5-May-2004 Our first look at Sonic's third GBA sprint-fest reveals some intriguing new features Sonic can run really fast. That alone made him cool in 1990, but we've had nearly a decade and a half to get over it now. If Sega was to continue churning out the same old stuff (as it has been, some of us reckon), its blue mascot would be about as entertaining as one of his real-life cousins that's been run-over and is lying dead in the gutter.
Fortunately, Sega doesn't intend to let this happen, as our first look at Sonic's third GBA sprint-fest reveals some intriguing new features. Begin a new game and you start off in the main hub-stage where you can access the mini-hubs for each world. Only one world is open at the start. Enter and you can wander freely and access any of the four levels in that world. This means you can play the action levels of a world in any order you like, and revisit them if you want to explore the many secret areas. An old idea, but in Sonic terms it's revolutionary.
Tag-Team Tactics Even better, you can now choose two characters instead of one to play with, allowing you to combine abilities to take new routes through the action. Let's say you choose Sonic and Tails. Playing as Sonic, you can speed around until you reach a point where you need some extra height. Then you can call upon Tails' flying skills to carry you up to a route that would otherwise be unreachable for the grounded Hedgehog.
Once you unlock Knuckles with his ability to smash bricks and hover, and Amy's power hammer of death, there'll be plenty of skill-mixing possibilities to explore the giant worlds. Sonic nuts will be pleased to know that Cream the bunny from Sonic Advance 2 makes a return, too.
There's even a new multiplayer co-operative mode so you and a mate can work together to blister through the action stages. We'll know more about the tag-team skills, and how well the hub-levels are going to work when we get to blast through a final English version of the game. But at the moment it's looking pretty promising, and the gameplay overhaul is long overdue.
For years, all Sonic could do was run, jump and roll into a little ball, which is about as acrobatic as a one-legged donkey. Things are changing now. In Sonic Advance 3 the heroes can combine abilities to perform all sort of stunts. Take a look at some of these...
Knuckles does his gliding technique while Sonic hitches a ride. That’s magic, that is
Come on my son… Tails give Sonic a helping hand to bigger, better places
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