Reviews by Derron

Halo Reach serves as a prequel to the Halo series, and it's the end of the line for planned Halo games from Bungie. I don't remember exactly what material the Marathon games on the old Apple computers covered, as they are ancestors of the Halo series, but for 99.9% of the people playing Halo games, Halo: Reach will be the beginning of the story, an unavoidable tragedy that would see to the events that occur in the numbered Halo series games.

For being a prequel, you will have to realize that Halo Reach goes back in time with some mechanics, such as the life meter. Your shield will replenish, but the underlying life meter won't regenerate, unless you find some healing items. This will bring us back to Halo Combat Evolved days, and it feels comfortable despite being a step backwards in time. Weaponry and armor designs are peeled back a little bit as well, but not to the detriment of the game. It has a classic feel, yet the polish remains from years of updates.

The campaign is possibly the best yet, adding more of a human element to cutscenes and battles, with extra NPCs accompanying you at times, and a better attention to voice acting and direction. Some battle areas are really opened up, which may seem odd at lower difficulties, but you'll appreciate the space in Legendary or solo Heroic. Enemy AI is vastly improved - I hid behind a rock to reload, and the enemy elite engaged in a strafing method of trying to get to the edge of where he could shoot me and then be out of my line of sight. Other times, enemies would turn attention away from me and fire on teammates and then turn back to me, prepared for my return fire after regenerating my shield and reloading. Enemies just seemed smarter, and harder. I don't feel like Halo approaches the tactical appeal of other shooters like Gears or Call of Duty, but you will need proper teamwork at times.

Multiplayer is chock full of modes - you have all of the classic styles that you would want, it's easy to hop in and out of various gameplay modes, and Firefight is back. Firefight is essentially the World at War zombie mode or the Gears of War horde mode. You saw it in ODST, and it returns and could probably be a top tier game and million copy seller all on it's own. At this point though, you know what Halo multiplayer is and what it's all about and if you liked previous versions, you will like this one. You also start off many game modes with a choice between starting weapon kits, which is nice if you're not a fan of certain weapons. There are also abilities which are defaulted to the left bumper, typically sprint is what you'll start with, but plenty of times there are moves like Armor Lock or jetpacks, etc.

There are little perks for doing well, as you unlock armor upgrades that you can buy to customize your look, as well avatar achievements, normal XBL achievements, commendations, and daily challenges. Even if you're tired of Halo, there's enough to keep you going for a few weeks. The ranking system feels a bit more old school as well, you just accrue points towards ranks ahead of yourself, as opposed to ranking up and down. The matchmaking system seems to be more in the background than as the leading rank system like it did in Halo 3, if that makes sense. Forge mode is back and amazing with Forge World. This is already heavily polished compared to Halo 3, it's much better, and after I play with it more I will update the review with expanded thoughts. Halo 3's Forge was fun to mess around with, but not great for making actual levels, but that's not how Forge World feels at all. Sure, you can mess around a little bit, but that's not really how the approach to it comes across.

Halo: Reach is the definitive Halo game, it takes the strongest gameplay elements from the original Halo game, and adds the polish and refinement from the rest of the series. If there was one true negative I'd put out there, it's that the maps aren't quite as good as previous Halo games for Slayer/CTF modes.

Well I have to say, it was not what I expected. I'm a huge Bionicle fan (doesn't top Sonic though) and a hard-core gamer and I was hoping for a good Bionicle game. I'm not saying it was terrible, but I'm not saying it was good either. The story wasn't too bad. Though they got a few things wrong and left a couple of things out, it made sense and kept things flowing. The characters still pertain their primitive selves and the voices are pretty good.

It's actually a pretty fun game, but very short. Each hero (or Toa, if you know Bionicle) has his/her own unique abilities and missions. And of course, everyone loves to play their favorite characters in a story, so the game gives you a new sense of your hero and actually lets you be your hero. For some people, good graphics are just icing on the cake. As long as it has good gameplay, the graphics don't really matter. But for me the graphics and gameplay must mix so the graphics are o-k.(for the Gamecube at least) The background scenery is very nice and the characters look good too. The sound was ok too. No complaints here. I never got annoyed by them, but I wasn't that impressed either.

