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The Sonic Heroes Review Page.  I have committed the ultimate blasphemy! Buying a Sonic game on a console not made by Sega. Eh, but Sonic Team put it there, so that makes it okay, I guess.Sonic Heroes is Sonic Team’s flashy new, high speed Sonic game! For the 1st time, you play as 3 characters at once! This takes some getting used to when you 1st start out, but after a few plays, you should be able to master it! Although originally coming out on the GameCube, the XBOX version is most impressive also and is Sonic’s 1st appearance on this big, heavy, black box of tricks. Despite protests & partitions for a Dreamcast version, the XBOX is already showing slow down in some areas, and although some of the areas could probably be done, the majority of the high detail areas most likely could not. Sonic Team have somehow managed to crack off a PS2 version also, although it apparently only runs at half the frame rate of the other 2 versions. Big & Amy are now once again playable characters, after missing out in Sonic Adventure 2, and new character Cream makes an appearance with her buddy Cheese, the Chao, who also appeared in Sonic Advance 2 (on the GameBoy Advance). There are 4 teams that you can choose to play as, and these are Team Sonic, Team Dark, Team Chaotix and Team Rose. Each one allows you to do different things throughout the various levels. When you first begin the game, it’s a wise idea to try out the tutorial with Omochao. If you’ve played Sonic games in the past, a lot of this will be familiar, but stick with it, and you’ll pick up tips on new techniques which have been introduced into this game. As you play, you control one lead character, who can use the other characters’ presence to their advantage. For instance, if you’re playing as Tails, you will fly above Sonic & Knuckles, and if there are any hovering enemies near by, you can simply chuck Sonic or Knuckles at them from a distance. This also comes in handy when you have to hit things which are over a large gap or over a ledge that you don’t want to go down. When you’re playing as Knuckles, you can execute the triangle dive (I think it’s called,) which has you, Sonic & Tails all hold hands in a special formation that lets you get blown upwards by fans and the like. Knuckles can also throw Sonic & Tails to smash open glass, crates and to attack enemies. This is a huge advantage, when you consider that you can’t lose rings when it’s only one of your buddies that gets hit. Plus if they fall off a cliff or something, they simply come back again. Sometimes you can also save yourself from a tricky location, by switching to somebody else. Some parts of the level have change over gates that automatically change you to the best character for the job, and others suggest which character is the best. Some times it will give you 2 options, especially near multiple routes. Riding down the rail levels can be quite tricky and frustrating if you miss the track, or when you go to change rails, you end up missing and fall off. The trick in changing rails is to press the direction you want to go, then hit the A button quickly. You’ll then instantly zip over to the rail next to you, without having to try and jump upwards and then perfect the landing. One of the most fun levels in the game is Bingo Highway. You roll down huge pinball tables, collect Bingo numbers, zip through colourful transparent “half pipes” and jump over big stretching dice.
Personally, the biggest pain of a level so far is Bullet Station, which bugged me no end. I just couldn’t get the hang of it. Oh well. Frog Forest & the following one after that are a bit painful also. Graphics: Spiffy and colourful are 2 words that spring to mind when describing this. Sonic Team have done a nice job to the look of the game, and the level designs are magical. The characters now look quite shiny in this version — perhaps Sonic & his buddies took a dip at Oil Ocean… which might explain why they skid when they land… 92%
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