Price: £49.99 Players: 1-2 Widescreen: Yes 60Hz: Yes Dolby Digital 5.1 sound: Yes Xbox Live-enabled: Yes Downloadable content: Yes Now loading... Remember those words as you'll see them a lot in this game. In fact, even before I got a chance to play this game I'd heard a lot of disparaging things said about it, but surely a new Sonic the Hedgehog game on a next-gen console can't be all bad, surely? Sadly, while it looks nice, it is incredibly problematic on the counts that matter. The basic story begins with Sonic having to rescue a princess that he's in love with. That's about it, but really you don't really need a storyline for Sonic games, I just want the original Sonic style with next-gen console graphics. The first thing you'll do is take a walk round the town of Soleanna. That's right, a walk. You'll jump about a bit shortly, but initially you'll have to speak to the people in order to learn where to go next, including finding a store to help you cross the sea before you can get started on the game proper. However, it's very disconcerting that when you 'talk' to people, they mouth words but no-one's recorded any voice for them! And if you leave the speech bubble up, they just stand there continuing to 'jabber', making them look like a pensioner that's gone a bit senile and no longer has control of their jaw movements. I've never played much of any Sonic games where other characters have featured, but this one has you playing in part as Tails, who throws boxes of rings at baddies to kill them, and Silver with his telekinesis powers, plus there's appearances from Knuckles, Amy, Rouge and Shadow.

Sonic The Hedgehog is graphically impressive but confusing to play as the camera shoots all over the place and you don't really feel like you're in control of Sonic. In addition, you keep getting knocked into the scenery at times as you fall off the 'rail', collecting rings, and then it drops from running at high speed to going nowhere. Looking left and right with the right analog stick is in reverse to what any gamer would expect from their controls, and this is unresolveable. There are also times where the camera flips round, such as when you get caught inside the passageway in the first town. Exit and the camera flips to make you head back in, as you continue to push the analog stick in the same direction, putting you back in the freaking passageway! Gaaaaah! It also has long loading times, and too many of them so as you get one when you come to the end of a section, then another one appears which leaves you in the same town but someone just says something, then there's another load, then a little bit more in the same location and then another load time... pardon? What the hell's going on here? This is so badly programmed it's untrue. I played the fast level early on and if you miss a ramp at certain times then it just leaves you floundering in the sea for a few seconds until it decides you're dead or lets you disappear behind a rock for a while before... yes, deciding you're dead. It's totally unplayable and during that level it's completely in the lap of the gods which way you're going to go. Terrible. You only get a few lives, and can die quite often because you couldn't swim even if David Wilkie's instructional videos were still being made, and there's water, water everywhere but not a drop can be drunk (and sand in the desert also has the same effect). Not to mention all the cliffs you can fall off (and not in a red double-decker bus, Young Ones fans!). Back to the main menu you go.

I'm sorry, Sega, I didn't get very far at all with Sonic the Hedgehog on the Xbox 360 - and I tried, I really did, but next time, do try making a game that I can actually play and then I'll have a ball! Playing too much of this is like a snooker player doing a 'hit and hope' every time. At one point, Sonic tripped up and died, exclaiming "What?!" and I thought exactly the same. It needs to be a hell of a lot more forgiving, or at least add such a difficulty level to take account of this, so you can play through it and not have too much fear of death! For those who don't want to just play with themselves, there is a multiplayer option but not one that goes online. There's either tag (work together and head for the goal) or battle (aim to reach the goal first). Like a chocolate Rolls Royce, this version of Sonic the Hedgehog may have looked like a great idea on paper, but is a dreadful one in reality. The sound effects and music are either not particularly memorable or they just grate, such as the strange rockabilly tune that tinkles along in the background. This game is total style over substance and the mix between slow and fast levels doesn't quite sit right. When all's said and done, sadly, Sonic's latest ring piece leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.

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Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2007.