Not much replay value though. I mean, you can go back and attempt to collect more lightstones, but besides that you really don't care to play it again. A couple of levels are fun and might have some replay in them. Conversion of the game I think is the most important aspect of the Bionicle game. Did they stay loyal to the fan-base and how well did they pull off taking Bionicle and putting it into my Gamecube? Eh... The characters looked nice and not many parts of the figures were changed. Some animals dramatically changed form, but I can understand why they did that. The village leaders looked a bit weird, but the movie really switched their parts around also. So in this area I think they did alright. But in the story conversion... I don't know what to say here. Were none of these people working on the game even slightly familiar with the story? Don't get me wrong, they were accurate in some ways, but mixing the rahi and bohrok sagas, leaving out the Bahrag queens, putting krana in rahkshi, and giving Lewa yet another pronunciation of his name are just too much.

Usually a game like this would only be liked by those that follow the story, but even us fans didn't care for it too much. I'd say it's a good rent for some, but a buy for others.

Sonic's back in one of his finest outings to date. The graphics look a lot better than the Dreamcast version, the worlds have more depth and realism. On top of that, the character models have also been improved to match Sonic Adventure 2: Battle's models. Also, the lighting is improved. This makes Sonic Adventure DX a visual treat. Now on to sound. As with every Sonic game, both the major and minor details are beautifully executed, from every bouncy jump to every "bling" sound from whenever you hit a ring. The music in this game is epic and describes the feel of each level well. The music is so good that I'm thinking of buying the soundtrack. And this time around, the music seems louder than the sound effects, which is nice. It's true what they say, the sound is improved. The 50 bonus missions is a big load, and one that I greatly appreciate (more missions means more re-play value). And including a little something for whenever you collect emblems is what Sonic fans want. Visuals, Sound, and Bonuses are the high points of this game, yet control slides slightly under them. Control has been slightly enhanced, but not to the point where Sonic fans have wanted it. As with the Dreamcast version, the visuals don't fall apart even when hammered by extreme speed, and the moves of each character are very responsive. Yet, there is a minor slowdown at high speeds, which is hardly noticeable but could've been easily fixed. Another unfortunate side effect is that this game is very glitchy. Like falling somewhere your not supposed to while your running or jumping, it could result in a constant un-escapable tripping or falling. This is the greatest downfall in the experience next to the, sometimes, god awful camera angles. They control better than in the original using the L and R buttons, but they still screw up in some areas and are hard to fix (like while climbing a cliff as Knuckles). These are bad problems that damage the overall game and shows that Sonic Team rushed many parts. Still, the story and fun of this game almost overrules every problem, and this game is a classic hit to me. This is one of my favorite Sonic games and one of my favorite games, but it could've been better.

Sonic Adventure was the best launch title on the Dreamcast when the system was released in 1999. It was a return to form for Sega's supersonic hedgehog, who went downhill after the release of Sonic And Knuckles on the Mega Drive.

The gameplay in Sonic Adventure is split into 6 type, Speed, Race, Hunt, Evade, Shoot and Fish. Each of the six character's use one of these types of gameplay, There are 11 action stages and 3 'adventure fields' in the game, the adventure fields are a central hub in which all 11 action stages can be accessed from. The adventure fields are like RPG's you talk to locals and find clue to where the next action stage can accessed from, also all boss battles take place in the adventure fields. The action stages are different depending on character selected, whereas you play the whole Emerald Coast level as Sonic, you only get the first section as E-102, and the middle section as Big. Also the stage varies on the type of gameplay, Sonic's stages are built for speed whereas Tails stages will feature elements to help you get ahead of your rival and Knuckles stages are huge area in which you have to hunt pieces of the Master Emerald. The controls are easy to remember as you have a 1 Jump button and 2 action buttons and you character is controlled by the analog thumb stick. However, there is one element of the game which could bring this down, that is the camera, which occasionally can get stuck behind scenery or would pan far out when you are trying to make a perilous jump, you can reposition the camera to behind your character however as soon as you move the camera jerks back to the original position. Also the collsion detection can go funny sometimes and you plow straight through a wall and fall to your doom, this has only ever happened to me once, but if it happens repeatedly, you could get frustrated.

