Sonic and the Secret Rings

It wouldn't normally be a fair fight: dinosaur versus hedgehog; scales, teeth, horns and armor-plated hides versus a few spines and the ability to roll into a ball. But this is Sega, and in the super-speedy Wii game Sonic and the Secret Rings, it is the primitive beasts that are about to be given a lesson from the old school. Hit the Images tab to check out the new screens.

Because as you can see in all of these primary colored shots, the blue fella has been freed from the tyranny of playing as a trio. Instead he has gone back to what he does best: hurling himself through a brightly colored rollercoaster landscape at the kind of speed that normally causes people to remember their last meal in a very visual way.

Using the tilting and twisting abilities of the Wii-mote allows this solo Sonic to run rings around recent versions of the series. As the angle of the controller now decides the speed, you only need to use one button to make him jump while also dishing out combos with slashes and flicks of the wrist.

But not every section is performed at breakneck speed because timed traps, log flume rides and precise platforming demands that you also keep a tight reign on the tilt of the controller.

Add in the promise of minigame and multiplayer and it looks like this Sonic will no longer be a Shadow of his former self. So be sure that we'll take another tilt at the blue blur very soon as the spring 2007 release date races nearer with every passing day.

November 8, 2006