Sonic and the Secret Rings Critic Reviews

It has points where you must grind for levels much like an RPG. It’s also not for people with short attention spans, and its difficulty at times (just a touch below Sonic Riders’s learning curve—you’ll have to practice stages over and over to get them right) makes it not for people who give up at challenging games easily (poor folks). Still, none of these points makes this entry any less valid.

After several attempts to modernize Sonic for the 3-D gaming landscape, Sega has taken a big step back in their approach, and that's a good thing.

The classic sensation of speed, coupled with some of the best locations, makes this Sonic game one of the best additions to the series in a long time.

An encouraging sign that good Sonic games can still be made. I had a tremendous time exploring the different stages and the skill points add a bit of depth to an otherwise straightforward game.

Polished and entertaining, but not without moments that make you scream and curse your slumsy playing. This is a great Wii start for a franchise we'd given up on years ago.

By no means perfect, but it's still a fantastic game that finally gives the blue blazer the sort of fast-paced, slick action he deserves. It's tricky to master but once you do it really shines.

Sonic Team has taken Sonic, put him on rails, added a ton of variety, and made something that is definitely worth a rental. Some might find it too short to be a purchase, while others may just enjoy playing the levels over and over again with different setups in order to unlock the many goals available.

For those who have gotten tired and/or fed up of the Sonic series, SATSR offers enough improvement in the gameplay to warrant some serious consideration.

This is a game about Going Fast and Jumping, and, at last, its designers have realised that that's exactly what we want to do with Sonic. The Going Fast is brilliant, the Jumping is fantastic, and we have big smiles on our faces. Sonic is back.

An almost triumphant return to form, Sonic and The Secret Rings at the very least creates the sense of urgency that's been missing from recent Sonic titles.

Sonic finally delivers what the fans have been waiting for - simple, speedy action!

While the mini-games aren't great and there are still a few niggles when it comes to trial and error gameplay at times, there is finally a real reason to be optimistic for the future of Sega's mascot for the first time in a long time.

The finest 3D Sonic game to date, and for many, that is reason enough to warrant a purchase...Unfortunately, it is also a game hampered by ear bleeding music, a terrible camera and an unrefined control system.

The game is full of flaws in both game and level design that are sure to push your patience and raise your blood pressure. That being said, when the game works like it should, it is a hell of a lot of fun.

Sonic and the Secret Rings delivers an excellent sense of speed and plenty of depth, and what's just as impressive is that it makes Sonic fun again.

Frustratingly fun. By that, we mean it’s frustrating how fun the game can be, before it hits a part that’s decidedly the opposite. The sense of urgency the series is known for is definitely in-tact, and the first few runs through each level can be a blast. But you're forced to play this game with precision to move on, and the controls simply aren't there.

Overall the multiplayer experience is sort very vanilla. This is mostly because the games don’t feel very innovative and the formula itself has been done more than Paris Hilton by the Mario Party series and other Wii mini-game titles like WarioWare and Rayman Raving Rabbids.

Although Sega deserves praise for Secret Rings' innovative single-player adventure, the less said about the four-player party mode, the better. It's another low-budget "Mario Party" rip-off that stretches out a few weak gameplay concepts into multiple multiplayer contests.

The controls are a little rough and can be quite frustrating at first, the camera can be a pain, and the level design is pretty basic. However, the reflex-based gameplay effectively brings Sonic back to his roots, and the experience can be quite fun once you get used to the controls.

The game is tough, and not in a good way. You better tighten up that Wii Remote strap because you will feel the urge to throw the controller through the television, especially early in the game, before Sonic gets a lot of his abilities. But once you get Sonic up to speed, the game is fun, but still really challenging.