The graphics have aged since its realease on the format, however the still look good when the game is run in 60Hz. The levels are rich in detail, take the first level Emerald Coast, when you are running along the beach section's you can see Dolphins leap out of the water, during the Killer Whale chase you can see the pier being smashed up behind you. Also the grass is quite detailed and you can tell that Robotnik's base is metal and dirty. The main character models also look pretty good, as does the monster chaos. However, the people in the adventure fields aren't pretty well drawn, like early PSone games, you can see the character's joint's and there is not alot of details with the face's, although the show that the game is Japanese. Most of the games cutsceanes are done using the in game graphics engine, although the FMV opening looks good, and it is from this that the cover of Sonic Adventure DX originates from.

This is a shocker for a platformer, Sonic Adventure acually features a Storyline other than stop Dr. Robotnik getting his hands on the chaos emeralds. Although this does pay a part in the story, the game centres on a Monster called Chaos, who Dr. Robotnik has realesed, to destory the city of Station Square. I won't tell you anymore but Sonic Adventure's features a good story, and is certainly better than Sonic Adventure 2's.

Sonic soundtracks have been over the year's pretty consistant, and Sonic Adventure's is no exception to this rule. The music is perfect, each character has a theme which sum's up their personallity, also the music over the action stages are good as well. Each stage features 2 or 3 tracks, which sound pretty similar. The classic sound effects are here, although the BOING! effect is missing. The voice acting is o.k. but in places can sound dodgy.

Sonic Adventure's main game features at least 15-20 hours of gameplay, but a few mini games based around some elements seen around the action stage's add to this. Plus there are 130 Sonic emblems to collect. But the biggest minigame is the Chao raising game. In this minigame you use small animals collected in the action stages to enhance you chao's abillty and then race them for prizes such as emblems.

Sonic Adventure is a classic Sonic game. It features the right elements to make a perfect Sonic game but adds extra's such as the adventure fields. Though the graphics have aged, this game is one of the best Dreamcast titles ever released.

“Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis” is a re-release of the original Sonic game to celebrate the hedgehog's 15th anniversary. Given that the game is already available in recent collection form on the consoles, is there anything special about a re-release of only one game? Unfortunately, not only is this the absolute worst version you can find, it also stands as the worst Sonic game of all-time. Since it's a direct port for the most part, the game looks identical to the Genesis. The first thing you'll notice is how the Score, Time, and Rings counter look scaled down in size, making it look like a Game Gear Sonic game in presentation. Also, since the game is now on the tiny screen, you won't see as much around you as you did in the original. This can pose a problem, especially when you're trying to make vertical movements in some parts of the game. But, the biggest drawback of this rendition of the game is the slowdown. It's especially annoying since it occurs so often for no reason at all. In fact, very rarely will the game ever run at normal speed, which actually makes the game become almost unplayable. Playing through the underwater Labyrinth Zone where going underwater naturally makes Sonic move around slower, combined with the persistent slowdown, is quite possibly the most frustrating experience I ever had to go through in a Sonic game. As with most SNES to GBA ports, the music usually goes through a slight downgrade due to the GBA's inferior audio capabilities. Although this is a port of a Genesis game, it still goes through the same process. The soundtrack comes out weak, and annoying for the most part. Most of the sound effects, such as when Sonic jumps or defeats an enemy, are actually different and are of lower quality than they were before. There's actually the option to turn off the music and sound effects when you start the game, which may already be an indication of problems to occur. So, I already mentioned how frequent the slowdown is, and how it pretty much destroys the game. Does it get any worse? Controlling Sonic on the Genesis was simple. You always felt as if you had complete control despite running at high speeds. And timing your jumps over certain platforms was always a smooth and simple transition. I don't know what went wrong here and how they managed to screw up something so simple, but playing Sonic on the GBA just feels inconsistent. It seems the developers messed around with the physics, making everything feel awkward at times. Sonic will pick up sudden bursts of speed out of nowhere and have difficulties coming to a complete stop all throughout the game. It just destroys the flow of the game and makes it a chore having to play through this way. Although the addition of being able to spin-dash is neat, it doesn't really fit in since it's never really needed as the levels were originally designed without it in mind. If you actually manage to play through the game, you'll unlock the “JukeBox” mode. Basically, it functions as a sound test where you get to listen to all music within the game. You could also play through any of the zones once you've completed the game since the game now has an auto-saving feature. The problem with this though is that you cannot specify which level you want to start from, only the zone itself. These don't really count as extras since it was already available in the original through a certain cheat code. You could also play through either the “Original” or “Anniversary” modes. Difference? You could spin-dash in one while you simply can't in the other. That's it. The GBA will mostly be remembered as a platform consisting of ports from older systems, mostly from the SNES. Some games made faithful transitions, while others came short. Sonic the Hedgehog for the GBA is easily one of the worst I've seen. Along with the fact that it's an incredibly butchered port, there's just no value to the game even at the low price point. Considering that there's already a Sonic collection consisting of all four Sonic games on the consoles at the same price, there's absolutely no real reason at all to get excited over this butchered version of one game.

