Dom Robinson reviews

Sonic Advance 3

Distributed by
THQ

Sonic Advance 3 Sonic Battle Price: £29.99 Players: 1-4 (via link-up) In Sonic Advance 3, the dastardly Dr Robotnik is back! - although the manual calls him Dr Eggman, and this time he's up to no good as usual, breaking the world up into seven parts, and you - as Sonic, Tails, or one of the other members of the gang as you unlock them - must venture into each zone, working your way through all three acts as well as finding the Special Stage, via a transporter, where everything goes 3D in order to find the Chaos Emerald and use Chaos Control to your own benefit to do away with Robotnik. Another part of your task is to find all ten Hidden Chao characters scattered about each zone in order to collect a Special Key to unlock the aforementioned transporter. If you get stuck there are also Omochao you'll find around the place, some of whom will provide handy hints while others just state the obvious. Oh, and when the game is over, any completed zones and acts will remain that way - which had me worried before I realised since I didn't want all my hard work undone again!

Graphically, this is another outstanding outing on the GBA for Sonic, and in fact, any console. Ok, so it doesn't seem particularly different in the way things are handled but do you need it to differ much? Sonic games always were about simplicity and, just as importantly, FUN, and there's bucketloads of that to be had here. The level design as intricate as ever, running round circles aplenty at blisteringly fast speeds, blending in with pinball-style bumpers that apparently push you backwards and then you start going forwards again round the same part of a level. Sounds far more complex to explain than it does to actually play, but once you've had a go you'll realise what I've said does actually make sense... When it comes to the audio, the music and SFX are fine and in keeping with the style of the game, but nothing on the GBA ever sounds much better than a polyphonic ring tone so don't expect it to go overboard here.

It doesn't stop there, either. For those with a friend, and in some cases friends with both a GBA and a copy of this game (now there's a plug for clicking on the Amazon link above!), the multiplayer option for the basic game gives you the chance to control both your main and partner characters. (This option requires both of you to have the game) Yes, you can let the partner hang about in the background during a single-player game but they don't do a great deal at first apart from clearing up after you until you've figured out how to grab hold of and utilise them in a bid to reach certain sections of the set that you otherwise wouldn't have found. Battle modes are also available as a multiplayer game for 2-4 players. If you have a single game pak, you're all playing against each other around the same game zone to find and collect all the Hidden Chao, and if another player you come across has Chao, you can attack them to steal it.

The Multi-pak Battle mode is different in that, once each of you has a copy of the game and you're all linked up, you'll pair off and run through the chosen level until the first one completes the level. A 'Time Attack' option is also available, but this is simply trying to complete a level faster than you did before. Each zone also contains a mini-game for you to collect a Chao and to better oneself. Sonic Advance 3 is a worthy addition to the Sonic family by far, but if you have one or more of the previous similar titles then you'll be best advised to try this one out first unless you have a complete addiction to the little blue hedgehog and just must buy every one of his games. And why not...

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Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2004.