
I also bought the game today. It's really a lot of fun, and the "story" parts are nice opportunities to get something to drink. Seriously though, this game has a TON of stuff to offer most gamers, and definitely has an old-school Sonic feel when you're running a million miles an hour up walls and through corkscrews.
It's fast, fun, and I'm really really enjoying it so far. Even if you don't buy it, you should at least try it for a few hours. The story is terrible. Just bear with it, k?
udx @ Feb 22nd 2007 1:03AM
After playing this game, a good part of me thinks this game is addictive. I always want to go back and try getting the gold medals(I actually got a few in the intro stage. I'm waiting to unlock the hidden theaters)
Also, for those who HATE the 4Kids voices, there's the Japanese voices for you guys. XP
Ghost @ Feb 22nd 2007 1:27AM
HOLY SHIT!
A SONIC GAME THAT SUCKS!?
Notify the press!
generaldane @ Feb 22nd 2007 1:43AM
i think the main problem here is that most of those reviewers start playing this game expecting to suck and thats what influences their opinion on it for me personally i usually prefer user reviews because they tend to be more honest (when not written by a fanboy)
mike @ Feb 22nd 2007 3:07AM
Sorry for my gramatical mistakes, I was typing quickly
--
Uhhh
fawazr @ Feb 22nd 2007 3:59AM
I was playing this game all evening and didn't notice this story.
I know people swear by reviews here, but I'm actually surprised by how much I like this game because I typically hate Sonic games. I'm very confused by the harsh reviews, especially considering that many of those same reviewers admit to giving Sonic's less inspired outings higher marks.
I'd recommend the title to anyone for at least a rental.
Ryan @ Feb 22nd 2007 4:22AM
I also bought the game today, despite having worries about being disappointed with it in the same way I was disappointed with Sonic Heroes. However, I have to say that this purchase was one of the best ones I've made for the Wii so far. I've been a long time Sonic fan ever since the Genesis days, and I am very happy this title truly delivers. It's very fun, and surprisingly quite challenging. Some reviews label the game as frustrating, but its really just challenging, which is great to me because most Sonic games are easy anyway. The controls are very easy to get accustomed to, and the tutorial stages really help you out. It's also quite a long Sonic game compared to the other ones I've played (namely the ones on the Dreamcast), especially since I played a long time and still have 5 more rings to collect.
My complaints? Some level design issues (sometimes enemies or traps are unavoidable until you memorize the track), the voice actors do an impressive job but the script seems like it was written for the cartoon, and (while a minor complaint) the varius menus you have to go through until you're playing again.
The camera never gets in the way, unlike previous games, which is really nice. It's a very solid game, despite Sonic coming off of a couple of misses lately. I'd rate it an 8 out of 10 also. Doing the homing attack by thrusting the Wiimote forward just feels so right.
ShaleX @ Feb 22nd 2007 4:32AM
I have to agree with KC, I'm loving the game so far... which i haven't said about a 3D sonic since Sonic Adventure 2. The controls are a bit getting used to.. i mean.. this is the Wii were talking about. But as I've accepted the controllers flaws.. i don't fault the game for it. The Graphics are easily the best i've seen on the Wii so far.. and the game is very enjoyable. 8/10 from here too.
daniel @ Feb 22nd 2007 6:17AM
i have this on preorder its out next friday here in the uk i havent hated other 3d sonics in the past i have sonic adventure on gamecube and apart from the kuckles and rogue levels i like it i think wii reviews have more variation because the controls are so different and some people like that and some dont
Aprime @ Feb 22nd 2007 7:33AM
"best Sonic in 3D thus far"?
Really? Didn't Sonic Adventure get the best score out of all 3D Sonic games?
Aprime @ Feb 22nd 2007 7:34AM
/
Jake @ Feb 22nd 2007 9:08AM
Well, it has a 74% so far which is average for your better Wii games. So, compared to other Wii offerings, this is probably a solid game. Until the Wii has some quality games, most of its users won't really know the difference between this and a AA or AAA title. This is a good thing.