Sonic the Hedgehog has had a rough existence as of late. Sure, he's starred in better games such as Sonic Rush for the DS and Sonic and the Secret Rings for the Wii, but past stinkers like the supposed revival of the franchise in Sonic the Hedgehog for the PS3 and 360 and the odd Shadow the Hedgehog have done the series an injustice. However, Sega has decided to go back to basics by giving Xbox Arcade users a perfect port of the original Sonic the Hedgehog in Sonic the Hedgehog Arcade. Sonic the Hedgehog Arcade differs from the Wii's Virtual Console version of the original Sonic romp by giving players the ability to play Sonic in HD, compete against their friends to see who can obtain the highest score on the leaderboard, and finally a personal favorite for achievement whores everywhere-- achievements. There's nothing like being rewarded for speeding through Act One of the Marble Zone in under 80 seconds to prove you're a good player to your peers. For those who have never touched the original Sonic the Hedgehog-- and by touched I don't mean bestiality-- I pose two questions to you: 1) Do you call yourself a gamer? 2) What are you waiting for? Regardless, Sonic the Hedgehog was Sega's answer to Nintendo's Mario. Of course, message board frequenters continue to debate over which is better to this day. Which makes me understand why I don't wish to frequent message boards anymore. Nonetheless, Sonic the Hedgehog had players going through multiple zones (essentially zones are just different themed areas each with their own set of enemies, obstacles, and challenges), speeding through loop-de-loops, bashing the evil Dr. Robotnik's bad bots, collecting rings-- the life force of Sonic the Hedgehog, and clearing stages. Each zone has three acts. These acts are simply levels. At the end of the first two acts is a goal signpost. Pass the goal marker with fifty or more rings, and you can enter the Special Zone. The Special Zone takes players into a vertigo-inducing area where Sonic-- as well as the whole level-- spins in a ball. The aim of this zone is to locate and pick up the Chaos Emerald. However, if Sonic hits a flashing red GOAL orb, the blue blur gets transported out of the Special Zone and back into normal gameplay. At the end of every third act is a boss battle with the villainous Robotnik-- or Eggman as he's called nowadays. Robotnik will always have a new accessory to his robotic flier allowing him a new means of attacking Sonic. Sonic's first encounter against Robotnik is fairly simple. Robotnik's machine will slowly swing a brown ball and chain from left to right. To beat him, Sonic needs to time his jumps from the two platforms on either side of the battlefield and attack Robotnik's cockpit. After defeating Robotnik in each zone, Sonic will unlock a capsule freeing the zone's animals from captivity, then he will move on to the next of six zones total. As previously mentioned, rings are Sonic's life bar essentially. If Sonic gets hit (which he most likely will), his rings will shoot out of him, bouncing around the vicinity until quickly disappearing. If Sonic becomes smacked while he's without any rings he'll lose a life, and he'll have to begin again either at the start of the current act or at a continue point. Rings aren't scarce thankfully. You can find them as plentiful as Mario's coins. Also, they can be discovered in square capsules. These capsules also hold extra lives, temporary invincibility, and a shield for Sonic allowing Sonic one free hit from an enemy without losing his rings. There's six full zones total to Sonic the Hedgehog ranging from a tropical island to an underwater palace. Each zone has different enemies and obstacles to them resulting in a great range of variety. With six zones each with three acts there's approximately eighteen levels to explore. However, most gamers can breeze through this game in less than an hour. In fact, one of the achievements accompanying this title is to beat the game in less than forty minutes. Yeah... good luck with that. The achievements do give the game some added replay value, competing with your friends on the leaderboard is a nice touch as well. Did I mention yet that this game is only 400 Microsoft points? Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog Arcade is a fantastic XBLA game. This title shows why Sonic the Hedgehog became so popular and rivaled Mario at one time. If you've already purchased the Wii Virtual Console version, then don't bother picking this title up unless you have expendable income. However, those deciding upon this or the VC version should definitely pick up the XBLA game. There's just more bang for one's buck. With added achievements, HD accessibility, and an online leaderboard, Sonic the Hedgehog Arcade is an excellent addition to anyone's Arcade collection.

