Sonic and the Black Knight, set to debut on Wii March 3rd, is the second entry in Sega's Storybook series, the first being Sonic and the Secret Rings. Unlike its predecessor, the game is a free-roaming 3-D adventure, except instead of simply blazing a trail through gorgeous environments, Sonic vanquishes enemies with a sword.
While the concept of Sonic stabbing bad guys brings back horrible memories of the gun happy Shadow the Hedgehog, an imaginative story explains why he brandishes cold steel. After an evil force corrupts the legendary King Arthur, Merlin's granddaughter pulls Sonic into the world of Camelot and asks his help. Unable to resist a quest to save the world, Sonic agrees to smite evildoers and do whatever it takes to restore order to the land. What ensues is a mixture of trademark speed merged with slower paced exploration and combat.
To attack, you waggle the Wii Remote to unleash multi-hit combos. In addition, you can jump into the air and perform diving strikes or go on the defensive by erecting a temporary shield to repel the dark knights and other baddies. If you want to lock onto Sonic's foes, press the B button and watch as the action slows down and the game targets the nearest enemy. Once killed, it'll automatically move to the next closest adversary. Finally, you can hop into a giant crossbow and launch Sonic over castle walls and other hard to reach places.
As you explore Black Knight's 13 environments, you'll rescue civilians, upgrade attacks and acquire up to 247 items. You can then use the WiiConnect24 feature to share them with friends (using friend codes, of course). The game also has an online leaderboard so you can compare scores with the rest of the world, and an offline battle mode lets up to four players compete against each other as popular franchise characters.
After the disappointing Sonic Unleashed and Secret Rings), we can't trust Sonic's newest adventure. Like always, Black Knight represents a new chance for Sega to deliver a game that does its mascot justice. Look for our review next week.
Reader Comments (0)