Furthermore, Sega slows down the action, dropping cacti and rocks onto the path or forcing players to break in front of fire. Sonic still loops through twists and turns. The game contains plenty of speed, but running up a winding path and into a cactus (that blends with the environment) ruins the experience.
Sega even manages to botch fixed camera angles. The opening to the second world, Dinosaur Jungle, transitions from Sonic facing the player to an isometric view, all the while triceratops (not the most mobile of dinosaurs) somehow outruns Sonic. Seeing the dinosaurs puts things in perspective. Not seeing where Sonic should go, on the other hand, leads to multiple continues.
In addition, despite Sonic on rails, gamers still need to watch where he lands. Sadly, the camera doesn't help, pulling way back and rocketing forward just in time to show him hitting an enemy or falling in the water.
To add value, Sega lets players use Skill Points to purchase new abilities, such as Turbo Boost and Pearl Collector. Plus, 40 party games complete the package, allowing up to four people to row boats and whack logs, among other challenges. Moving a character using the remote's d-pad while swinging the controller to smack things, however, doesn't work well.
It sucks, because despite these issues, the game packs a really sweet presentation. The cheesy 80s rock music fits and the environments sport plenty of detail, from Middle Eastern inspired palaces to prehistoric worlds full of man eating plants and humongous dinosaurs. As Sonic runs over the Arabian Nights, the text on the pages disappears. Pillars rise up from the sand and topple over. Spears narrowly miss his head. The game looks great, and the soundtrack's catchy tunes will keep players humming along.
To be fair, Secret Rings plays better than the atrocious Sonic the Hedgehog for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and while the trial and error takes some getting used to, some people will enjoy the special effects and motion controls. However, Sega still needs an intervention if it intends on saving this franchise.
Final Score: 5 (out of 10)
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