I thought this game would be sweet, because most of the Sonic the Hedgehog games are. I can't say how wrong I was. The graphics are good, the music's average, the sound sounds like Sonic 1 and 2 etc. But the control is like trying to run a mile run with a Semi taped on your back. The control is that bad and worse. All Game Gear games are hard to control, and this game makes no difference what so ever. Sonic has no brakes, too many pits, not enough rings, enemies seem impossible to hit because of the lousy control. I want you to stay away from this game at all costs. Play with a rock instead; it's way better than this trash. This game is also way to short, it shorter than Sonic 1, and that's short. Dodging the bosses, attacks are almost impossible. Now, before I blow my cap off, and start to get really mad, lets go to the ratings.

Difficultness: 10/10

This game is impossible because of the control. I barely made it past the first stage. This game is only fun with cheat codes and junk.

Music: 7/10

This game is like any other Sonic game. What else is there to say here?

Sounds: 6/10

The sounds from this game were taken from previous Sonic games. I have nothing more to say, other than I am very annoyed by Sonic's jumping sound now.

Plot: 1/10

This game is just like Sonic 1, 2, 3, and all the others. Stop Robonic from taking over the world and turning innocent animals into horrible robots. That's it, and the plot only counts for the instruction manual. That's as far as the plot goes. This is an old plot as far as I am concerned.

Control: 3/10

The control is horrible. I don't think anyone in the world can control Sonic on this game. You will either end up in a pit or in an enemy, the whole time and I really believe this. Stay away from this game at all costs, if you want to live to be 20.

Total: 4/10

With the control, I wouldn't even look at this game if I were you. You would never be able to go back to bed if you do. If you have a choice between rent and buy, I say neither. This game is that bad. I wish the police would arrest this game.

Review by KadeX from [Link removed - login to see]

The fact that Sega managed a fully respectable release of the Mega Drive's lynchpin franchise on the Master System that had long since lost to the NES sometimes leaves you to wonder why Sega couldn't have thought of this game sooner. This down-scale undoubtedly gives that fat plumber a run for his coins, but its only the hardware's strong European market (they do have sense) that drove this later release. Inevitably the lack of blast-processing means the removal of the 16-bit versions signature assets, but this title is far from trying to act like its full fat sibling. Leaving aside some superficial similarities, this is mostly a new offering that even proficient Mega Drive Sonic players would be naive to look down upon.

Sonic's beer-bellied, quasi-genius archenemy Dr. Robotnik makes the clichéd return, pinching magical chaos emeralds and placing them in some mildly secret locations. Of course, that isn't a job finished for the egg-shaped doc, locking up innocent little creatures into silos and manufacturing lots of anti-genius evil machines to torment Sonic on the way. Sonic must beat Robotnik and his and restore peace and goodwill to the island. Not the strongest storyline, but who doesn't want to save the world one more time?

