Fast-Paced 'Sonic' Puts Players in Hedgehog Heaven

By AARON CURTISS

Sept. 13, 2001 12 AM PT

aaron.curtiss@latimes.com

Once you get over the premise that a hedgehog is the most powerful life form in the universe, the rest of “Sonic Adventure 2” is a breeze--a slick and snappy sequel that provides a nice bookend to the life of Sega Dreamcast.

The original “Sonic Adventure” ushered in Sega’s flagship product in 1999, demonstrating just how quickly the 128-bit console could render complex graphics on the fly. Now, as Dreamcast slowly fades into obscurity, “Sonic Adventure 2” offers an appropriate reminder of how powerful and versatile the ill-fated console remains.

“Sonic Adventure 2” is actually two separate tales--one of saving the Earth and one of dominating it--seen through the eyes of Sonic and his new nemesis, Shadow. See, it seems the military developed an all-powerful black hedgehog--Shadow--as a secret weapon. But the evil Eggman captures it and sets his sights on world domination.

So players can assume either the role of Sonic, who aims to thwart the nefarious plans of Shadow and Eggman, or the role of Shadow, who aspires to world domination.

At their core, though, the parallel stories are pretty similar, and players who work through both adventures find themselves doing many of the same things. It’s just the characters that differ.

No matter, because the action in “Sonic Adventure 2” moves at mind-bending speeds. The appeal of the “Sonic” franchise has always been the speed and fluidity with which characters move. Whether the game is running on an old 16-bit Genesis in 2-D or screaming along on a Dreamcast in hyperactive 3-D, the point of “Sonic” is to move, move, move.

Players get a lovely taste in the first level of what’s to come as Sonic escapes from a military helicopter and fashions a skateboard out of a piece of wing. The frantic chase through the streets of a city that looks a lot like San Francisco is one of the most breathless five minutes in video gaming.

From there, “Sonic Adventure 2” continues to deliver challenges unlike any seen on other consoles. In addition to Sonic and Shadow, the game lets players control Sonic pals Tails and Knuckles as well as bad guys Eggman and Rouge. That range of characters adds variety as players explore levels and unlock mini-games that can be played on Dreamcast’s removable Visual Memory Unit.

Visually, the game is all candy and sweetness, oozing with digital frosting that no game on Sony PlayStation 2 has yet to match. Characters are well rendered, and environments practically vibrate with ambient motion.

As with the original “Sonic Adventure,” the sequel has the annoying tendency to repeat cut scenes every time a player restarts a level. So, when Sonic loses a life during a boss showdown, for instance, players are forced to listen again and again to the banter. And face it, few of us play video games for their Mamet-like dialogue.

Overall, though, “Sonic Adventure 2” sends Dreamcast off into the annals with a respectable flourish.

‘Spec Ops: Ranger Elite’

If only the twilight of Sony PlayStation could be so noble. Sony and its licensees have made a lot of hay in recent months about how they will continue to support the 6-year-old 32-bit console even as its 128-bit successor, PlayStation 2, gains a foothold.

What they aren’t saying so loudly is that many of the recent PlayStation games stink.

Take “Spec Ops: Ranger Elite,” an offshoot of the “Spec Ops” series that lets players live out their soldier-of-fortune fantasies without doing so much as a single sit-up or enduring a dinner of chipped beef on toast.

The problem with “Ranger Elite” is that it seems to have been slapped together over a couple of weeks. Maybe that’s why it costs only $10. But someone should explain to publisher Take 2 Interactive that there’s a difference between putting out a value-priced game and putting out a cheap game.

“Ranger Elite” is cheap. The squad combat is clunky. The graphics are blocky. The enemy soldiers appear to have trained under a commander who told them that if they stand very still, they might not be seen. Well, the strategy works--or maybe it’s because the graphics are so lousy that it’s tough to tell the difference between a bad guy and a fence post.

Sure, “Ranger Elite” costs only $10. But save it for something worth playing.

Aaron Curtiss is editor of Tech Times.

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The Skinny

“Sonic Adventure 2”

Genre: Platform jumper

Platform: Sega Dreamcast

Price: $40

Publisher: Sega of America

ESRB* rating: Everyone

The good: Screaming fast

The bad: Repetitive cut scenes