There are just some silly games that you look on your shelf and realize, "You know, I had a lot of fun playing this when I was a kid. How's it hold up?" And it usually doesn't, but it's still fun to play for the nostalgia factor. One such game, for me, is Sonic Heroes, a Sonic game of course that features almost every Sonic character ever in one game to take on...well...someone. The real villain is a spoiler but there are some hints of who it is throughout the game as you progress.
Is it a good game? Yeah, it's good, not great. It's not one of the premiere video-games of the original X-Box generation but like I said, it's just a silly little game to play if you've got an X-Box or X-Box 360, or PS2. Or Gamecube/ Wii.
You know this game is very accessible, I just realized that. Finding copies of it might be a little difficult, though, given how old it is and what generation it came out in.
The visuals are, I mean, there. It's a very visually pleasing game, as while things may not look particularly good there are still lots of colors that are well-used throughout the levels. And even when you're going at the speed of sound (dare your feet don't touch the ground) as Sonic or Shadow...or Amy or Espio. All the characters are also pretty well-detailed and have their own unique looks. Each world is memorable in its own way for the way it looks, too.
As far as story goes, it's interesting. There are four different routes to go down: Team Sonic, Team Dark, Team Rose, and Team Chaos. Only by fully going through each route and collecting the Seven Chaos Emeralds can you unlock the final stage. The routes are hardly different outside of them just varying in difficulty, with Team Rose being easiest and Team Dark being the most difficult. Team Chaos actually has an interesting story where you have to complete an objective in the mission rather than find the big gold ring at the end of the level, like most Sonic games.
Each team has their own motivations, with Team Sonic wanting to defeat Eggman, Team Dark wanting to find Eggman for answers, Team Rose looking for some of their friends, and Team Chaos acting as mercenaries...ish...working for a mysterious boss. The stories are all woven in a way where they manage to stay decently apart from each other outside of some battles you have.
But those are pretty cool. Having to face off against another team is a pretty unique challenge as you have to knock all three members of the opposition. However, members of your own team are also getting knocked off. So it becomes something of a challenge if your A.I. decides to be stupid and fall off the stage leaving you in a 3-on-1 fight.
Gameplay is something else, though. Each team consists of three members that are all under one category: Speed, Power, or Fly. Speed is mostly used to get through simple enemies, Power is to get through big doors or take down large enemies, and Fly is to basically make sure you don't fall off of anything. Gameplay can be a little frustrating at times since if you'd playing as Speed, particularly Sonic, it's easy to dash and just fly off the stage. There are also certain mechanics like vine-swinging that are particularly annoying (especially if there is a giant alligator trailing you). For the most part, though, once you build up enough speed you can fly through the level like any other Sonic game, since you're not trying to find the path, it's pretty straightforward. In that sense the game is simple.
So while not a perfect X-Box game by any means, it's still a fun addition to the Sonic franchise and was one of the better Sonic games we saw. It's definitely a more unique one given the gameplay--though it sucks that you can't play with two other people to have them control another player but whatever--and it's a very colorful and visually pleasing game. All in all, it's a game I enjoy playing whenever I'm bored and it manages to take up a good amount of time. Sometimes it's very frustrating, sometimes it's a lot of nostalgia. Really it depends on how the A.I. wants to work.
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