Just in case I haven't stressed this enough, this is not the same game as the 16-bit version. Many features have been compromised to accommodate the lack of juice; the fast speed has been stripped down, moving platforms and the numbers of badniks have been scaled back, whilst features such as loops haven't even made the cut. The levels are a mixture of new zones (Bridge, Jungle and Sky Base) and reworked 16-bit classics (Green hill, Labyrinth and Scrap Brain), downsized to capture only the very essence of them. Green Hill is designed solely for burning through with the odd spike trap, whilst the underwater Labyrinth zone tests Sonic's pea-sized lung capacity and your sanity.

While this 8-bit rendition attempts to pay homage to the original, it still successfully manages to be a different game rather than a mere downsize. The diminution of speed is made up for with the difficulty, as aspects like the hard-hitting badniks and static spike traps make the transposition at the appropriate places. The new Jungle and Bridge zones are ridden with bottomless falls, calling for precise timing. Scrap Brains mazes and flaming obstacles are a reliable pest and Labyrinth zone may force you to an early bath, not just Sonic. It may only take an hour to finish, but this doesn't prevent the absence of taxing parts to plough through.

However, this game doesn't just retain the existing vices; a few new ones are thrown in. Boss battles are significantly harder, as no rings are available plus Robotnik's fetish for firing flame balls may cause death. If you're hit by an enemy, rings can't be retrieved. Chaos emeralds have to be located manually in every zone rather than entering the bonus level, instead you can enjoy a hard levels work in bonus stages filled with trampolines and bumpers to collect extra lives. As long as you previously netted fifty rings. Making the same mistake continuously is very easily done and ultimately game-play has to be taken with caution. The traps and unrecoverable rings suggest this island isn't the kinetic hedgehogs' natural habitat.

The limitations of 8-bit are glaringly obvious in face of the Mega Drive: the originals detailed level backdrops translate to washed out pastiches; and having three enemies onscreen does push the Master System. But this doesn't stop “diet-Sonic” from delivering the core, pick-up and-play Sonic experience, not since his only ability to jump and spin makes for easy conversion to 2-buttons. If your Master System didn't come with this built in (I'd assume you're reading this to appreciate my awesomeness otherwise), this is worth owning. While this isn't a groundbreaking retro classic; it's short and some of the frustrating parts are tiresome, this is undoubtedly ahead of many of its contemporaries. There's enough proof here to silence those condemning this as a 16-bit downgrade, and proves it wasn't just blast-processing that made Sonic. It did help though.

Review by BigCj34 from [Link removed - login to see]

Sonic And Knuckles Collection is a great game. Not much bad parts (except the difficulty at some parts). Here are my opinions on this game.

GAMEPLAY: 9/10
The game is made up of 12 stages, which you can play through as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, or in Sonic 2 Mode, where you play as Sonic and Tails mimics Sonic, jumping when Sonic jumps, spindashing when Sonic spindashes. Bosses are sometimes easy, sometimes hard. After a stage is completed, a sign will fall down. Try to get the sign to land on some white spots in the ground to get a shield. Each character has his own strength and weakness. Knuckles can glide and climb. Tails can fly and swim. Sonic can use special powers when he collects a shield (i.e. turning into a fireball with the fire shield). Through the game, you can enter Ring Bonuses, where you get the blue spheres and rings. If you get at least 50 rings, you get a continue. If you get all the rings, you get an extra life. If you hit a red sphere, you lose. If you get all the blue spheres, you win a Chaos Emerald. When you collect all the Chaos Emeralds, you can turn into Super Sonic with the help of 50 rings. Later in the game you start collecting Super Emeralds. There are, like most games, secrets; keep your eyes peeled for them!

STORY: 9/10
The evil Dr. Robotnik has done it again. He has set off to rule the world! The only thing that stands in his way is Sonic the Hedgehog and his sidekick, Miles ''Tails'' Prower! The evil Dr. Robotnik has kidnapped animals and turned them into robots to try and stop Sonic and Tails, plus he's tricked Knuckles into thinking they've come to steal the Chaos Emeralds! Robotnik seems to be after the Master Emerald. And Sonic needs to get it before him!