Pawsie @ Feb 22nd 2007 9:39AM
I played the game.. it seems like an OK game.. but I don't think I have the patience for it. I did have a problem with the controller.. and the jump dash.. but the story and everything is fine.
I just hate the forced redundancy of the stages. It makes you go through several of the small stages before advancing to the next world.
But I won't call it a bad sonic game.. it's by far the best 3D sonic game Sega Produced.. There are some bad decisions in the game.. such the decision to put Dinosaurs in Arabian Nights... the confusion that Shahryār is the maker of the book.. and not the wife.. and the lack of a direct ingame explaination of the fire rings..
I'm going to take hte game back, but it is fun to play if you have the patience.
t_m @ Feb 22nd 2007 9:47AM
I think that the traditional gaming press is completely cnfused by the Wii. They don't know how to deal with it.
They are used to rating hardcore games for hardcore gameplayers.. with many sites giving graphics and online-multiplayer a high percentage of the score.
The Wii throws al that out the window. Where do they add points for "using the wiimote to do a cool move".. maybe under gameplay, but not under graphics, or sound, or multiplayer, or any of the other usual criteria.
This tends to mean that you read Wii game reviews and think "that game sounds great" and then get to the end and it gets a 6 or 7.
You could see the same effect when the consoles launched.. so-called gaming sites were giving much better reviews to the PS3 than the Wii.. whereas mainstream news sites like the washington post were saying things like "took them both home for thanksgiving.. no one touched the PS3 but the whole family loved the wii".
honestly, i think the mainstream public GETS the Wii much better than gaming review sites or hardcore gamers. (except hardcore gamers over 30).
JJC @ Feb 22nd 2007 10:08AM
this game is garbage. even more so because its on the wii. besides zelda and mario the wii is crappy...
Scott @ Feb 22nd 2007 10:17AM
Wow JCC, what a great way to determine how good a console is. Good to see a fair and balanced review by you there, and not just your opinion stated as a fact.
Chris @ Feb 22nd 2007 10:26AM
I had low expectations for this game aftert the tons of bad Sonic games, but i had a blast with it last night, and I'm still thinking about it today. That's always a good sign when you continue to think about a game when you aren't playing it. I bought this and Crackdown at the same time and I would rather play Sonic. I like Crackdown a lot, but Sonic is just different then any other game.
The only thing I don't like about it is when Sonic flies up into the air I want to press buttons to make him do tricks. This mostly comes from just playing Sonic Rush, but I think thats a good thing because it means this FEELS like a 2D sonic game in 3D, unlike other Sonic games.
It's pretty cool. If you have any love for Sonic left in your hearts this should be a purchase. If not, a rental, but it is a unique experience and worth it.
Justin @ Feb 22nd 2007 10:36AM
Well I picked up Sonic last night and while at first the idea of going through the levels again to perform different missions seemed tacky to me, after awhile I was really enjoying myself. There is an addictivness to it. I also like the fact that you can do enough missions to open the next level yet in order to fight the boss on that world, you have to complete more missions till it opens up. I must admit also that I get a very old school sonic vibe from this game. Not sure wether its the new gameplay format, the level designs, or what, but I'm loving it :)
Vincent Avatar @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:10AM
"What is it with the extreme variation of Wii reviews?"
It's simple: there are those who are willing to adapt to the Wii's playstyle and controls, and there are those who still go into Wii games expecting 360 and Ps2 style gameplay. That doesn't make some reviewers better than others, but it certainly does make for a difficult time in deciding whether or not to buy a game based on reviews.
I say that these sites need a dedicated Wiiviewer, just to have someone on staff who's playing with the correct mindset to the console. Not biased towards it, mind you, but playing it without the expectation of it to play like any other console on the market.
