Sonic makes his first next-gen appearance in this enjoyable adventure.

Many felt that the first mistake Sega made with the Saturn was forgetting about their 'ol pal and mascot Sonic who was sadly absent when details about the first Saturn titles were released. This was eventually a move that Sega would curse and one that most likely cost them a lot of money. Sonic games did follow later but the final nail had already been banged into the coffin of the ill-fated console by then. However, Sega have acknowledged their mistake and have remedied the situation by bringing Sonic back in glorious form for his Dreamcast debut. <br><br>Sonic isn't the only character that is making a return to the gaming scene though because he's brought all his favourite friends with him. Among those returning are Tails, a fox with two tails who has been Sonic's sidekick since Sonic 2, Knuckes, a rival of Sonic's who has tremendous agility which includes the ability to climb walls, Amy Rose, Sonic's girlfriend who first appeared in Sonic CD and then last but not least, Robotnik, Sonic's nemisis who is known in Japan as Dr Eggman. Meanwhile, there are some new additions to the squad such as Big the Cat, a blue cat-man who likes to act cool and E-102, one of Robotnik's robots who has malfunctioned and defected to the side of good. <br><br>The plot of the game involves Robotnik trying to take over the world with the help of a strange liquid creature named Chaos. Chaos begins Sonic Adventure as a pretty small lifeform which isn't at all scary but it eventually mutates to a huge beast when Ronotnik feeds it the Chaos Emeralds which he has stolen from Sonic. Each time you encounter the beast it is even more disgusting and harder to beat. <br><br>Each character's quest is essentially unique, although, like the Playstation's Resident Evil 2, their stories intertwine as the game progresses. Sonic's and Tails' goal is to beat Ronotnik and Chaos to a pulp, Knuckles is attempting to redeem the splintered pieces of the Emerald which was shattered by Chaos, Big is searching for a missing friend and E-102 is out for revenge. <br><br>At first, only Sonic can be selected, with the other characters becoming available once they have been encountered during Sonic's or another character's quest. For example, E-102 is only available after Sonic defeats him on top of the Egg Carrier or after Amy finds him on Ronotnik's ship. It is up to the person themselves whether they want to complete a character's quest before starting with a new hero. <br><br>Sonic Adventure contains two main gameplay options, Adventure Field, the main one-player RPG adventure, and Action Field, a kind of time trial mode featuring the tracks which have been discovered for each character during the Adventure Field. The Adventure Field is only available at first. <br><br>Sonic Adventure really brings Sonic to the 3D era. All the glorious Sonic trademarks are there from Robotnik and his usual assortment of machines with which he tries to kill Sonic to the special speed-boost pads which provide Sonic with an injection of acceleration when needed. Also, the rings, which have appeared in every Sonic game since his birth also, make a grand return. Once again, if you hit a dangerous obstacle or enemy, you lose your rings. And like the original Sonic games, Robotnik's henchmen are in fact Sonic's friends who have been mutated by the evil lord. But each time Sonic defeats an enemy they are returned to the 'cute' form in which Sonic once knew them. Meanwhile, all the rescued henchmen must be dropped off at the next Chao breeding ground that the player visits. <br><br>The Chao are cute creatures that can be found in various areas of the game. Like the Chocobos in the Playstation's FFVIII, they can be breeded. The creatures can be easily hatched by simply throwing the egg against a wall. You must then feed them by acquiring eggs from trees in the immediate area. The Chao are the main feature of the A-Life option in the game, which runs independently from the Action and Adventure Fields. They can be stored on the VMS and traded with friends hence the resemblance to Nintendo's Pokemon craze of present. The Chao are also raced in an area near the Station Square breeding ground and although they are not an essential feature of the game they provide an interesting diversion from the main game. <br><br>So how does it play then? Well, I'm unhappy to say, not the best. While the game does look a treat with great graphics and superb visuals there are far too many small niggling faults to make this the DC's 'killer-app'. The first noticeable problem is that the FMV's, which appear throughout the game, cannot be skipped. This may seem like a small problem at first but when you have to sit through some of the larger cut-scences three or four times you'll know what I mean. <br><br>Some aspects of the Adventure Field are very poor such as the RPG elements which are not particularly hard even to the worst and youngest gamers. The main fault with this is that it means the longevity of the game is cut short and once all six adventures have been completed, which shouldn't take that long, there is little replay value whatsoever. <br><br>However, the main fault of the game has to be the camera, which is especially poor. The camera of a game like this is often hard to master and the problem is that it can either make or break a game. Sonic Adventure's camera often becomes confused leaving you looking at a beautiful piece of scenery all the while you'e hoping that you character has not fallen down a hundred foot canyon, or worse. All too often, you have to start moving the camera around yourself with the D-Pad and this is not acceptable from such a high profile game. <br><br>Sonic Adventure could never have lived up to the hype, which has surrounded it, and this is definitely not the groundbreaking title that was expected. Yes, it is a good game, but it is not a classic or even a great game. It is well worth a purchase but I suggest that more serious gamers try before they buy. If only Sega had fixed the problems I have talked about then it would be an essential purchase. But, then again, it's just good to see Sonic nearly back to his old form. <br></P>