The storyline is quite different from the usual Sonic setup; the action takes place in the universe of the Arabian Nights, as you are trying to prevent the evil genie Erazor from completely erasing the pages from the book. Your guide through the entire story will be the ring genie Shahra, the one who decides to offer her help to aid you in the epic journey to obtain the World Rings. So if you are either a hardcore Sonic fan on the verge of entering a magical world of visual delights most gamers dare not dreaming of, or just a guy minding his own business and ready to check on Wii, the Secret Rings addition could be an entertaining way to spend your time.

The first true test you'll have to pass is overcoming the initial awkward feeling of playing it on Wii, as the controls in Sonic and the Secret Rings are simple enough to pick up but can bring you painfully close of throwing the wii-mote into the TV. I've been through this myself in the first couple of hours and the fact that you have the controller tied up to your wrist comes in handy...such an inspired, devious yet simple invention that can help you preserve the equipment intact.

You can move Sonic from side to side by tilting the remote left and right, the 2 button makes him jump while the 1 button makes him stop. It doesn't look like much, but this game is more of a race; the character moves forward with blazing speed, and your control over him is very limited, in fact you must focus mainly on reacting to the numerous obstacles that appear in front of you in a split second.

Jumping is in fact the cornerstone of this game, which brings us to another key element that might cause frustration: attacking the enemy. The target is automatically selected when you jump and "all you have to do" is to quickly move the remote forward, but it will take a while to master this move and in the beginning the controls will feel reckless and you're not going to make it through.

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Perhaps the most important quality required in order to stand a chance of completing this game, besides good eyesight and fast reflexes is patience. There will be enough situations when you fail to complete a level because you miss environmental obstacles and enemies in their immediate path, so it's most likely that you'll have to use a trial and error technique. The opponents should be fairly easy to kill, but make no mistake if you make just a tiny error while moving the controller forward for the homing attack they'll take you down like Nixon.

It should only get better with time but meanwhile one may feel an unstoppable urge to break something or smash the controller to get this over with, and I can't be more sympathetic. So if you expect a relaxing, carefree experience, think again as the Secret Rings will prove to be a very dynamic game and some of its challenges may weed out the less dedicated players.

Another thing that might become annoying at some point is the way the camera performs, as it sometimes fails to adjust to the fast paced action and you won't see the obstacles in time so you don't stand a chance to avoid them. Probably the most obvious mistake and definitely the most annoying one is the fact that while Sonic goes in reverse the camera continues to shoot the action from the same angle and because it is so close to the character you can't even see anything helpful on either side.

As he is cruising through the eight worlds Sonic will greatly improve as he can unlock some of the 104 skills, apply them and become quicker, stronger and better all around. With these special skills equipped, Sonic can perform new moves, improve his existing moves and combine them to suit certain situations. With so many skills at your disposal the option to customize one of the four skill rings available comes in handy, as you do not have to select all the needed skills each time you enter a new level.

For those playing "Sonic and the Secret Rings" without being a hardcore fan it's likely that all these skills you unlock after completing certain missions will be of minimal importance. It's more than enough to keep focused and get a grip on you after failing a lot in order to complete this game, without bothering too much about the way you combine the skills and customize the rings.

While you are playing, there is a good chance that the sounds will seem rather entertaining, and you won't pay attention to them until the dreaded "Oh Noooo" pops out as you've hit the water after a faulty jump. The acting and the voices of the impersonated characters during the cut scenes are terrible and switching to Japanese is an option that one might consider. On the other hand this game presents us with a very pleasant surprise in terms of video quality; each single world is carefully designed with very few similarities so the risk to get easily bored by the background is limited.

This is quite important as you might find yourself stuck in one level for quite a while and you can't wait to get it done and never return. When you're playing, the chances for you to get a glimpse at the wider picture and notice the attractive visual effects are the same of enjoying the view while cruising in a wheelchair on a roller coaster track. It's much better to trick a friend into trying the thrills himself and use this opportunity to take a look at all the details you'll most likely miss during the blazing speed racing.

Conclusion

The fast paced action will keep you wired and even if there is a lot of room for improvements, the blue hedgehog seems to be at last on the right track; the trick is that even if you're on the right track there's a good chance you'll get run over if you just sit there so only time will tell if Sonic has a future. For the moment it seems like SEGA extracted an astonishing amount from this scrap and the transition to Wii revived a character that was in danger of hitting rock bottom.

If you find your life to be intoxicated with PC games and you believe that this is the time for a change, then Sonic and the Secret Rings could be a good choice, but get ready for a competitive game and prepare mentally. It requires a good amount of self control to remain calm and focused after the numerous failures that are imminent in the opening stages, but if you manage to finish the game a part of you might be somewhat flattered by the achievement.

Gameplay: 70

This is by no means an easy game but the good part is that it just gets better as you progress, getting accustomed with the controls as well as unlocking special skills helps a lot. Most of this skills are passive so they won't involve extra moves, but the improvements are obvious as the character becomes faster, stronger and much easier to maneuver.

You can perform new moves or obtain special effects in these moves but the changes are not dramatic at all, adjusting to the numerous obstacles that suddenly appear in the way will still require focus and catlike reflexes. Easy to learn but hard to master Sonic and the Secret Rings is quite intense and presents itself as a challenging experience for anyone new to the blue hedgehog's adventures.

Graphics: 75

Major improvements have been made and it is only fair to say that this is one of the best looking Sonic games so far. Each world has it specific features and after you get to play a level a few times, even if the action runs with lightning speed you'll be tempted to take a look around, although this might cause you to fail that attempt.

Sound: 65

The entertaining sound effects fit well and there is nothing to complain about, but the voices of the impersonated characters during the cut scenes are terrible and will probably determine one to turn it off or choose the Japanese mode.