Pawsie @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:17AM
---GameDaily (50%) - "Sega delivers inaccurate Wii controls, ridiculous objectives and a bad guy named Erazor. On top of that, it somehow screws up fixed camera angles while attempting to convince the gaming public that a group of rampaging triceratops runs faster than Sonic.
I hate to admit this.. but actually that 'was' on my mind while playing the game. Let alone why triceratops where in the story to begin with. I think they tried to do something new regarding gameplay, and it didn't go so well.
t_m @ Feb 22nd 2007 11:53AM
yeah! Triceratops running faster than a hedgehog is just unrealistic!
ssuk @ Feb 22nd 2007 12:19PM
Game Daily are like pissed off 13 year olds. "Whoa, this bad guy's name is ERAZOR!!111. It sucks, bring on GTA PLZPLZPLZPLZ" Although their judgement may be valid and the camera does suck, I believe their score only reflects their bias towards the Sonic franchise and not towards how good the game is.
Still awaiting release in the EU, I cannot say either way, however I feel that the game shouldn't really be compared to like, say Sonic Adventure since the game isn't much like a Sonic game at all, more like Sonic 3D Megadrive special stages with a new twist. Not that this is a bad thing, hell no, but it's not the same Sonic formular which has been carried on for 15 years now.
However, I feel that the series needs a serious change in direction from the likeness of Sonic the Hedgehog on the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. The game was terrible, something I surely hope Sonic and the Secret Rings is not. It's quite funny, the game which everyone was expecting to suck actually turns out to be the game everyone loves and the game everyone thought would rock (Sonic 06) sucked pretty much. Oh how the mysteries of the gaming universe present themselves.
Mr Khan @ Feb 22nd 2007 3:44PM
I am a Wii fanboy AND a SEGA fanboy, so i'll admit i'm a bit biased
But this game rocks, consistently and hard
There are only 2 major gripes in my mind
1. The tutorial, they really could've streamlined that down into 1 five minute stage instead of like 10 thirty second stages
2. The Charge Jumping, i would much rather have had it where you tap 2 and get a regular sized jump, instead of a little hop
Otherwise good, its the first Action/Platformer title to really challenge me right out the gate in a LONG time (games such as these usually start out excruciatingly easy), excellent graphics, lighting, and physics, which proves that the Wii is not incapable of delivering a technically impressive experience, fast paced, throwaway story (sucky story, but leaves more time for the actual game), but the system of missions instead of a linear story allows you to tackle the game at your own rate, and the missions are compelling, if a bit frustrating
Darkness @ Feb 22nd 2007 4:49PM
I picked up Sonic last night, and that game is awesome. I love the way the game is laid out. You can take missions at your own pace and if one gets too tough, you can go back and try another one. I like the difficulty so far and the challenges are great. My favorite stage so far are missions where you can't hit a jar and the missions to get 99 rings.
your momma @ Feb 26th 2007 6:11PM
This game is freaking sweet. How does gamedaily give it a five. Plus, sonic hasn't been that bad in 3d. SA was awesome and the other ones were average. A bunch of mario butt sniffers. Super mario sunshine!!! Give me a break.
Revo @ Feb 22nd 2007 8:03PM
Hmm. The reviews were lower than I expected, but based on the praise you guys are giving it, it seems most of the gripes they have are unwarranted. GameDaily's criticism of speedy triceratops and name "Erazor" remind me of Vlad citing hard-to-read signs as one of the main reasons why Zelda "falls flat".
bj @ May 11th 2007 9:23AM
I have Sonic and the Secret Rings, and it's sort of fun but it's not the best 3D Sonic game in the world. In fact, If anyonwe is still thinking about buying this game, DON'T! It is unlike any Sonic game (both Genesis and 3D). For those who would like to play it, please rent it first. Also, be aware that some critics and fans could be 2D purists who stagnate all over the classics. I'm a VERY dedicated Sonic fan, but I'm just trying to warn those who still are dedicated Sonic fans themselves. Thank you all for listening.