GRAPHICS: 9/10
For a PC game, you would expect better graphics. But it's absolutely excellent for a Genesis port. Not much glitches. But still--- keep your eyes peeled!

SOUND: 9/10
Nice sounds. Nice sound effects. And then it's so great how the music gets all cool at a boss fight.

REPLAYABILITY: 9/10
There are somewhere around 10 save files! That is definetely enough for someone to be able to enjoy this game over and over and over again!

BUY OR RENT?: 9/10
Buy. Definetely. This is a very good game, and you shouldn't miss one minute of the fun! If you rent it, you'll find yourself walking back to the rental store (or wherever you rented it from) over and over again!

OVERALL: 9/10
I give the game a nine because...it's... so GOOD! I have seen a little more better Sonic games, but this one in particular is very good.

So, I hope this review helps those who are thinking of buying this but aren't sure!

Review by Mr Potter from [Link removed - login to see]

Sonic & Knuckles is finally here! Originally released on October 18, 1994, Sonic & Knuckles should be in every Sonic fan's number one favorite spot. Containing the best music of the 2D games, numerous references and throwbacks to the original trilogy, as well as a 'lock-on' feature that expands the functionality of the original trilogy (which will be discussed later in this review).

GAMEPLAY:
Sonic 2 expanded upon the original Sonic the Hedgehog, giving Sonic much more speed and the Spinball, which has been in almost every iteration of Sonic since. Sonic 3 expanded upon that with new items and gave Tails the ability to fly along with Sonic's ability to expand his attack range for a second. Sonic & Knuckles furthers the updating by including Knuckles as a playable character along with his ability to glide and climb.

Sonic & Knuckles does a great job at making all three of the characters feel unique and just plain right, for a lack of better wording. Sonic's speed, Tails' flying, and Knuckles' climbing fit very well with the game. Just as well, there is a higher level of speed in this game that really makes Sonic out to be the "fastest thing alive". But along with that speed brings the danger that you won't be able to think fast enough to dodge an oncoming enemy or a pitfall. It goes without saying that playing Sonic & Knuckles requires a lot of attention and thinking, but it rewards the player in fun-factor. Every jump, spin, glide, enemy, and stage feels just right.

The game also includes a 'lock-on' function, which is used by having any of the Sonic games from the original trilogy. It gives the past games numerous new things, such as a new minigame for Sonic 1 and the ability to play as Knuckles in Sonic 2 and 3. This coupled with re imaginings of bosses from Sonic 1 and 2 combine to make one of the best platforming experiences available.

STORY:
Taking place directly after Sonic 3, Robotnik's Death Egg begins to fall to earth after being badly damaged by Sonic. Sonic takes a leap of faith off of the Death Egg and lands in a forest. One step ahead of Dr. Robotnik, Sonic sets out to recover the 7 Chaos Emeralds before Robotnik can use them to repair his Death Egg. Thus begins Sonic's quest.

Knuckles, on the other hand, is thought of by Dr. Robotnik to have no more use to him. Robotnik decides to try and have Knuckles killed by sending a Badnik after him. While this fails, Knuckles decides to get revenge on the evil man who tricked him and who has betrayed him. In a nutshell, that is the story for Sonic & Knuckles.

GRAPHICS AND SOUND:
The 2D adventures of Sonic and friends never looked so good! The animations, characters, enemies and stages are all designed well and are diverse. You will find yourself running, flying, digging, and gliding through forests, a volcano, a futuristic base, an ancient palace, and more.

The music is the best in the 2D series, if not the best in the entire series. Lava Reef stands out in particular. You will not be let down by this game's soundtrack.

FINAL WORD:
Sonic & Knuckles is one of the best platforming experiences available, coupled with a great soundtrack and great 2D graphics. If you like Sonic, classic games, or just want a few spare Gamerpoints, download this title from the Xbox Live Arcade. Do yourself the favor; you deserve it.

Review by Priss Asagiri from [Link removed - login to see]