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This is the big game every Sonic fan has been waiting for. A true 3-D Sonic game to go head-to-head with Nintendo's big guns. While Sonic R isn't exactly an action/adventure game, it holds enough qualities to make it a unique 3-D racer.

The Game: In Sonic R, you can select from 5 characters. They include Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Dr. Robotnick plus hidden characters. The hidden characters are obtained by collecting chips with Sonic’s face on them. Once the player has collected all 5 chips in the level, they can receive a secret character. Players can also pick up various power ups to increase speed such as the famous red shoe. Each of these characters are balanced out differently. For instance, Sonic is real fast but difficult to control while Knuckles isn't as fast as Sonic, but handles a whole lot better. There are 4 courses ranging from a tropical island to ancient ruins. Each level contains chaos emeralds, which must be collected in order to receive the hidden track.

Play Modes: There are three different modes of play. Grand Prix, Time Attack and VS. In Grand Prix, you have the job of collecting the chaos emeralds and placing first in the courses. In Time Attack, you can practice the course, race it backwards, play a tag game, and collect balloons. Practicing the course in Time Attack is a great way to get to know the courses, considering they’re confusing at first. The backward courses provide a new challenge for each course in a mirror mode fashion. In the Tag mode, you must touch four other racers, which can be challenging. As soon as you think you have one, they stop, turn around, and start going the other way. It gets to be pretty wild! In the balloon mode, you must race around the courses and search for five balloons, which are pretty well hidden. VS Mode is exactly as it sounds. You and a buddy race against each other in a horizontal split screen mode. This mode is somewhat flawed, though, because the field of view is really crammed and there is a lot of pop-in. Pop-in is so frequent, that you can’t see where you’re going and when the obstacles do come in, you’ll hit the obstacle before you can do anything about it. Overall the play modes offer a great variety of challenges.

Graphics: This is where the game truly shines. The polygon models for each character are superbly designed. Sonic and crew look and move fantastically. The tracks are beautifully detailed and show some amazing scenery. Players can expect to run through loops, fall from great drops and soar around bends at insanely fast speeds. In the Resort Island course, you can view reflective water that flows. It truly makes the power of the Saturn shine. Pop-in in Grand Prix and Time Attack modes is hardly noticeable. This is due to Travelers Tales fading techniques. This fading technique lets objects come into view transparent at first and then it fills in quickly. The only noticeable pop-in area is in VS Mode, where the pop-in makes it nearly unplayable. Sonic R displays some of the best Saturn graphics ever seen.

Music & Sound: Sound effects in Sonic R are just like traditional Sonic sounds. Everything from the jump noise to the sound of picking up rings will help Sonic fans feel at home with this game. These sounds come in crystal clear thanks to cd sound. The music on the other hand is a controversial issue. A pop singer in Great Britain performs the songs. The lyrics seem simple and ridiculous at first but it grows on you. You might find yourself singing it in your sleep. The bottom line is you either like it or you don’t. Thankfully for the people who don’t like it, Sega gives you the option of turning the vocals off. I like the music though. I tried playing the game with the vocals off but it didn’t seem right. You be the judge.

Control: At first, the control seems completely crazy. But, before you go off the wall, consider this: Sonic R is a racing game. Treat the characters as if they were cars like in Daytona by holding down B and using the D-pad to steer. This makes it a whole lot easier. You can also use the trigger buttons to drift left or right. This feature helps you take sharp turns a lot better. Jumping is a good way to get ahead of get out of a tight situation. Each character posses their own jumping ability. For instance, hitting B twice makes Sonic do a double jump or it will make Tails fly. The learning curve to get the steering down is steep, but it’s worth it.

Overall: This is a great game with some nice extra features. I recommend this game to any Sonic fan, racing fan or anyone looking for a different game experience. The game is a lot of fun. It’s cool to really be able to test out Sonic’s speed skills against his buds. Unfortunately, these extra features aren’t enough to keep players playing forever. You may find yourself tired with it after you’ve beaten it. However the fun factor and excellent graphics help make this game a nice package.

Ratings

Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 10/10
Music: 7/10
Control: 9/10
Fun Factor: 10/10
Overall: 90%