It seems almost a lifetime ago, but it has only been three and a half years since Sega's industry-shaking decision to become "platform agnostic". Since then, the broken hearts of Dreamcast gamers have healed, and they've moved on. Sonic the Hedgehog fans who have never owned a Sega console (in which case you should re-consider how big a fan you really are) will finally get the chance to own a game featuring their speedy blue friend. GameCube owners had the opportunity to experience (or perhaps revisit) the two Sonic Adventure games from the Dreamcast, which had received considerable criticism for the "Adventure" aspects of the games, such as roaming a stage aimlessly for hidden emeralds. But now, everyone with a next-generation system will be able to give Sonic a home as Sonic Heroes marks his historic multiplatform debut.

Moreso than either of the Sonic Adventure games, Sonic Heroes feels like the true 3D reincarnations of the classic 2D titles. The platforming action is fast and full of the familiar Sonic goodness such as loops and robots as well as the grinding rails introduced in Sonic Adventure 2. In short, the gameplay is very reminiscent of the satisfying Sonic and Shadow levels of the two previous 3D Sonic games, which hardly anyone had complaints with.

The innovation in Sonic Heroes, of course, is that you can control a team of three characters as you play through the levels. Unfortunately, at E3 only a couple levels for Team Sonic (Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles) were unveiled, but there's three other teams as well. Team Dark, Team Rose, and Team Chaotix will all feature other famous characters from the Sonic universe. Actually playing as the three characters is similar to the team mode style of other platformers such as Donkey Kong Country. You control the leader while the two other members blindly follow. Fall into a chasm, and they all follow suit.

Switching between the members of the team is smooth and effortless and requires only the push of a button. The leader of the pack is what determines the formation and attack style of the group, and you'll want to switch amongst the members to fit the situation. As Sonic, the other two characters line up behind you as you speed through the level. You also get his trademark spin dash attack to destroy groups of enemies. Choosing Knuckles to be the head spreads the characters out to cover more ground and allows you to glide, punch, and throw Sonic and Tails as projectiles to destroy baddies. Finally, Tails lets you fly around as Sonic and Knuckles grab on for a smooth ride.

Depending on the situation, you'll want a certain character as the head guy. If there's a wide spread of rings ahead, your best bet would be to go with Knuckles to grab maximum rings. Tails would be the way to go for particularly long jumps. Constantly changing the leader can let all three characters collect rings at once since each character carries his own supply. Having this team-based gameplay inserts more strategy, and the level design takes advantage of this new style. This has the added bonus of breaking up the monotony of constantly holding forward (a criticism of the entire Sonic series) and the potential for some neat puzzle elements in the game.

Each stage will have multiple paths and missions, greatly extending replay value. There are also multiple objectives to complete to beat the entire level. Experimentation with various ways to go through the levels and the optimum times to use which character will also add incentive to replay for those who want to master the game.

As anyone who played the Sonic Adventure games knows, an annoying camera often hindered the gameplay and caused much frustration, even in the "improved" GameCube ports. Thank goodness then the camera is no longer an issue. The colorful, vibrant visuals that characterize the Sonic series remain intact here and look fantastic. Add in sharp textures, smooth framerate, and no pop-up, and what you get is a hats-off to Sonic Team for finally getting it right.

What is still uncertain is whether the entire game will be similar to the fast style of Team Sonic. The gameplay modes and special abilities of the other three teams are still in secrecy, and hopefully they won't revitalize the crystal-hunting madness that dragged down the other 3D Sonic games. So far though, Sonic Heroes looks to be the best 3D Sonic game yet and is definitely worth an extra look. Sonic Team is poised to re-earn some respect for the Sonic franchise that has been tarnished slightly by the Adventure games.