So, Robotnik finally builds Eggmanland for the third time, but this time it's IN SPACE! As Sonic and Tails rides the Space Elevator up (no really) Robotnik pulls a Dr Wily and announces it's to make up for his past. But of course, it's all a lie as Sonic and Tails discover that there are aliens being held captive. Despite talking in Earth Punctuation and Random Captialised Letters, Tails builds a translator and the aliens decide they like Sonic so much they want to be one with him and phase into him.
Holy crap, is this really the plot? It didn't seem so bad when I was playing it, but man. Anyway.
The game plays like most other DS Sonic games. You've got the dual screen play field, rails to grind, speed rings and the ability to boost (which Sonic apparently forgot how to do until aliens probed deep inside him) What is different this time round is the other powers the aliens bestow unto Sonic. These are:
- Red Burst: This turns Sonic into a fireball, which you can use to explode all enemies on screen, destroy certain barriers and fly (somewhat unpredictably) through the air.
Orange Rocket: This turns Sonic into a rocket, shockingly enough. With it you can shoot straight up in the air, and float down slowly afterwards.
Yellow Drill: Sonic = Drill. You can dig through soft dirt and swim through water. If you don't get out of the dirt in time, Sonic will be buried alive. Wow, dark.
Cyan Laser: Because green wasn't cool enough. This turns Sonic into a laser beam where you have less than a second to set his projectile angle before he zooms off bouncing against the walls and hitting diamonds to change angles. Or into bottomless pits.
Violet Void: These are supposedly aliens Robotnik turned evil somehow. The guide warns that they bite, but they're just like any other alien. They also turn Sonic into a gaseous cloud that swallows everything in his path. Not really a 'void', but hey, whatever works.
The acts are beautifully designed in my opinion. Yes, they're all amusement parks, but the different themes really work and don't feel gimmicky at all. There's a few special areas (like hanggliders, rollercoasters and... a giant robot with hotdog... okay whatever) but they are relatively quick.
Finishing an act with 50 rings gives you the chance to try a Special Stage, and I've got to say, this has to be one of my favourite Special Stage styles in a long time. Modelled after Sonic 2's Special Stages, Sonic runs three laps around a half-pipe filled with three different coloured balls to collect: Red, Blue, and Yellow. First Sonic has to collect as many red balls in one lap, then blue, then yellow. The trick is, if Sonic hits a blue or yellow ball before he's meant to, he knocks it right out of the course, making it even harder to get the necessary required number later. Fortunately, there are rainbow coloured balls that can be collected at any time.
The game also has missions, side quests that aren't important where you have to meet certain requirements like, collect 250 rings, defeat 20 enemies or complete a stage starting with roughly 10 seconds on the clock and having to find extra time as you go. These missions don't cost lives if you fail, which is probably just as well. Oh, and in case you thought Sonic and Tails were the only ones in the game, these missions are where everyone else ever show up and tell you to win. Yes, even Blaze and Silver.
One thing I liked were the enemies. Yes, you'll see Egg Pawns mainly (including one bastard who takes three hits but he's a rarity) but they've bought back a couple of enemies of old. Remember the Bee badnik from Sonic 2? How about the Shark Bot from Sonic 3's Hydrocity level? What's more awesome is some of the unlocked artwork even show these earlier games being used as reference models for the game.
The boss fights are pretty fun and inventive in their attacks too. You fight them the old fashioned way and home attack away at them when the time comes, or you can try some tricky moves, and cut the fight short by utilising the aliens' powers when you can.
As per standard fare for Sonic games nowadays, Robotnik is the second-to-last final boss. The final boss is someone we've never even seen up until we have to fight it. And to be honest, the fight isn't really all that great. It's more tedious than anything. And when Super Sonic decides to turn up the boost and spend half a minute closing in on his target, this trip somehow fails to use up any rings. It's like the developers were afraid of us losing.
And really, this is the big problem I have with the game. It's too easy. I have here a game I bought less than a week ago, and I've already finished it, S-Ranked the first area and all the bosses, and I have 82 lives in storage. I'm not really sure what to do with it right now. Should I spend a few more days S-Ranking everything and unlock all the artwork? *shrug* I could, but that'd just feel like busywork.
In closing, it's a fun game, but far too easy. I wondered why the game was only $50 brand new. Now I know why.
6/10
