Reviewed on Game Cube

SONIC ADVENTURE 2

Reviewed By: Red
VOLUNTEER GUEST REVIEWER
GAME TECH INFO

Computer Platform: Dreamcast
Produced by: Sonic Team / Sega
Price Range: $20-50
Learning curve time: 10 min.
Age level: 8+
ESRB Rating: Everyone

Genre: Action/adventure
Christian Rating: 4 of 5
   (slightly offensive)
Gameplay: 5 of 5
   (excellent)
Violence: 4 of 5
   (barely present)
Adult Content: 5 of 5
   (none)

Sonic in 'Sonic Adventure 2'
Sonic is back for his second high-speed adventure on the Dreamcast. Pumping more speed, textures, power, and performance than it?s predecessor, “Sonic Adventure 2” has been praised as a return to the classic Sonic idea popularized in the dizzying Sega Genesis side-scrollers. Gone are the “adventure” stages, and the complex plot and puzzles. It?s a return to simple gameplay, loads of speed, and many cool stunts.

In "SA2", Sonic has been captured by the authorities that have mistaken him for a sinister Dark (bad guy) hedgehog named Shadow. Sonic must escape military captivity and unlock the secrets behind this mysterious creature who calls himself "the ultimate life form."

GAMEPLAY

“SA2” is actually broken into two games. You can play the Hero (good guys) storyline and attempt to stop Shadow and Eggman?s evil scheme, or you can try out the Dark (bad guys) storyline and play the story as the protagonists. Playing both storylines is great, because you get to see things from a different angle and pickup tidbits that make the story more engaging.

The game has more than 30 stages, and a player gets to use all of six characters through the game. The characters each have their own level style. Sonic and Shadow are typical high-speed romps through complex and beautiful levels. Tails and Eggman get to do it the easy way as they sit in their special fighting robots and basically blast their way through entire levels (trigger happy players will enjoy this, I hated it for the reason it requires little or no skill at all). Knuckles and Rouge will get to explore and dig for hidden objects. These levels are much shorter and a lot more fun to play than the adventure stages in SA1. In SA2 Amy doesn?t get any levels of her own, and is only present in the cut-scenes.

The Chao in 'Sonic Adventure 2' Chao (pronounce “chow”) make another appearance in “SA2” but with some new features. Chao are adorable little blob like creatures that you can raise and breed as your own virtual pets in some really pleasant garden areas. Raise your Chao to be good runners or swimmers and have them compete in races against other Chaos. Their victory might win them some cool prizes or unlock secret mini-games. I spend more time caring for my chow than I do playing the actual game!

VIOLENCE

Minimal. No creatures are killed. The most “violent” elements are pretty tame explosions. Robots fire missiles and characters can sometimes get squashed, but it?s not violent at all. The character merely flickers and drops all the rings he has collected up to that point in the stage. When a character can?t take any more damage, he falls over and the screen fades.

ILLEGAL/HARMFUL BEHAVIOR

All characters have to evade the police more than once. In the Dark storyline, you are playing the bad guys and the law enforcement and good guys are your enemies.

NUDITY/SEXUAL CONTENT

None.

OCCULT/SUPERNATURAL CONTENT

In one of Knuckles? levels you have to search a graveyard. Some levels contain ghost. They are quite innocent, actually--the only thing they do is “hug” you for a short while which creates time delays. Sometimes when Knuckles digs, he pulls up skulls. The Chaos emeralds contain a special power that gives some of the characters additional abilities and is used to power machinery. Not necessarily “magic” by any means.

OTHER OBJECTIONAL CONTENT

The lyrics for Knuckles? levels might offend some parents with their boastful and literal “kick-butt” lyrics. Sonic also says he will “kick some butt.” Sonic has regained his “tough” image, but it?s more admirable and strong than boastful.

CONCLUSION

It?s everything you could want in a Sonic game. The story and ending are OK but by no means as great as "SA1". But the amount of replay ability packed in this game is well worth the cost, as well as the interesting Chao life system.

Also, keep your eyes open for the release of Sonic Adventure 2 on the Nintendo Gamecube console.

Year of Release—2001




Positive—A life long fan of Sega's blue blazing mascot, I loved the first Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast. I got this sequel a few days after it was released. It is a good game, but can be frustrating at times, especially Knuckles' and Rouge's stages. And the boss stages tend to be annoying. Even so, it has good fast paced action, and a good climax. And it's interesting to see how Sonic handles the competition found in Shadow. Sonic Adventure 2 may not be the best in the series, but is indeed worth playing. My Ratings: [5/4]
   —Christopher, age 20


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