Sonic makes his first appearance on Nintendo`s handheld in this new 2D adventure...

Veteran gamers it’s time to rejoice, Sonic is back in a new 2D adventure that will appease those who moan about all things 3D, and I’m glad to say the game still holds up as well as it did ten years ago. <br /> <br /> The first thing that will strike you is the strange feeling of playing a Sonic game on a Nintendo. Sure it looks and plays the same and we’ve already seen Sega titles on a Nintendo, but there’s just something odd about playing Sega’s mascot on a Nintendo machine. <br /> <br /> The game is an entirely new adventure developed by Dimps, the team responsible for Sonic’s first and last appearance on the Neo Geo Pocket. Although it’s a new adventure the game takes elements from all of the previous titles, including the rail grind from Sonic Adventure 2 to create a true Sonic experience. <br /> <br /> Excellent level design is what made the Sonic games so good to play; the option to find a line and whiz through the levels or take your time to explore every nook and cranny ensured the games had an immense amount of replayability as well as being darn fun to play. Sonic Advance features some of the best levels to feature in a Sonic game, most of them being based on old favourites such as Green Hill and Casino Zone. Forget the confusing sprawled out affairs of the Sonic Adventure titles and take a chance to remember what Sonic was all about, get up to speed, hit a corkscrew and whiz your way through the level. Of course the enemy placement is as fiendishly and frustratingly located as ever before, ensuring that all but the keen eyed and quick fingered gamers will be losing their rings on numerous occasions. <br /> <br /> 12 levels feature in the game, and in-keeping with Sonic tradition the game can be completed in just over two hours. Unlike previous titles, Sonic Advance allows players to choose three other characters offering a vastly different experience yet still on the same levels. Tails can fly up the ledges and explore higher levels that Sonic couldn’t reach, Knuckles can climb up walls and float across chasms that would send the spiky one to his doom, whilst Amy without fantastic speed or attacks places a greater emphasis on slow and steady exploration of the levels. To truly complete the game you must do so with all of the characters, offering a more impressive 10-12 hours of gameplay. A secret bonus stage is cleverly hidden on each stage, ensuring that careful exploration is needed to find each one and collect the Chaos Emeralds to see the best ending. <br /> <br /> A variety of multiplayer modes are available, if you’ve only got one cartridge you can play a game of “Get the Most Rings” on one stage against three other players. However if you and your mates have access to four cartridges a number of different modes will be unlocked, including Race modes and Chao Hunt. <br /> <br /> Sonic Advance is also crammed full of extras and goodies, the rings that you collect can be exchanged for items in the Tiny Chao Garden; a place to look after the tiny blue creatures that feature in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. The cool thing is if you own a copy of Sonic Advance and Sonic Adventure 2 Battle you can hook them up courtesy of the GC-GBA link-up cable, and download your Chao’s onto the GBA. This allows you to look after your Chao whilst on the move, as well as entering them in a variety of fun mini-games… <br />