Sonic Adventure, as good as I remember
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2010 11:43 pmPlease note that this was reviewed using the PS3, and some things may differ on the XBOX360.
Gameplay (38/50)
It's just how I remember it on the Dreamcast, both the good and the bad. There are a few frustrating deaths from falls through the level, and some of the time goals for bonus emblems are rather strict, but this is outweighed by having six playable characters (plus Metal Sonic with the DX upgrade,) and that these problems are few and far between. The only other real problem that I have found is that the camera can mess up once in a while, but this is from the era when 3D games were new, so I'll cut it a little slack. The mini-games are still just as great as I remember, the Tornado levels and Snow/Sand boarding are my personal favorites. All things considered, I give gameplay a solid 38/50.
Controls (5/20)
This is the biggest problem area with Sonic Adventure for me. The characters move to fast and are to hard to control when delicate platforming is needed, and for characters other than Sonic and Tails, this is pretty regularly. Other than that though, the controls translated to the Dualshock 3 relatively well despite the differences compared to the original Dreamcast controller. Due to the problems related to character speed and control, I give controls a weak 5/20.
Graphics (15/15)
For a game that was released in the early part of the 2000's, it looks amazing. The graphics beat the DS's graphics capabilities, and rival the PS2's graphics. It does have the aforementioned camera problems, but other than that, it is perfect when It comes to graphics, 15/15
Sound (5/5)
The soundtrack is pretty good, but not the focus of the game. It's not annoying or distracting from the game, and the music from the "Press Start" screen is one of my favorite gaming memories form that era, and because of this, I give Sound the highest possible 5/5.
DLC (8/10)
Yes I am putting a DLC section in a review of a re-released Dreamcast game, because it has a $5 DX upgrade DLC. This DLC adds 60 additional missions, more emblems to collect, and Metal Sonic as a playable character. I have not been able to play any of this additional content because it is not unlocked when you download it. I will update this review when I have had a chance to play the additional content, but for now, I give it 10 for having it in the first place, but -2 for not unlocking it.
Summary (71/100)
If you can get past some frustrating deaths, camera issues, and control issues, this is the game that proved "Sonic" and "3D" can be said in the same sentence and not be a joke or terrible to play. If Sega would have refined on Sonic Adventure, fixing the camera and controls, they could have proved that a good 3D Sonic game is possible. Even with all of it's issues, this is still a great game that more or less has stood the test of time, and therefore receives 71/100 as it's final score.
Gameplay (38/50)
It's just how I remember it on the Dreamcast, both the good and the bad. There are a few frustrating deaths from falls through the level, and some of the time goals for bonus emblems are rather strict, but this is outweighed by having six playable characters (plus Metal Sonic with the DX upgrade,) and that these problems are few and far between. The only other real problem that I have found is that the camera can mess up once in a while, but this is from the era when 3D games were new, so I'll cut it a little slack. The mini-games are still just as great as I remember, the Tornado levels and Snow/Sand boarding are my personal favorites. All things considered, I give gameplay a solid 38/50.
Controls (5/20)
This is the biggest problem area with Sonic Adventure for me. The characters move to fast and are to hard to control when delicate platforming is needed, and for characters other than Sonic and Tails, this is pretty regularly. Other than that though, the controls translated to the Dualshock 3 relatively well despite the differences compared to the original Dreamcast controller. Due to the problems related to character speed and control, I give controls a weak 5/20.
Graphics (15/15)
For a game that was released in the early part of the 2000's, it looks amazing. The graphics beat the DS's graphics capabilities, and rival the PS2's graphics. It does have the aforementioned camera problems, but other than that, it is perfect when It comes to graphics, 15/15
Sound (5/5)
The soundtrack is pretty good, but not the focus of the game. It's not annoying or distracting from the game, and the music from the "Press Start" screen is one of my favorite gaming memories form that era, and because of this, I give Sound the highest possible 5/5.
DLC (8/10)
Yes I am putting a DLC section in a review of a re-released Dreamcast game, because it has a $5 DX upgrade DLC. This DLC adds 60 additional missions, more emblems to collect, and Metal Sonic as a playable character. I have not been able to play any of this additional content because it is not unlocked when you download it. I will update this review when I have had a chance to play the additional content, but for now, I give it 10 for having it in the first place, but -2 for not unlocking it.
Summary (71/100)
If you can get past some frustrating deaths, camera issues, and control issues, this is the game that proved "Sonic" and "3D" can be said in the same sentence and not be a joke or terrible to play. If Sega would have refined on Sonic Adventure, fixing the camera and controls, they could have proved that a good 3D Sonic game is possible. Even with all of it's issues, this is still a great game that more or less has stood the test of time, and therefore receives 71/100 as it's final score.
