Sonic and the Secret Rings [Wii]

Sonic the Hedgehog has had plenty of reasons to be blue. Once he ran circles around Mario, but the past few years have seen Sega's mascot losing more than a few steps. If Sonic and the Secret Rings for Wii is any indication, though, this hedgehog is finally starting to pick up speed again.

This is the kind of Sonic game we've been waiting for: It's fast, intense, and focuses on action. Using the Wii remote, you "drive" Sonic -- holding the controller in handlebar fashion, a la Excite Truck and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam. Hold the remote in a neutral position, and Sonic will move forward, eventually gaining velocity. Pull back to get him to brake (or even retrace his steps), tilt left and right to direct him, and use the 2 button as a chargeable jump. It's all relatively simple, and all relatively fun.

The Secret Rings' story involves good and bad genies in a classic tale straight out of The Arabian Nights. Sonic, as the prophesized hero, literally leaps into the book to save the day. Soon, he's shot through the heart with a flaming, poisonous arrow by the evil Erazor Djinn, and is forced to do his bidding. With cameos by familiar Sonic characters, it's got a Wizard of Oz vibe...and after reading all that, you probably don't need to be told the story is a dog that needs to be taken out back and shot. At least it's different from the typical Eggman evil plot fare the series is plagued with, and the cutscenes are mercifully brief.

The lame story won't take too much wind out of your sails, because Sonic gives you so many levels with so much going on. Stages task you to do a variety of things, from beating the clock to special stipulations like breaking pots or avoiding pots to simply surviving. Environment overlap occurs, but it's generally past so fast that you don't mind. What sticks in your head is the dizzying pace of the roller-coaster ride that is Sonic's gameplay.

This is the over-the-shoulder perspective that Sonic games should've adopted since the advent of 3D. Camera issues are few and far between. It's a bit odd to flick the remote to attack enemies and charge towards targeted objects, but it's a nice blend of being active without working up a sweat. Sometimes you're left just watching Sonic go nuts onscreen, and honestly that's okay; we've been doing it since the beginning. All that's missing here is the nonlinear aspects of levels, as they're quite straightforward.