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Intro:
Sega hasn’t seen the best of times in recent years. After two failed consoles and growing financial losses, one would expect them to go under like Atari. Luckily, Sega uses its best strengths to outweigh its weaknesses. Its franchises are what have made Sega the household name it is today. Sonic the Hedgehog, Vectorman and Toe Jam and Earl have all contributed to this. If it were not for them, Sega would not be nearly as popular as it has become. Sonic is probably the most popular of all Sega’s franchises. From its 1990 debut to its most recent GameCube remake (Sonic Adventure DX), Sonic has proved that it can stand toe to toe with Nintendo’s Mario. Unfortunately, in the last few years, the Sonic series has hit a few speed bumps. Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 were the first games to launch Sonic into full 3D but the games were far from perfect. Some would argue that they were mediocre cash in attempts to try and sway interest away from Mario. Many of the problems with the game were associated with the poor camera system and often glitch physics and visuals. The music was often too childish for its own good and the games were never marketed to their full potential. So while there may no longer be a Dreamcast or a console for Sonic to call home, they can at least make a few pit stops to other consoles to find out where it truly fits in. Sonic Heroes for the Playstation 2 will take Sonic and his pals on a new adventure that will test the laws of innovation and provide the fresh gameplay that has been sorely missing from the platform scene in recent years. If Sonic Heroes pulls together, then you can expect Sega to be one step closer to a recovery.
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Preview:
The graphics engine in Sonic Heroes is practically the same one seen in the Sonic Adventure titles. The engine is well known for its ability to pump out detailed textures, but character models are simply average. What you might notice is that the environments look a lot more faithful to Sonic games of the past including the famous checkerboard styled loops that Sonic is known to speed right through. Aside from that the graphics and sound seem to be pretty much identical to previous games. One new character to speak of, you might remember her from Sonic Advance 2 (GBA). Most of the changes are in the gameplay of course. You no longer control just one character. You now control a group of three, which are separated in teams. You must use the unique powers granted to one another, so that you can pass whatever obstacles await. Sonic is known for his speed, while Tails can use his tails to fly. This will make for a very innovative twist on a tired genre. The level layout and mission structure is executed pretty much the same way it was in Sonic Adventure 2. You have a light team and a dark team. Aside from these new features, not much is really known about the new game. You can expect the usual mini games, although a Chao raising game has not been announced (although predictable). There are several formations that your characters can form including the Power (Knuckles), Speed (Sonic) and Flying (Tails) formations. This will induce a bit of strategy into the series. So why is Sega doing this? Well when things aren’t going so well, you often turn to desperate measures. Luckily, this is not the case for them. They are taking an old washed up genre and turning it into something new and fresh. There are still a few perks that need to be worked out before its 2004 release, but so far it is shaping up quite nicely.
Facts:
- Play up to 3 characters at once
- Familiar faces including Sonic, Tails and Knuckles
- Updated graphics and physics engine
- Large expansive worlds
- Created by the word famous Sonic Team and published by Sega
- Will Also Appear on the Nintendo GameCube
Written By: Joseph Bennett
Updates:
7/23/03:
As stated before in the initial preview, the characters are split up into teams, meaning that you cannot select who will be in it. Although it is possible for a custom team option to be included in the final release, it is too early to tell. First we have the Sonic Team (not the developers), which is made up of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. Then we have Team Rose, which is made of Big Cat, Cream Rabbit and Amy Rose. After that you have Team Dark which will consist of Shadow, Rouge the Bat and the robot previously seen in Sonic Adventure 1. The final team will be Team Chaotix which is made up of characters from the Knuckles/Sonic comics (and the 32X game Knuckles Chaotix). These teams will probably be compatible will all of the gameplay formations. Hopefully each of the characters will have powers unique to them and not just carbon copies of the basic Sonic Team. Sonic Heroes is shaping up very nicely and might even shock some critics when it is released. VGCITY will keep you up to date on any more information for Sonic Heroes.
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