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Sonic R is a racing game that uses multi-3D polygons developed by Traveller's Tales and Sonic Team for the Sega Saturn and PC, the latter version being ported to the GameCube and the PlayStation 2 in Sonic Gems Collection. It features characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It contains colorful 3D graphics combined with a Powerpop soundtrack by Richard Jacques (including songs performed by British singer TJ Davis). The in-game music was stored as standard CD audio tracks on the game disk, meaning that the music from the game could be played on any standard CD player.

Gameplay

There are several collectible rings across each of the five racetracks. Each ring regenerates shortly. These rings can serve one of three purposes.

  • Stepping on a speed boost will consume up to 50 of a player's rings, and boost the player ahead along a preset path. The boost is at a speed approximately three times the normal maximum speed of a character and lasts for a duration proportional to the number of rings deducted. If a character has more than 50 rings, only 50 will be used.
  • Special doors on the tracks can open if a player reaches them with twenty or fifty rings (depending on the door). Twenty-ring doors frequently hide tokens, shortcuts, or both. Fifty-ring doors frequently hide Chaos Emeralds, shortcuts, or both. After being opened, the doors remain open for all players for the duration of the race.

There are also inexhaustible emblem bonuses. Touching an emblem gives the racer one of multiple possible rewards, including a random number of rings and the water and lightning shields that appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The water shield allows the racer to walk on water once, after which it disappears. The lightning shield attracts rings to itself, but is eliminated upon touching water (or after having it for a long enough time). Another bonus is the Power Sneakers which allow a player to run double his or her normal speed for a limited amount of time.

There are five racers in each race. The four racers selected depend on what character the player chooses. If the player chooses a secret character, he'll face the other secret characters that have been unlocked. If the player chooses a starting character, he races against the other starting characters. For the purposes of selecting the racers, Dr. Robotnik is treated as a starting character.

Some racers can run on water for a while, and all characters can "swim" in it indefinitely, at greatly reduced speed. In addition, each of the ten playable characters has a different speed and a unique set of abilities. Unlike most racing games, these abilities are designed such that certain characters, even among characters that are initially playable, have a clear edge over others.

Other modes

Aside from the main game, there are three special gameplay modes accessible from Time Attack mode: reverse, in which racing occurs facing the opposite direction, break five balloons, and tag four players.

Courses

Sonic R has five racetracks, based on staple Sonic level themes. The first four are playable from the start, and the final, Radiant Emerald, is unlocked by completing the initial tracks in first place with any character. In the PC version, the environment for the courses will change at random. For example, it will sometimes be raining or dark outside (If it is snowing on the course, all the water will freeze, allowing the character to walk on it).

  • Resort Island: The traditional tropical opening Sonic level, based around a beach environment with mountains, a waterfall and small ruins. The course song is "Can You Feel the Sunshine?"
  • Radical City: A night-time city that includes casino elements, among which is a giant pinball table. The course song is "Living in the City."
  • Regal Ruin: An Egyptian-themed course at sunset, resembling Angel Island. The course song is "Back in Time."
  • Reactive Factory: This zone is a future-set, metallic, industrial factory setting based on Robotnik's fortress. This is the only level with a "fountain" of rings where the player can obtain an infinite amount of rings. The course song is "Work it Out."
  • Radiant Emerald: A surreal course seemingly set inside a giant Chaos Emerald in space. In the Saturn version, the course is completely translucent, but this transparency can be toggled on and off using an F-Key function in the PC version. The course song is "Diamond in the Sky", but when the course is played as Super Sonic the full version of the main theme "Super Sonic Racing" plays. To unlock the track, the player must win in 1st place in the other race tracks.

Characters

Playable from start
Unlockable
  • Doctor Ivo Robotnik
  • Metal Sonic
  • Tails Doll (a smaller, doll-like version of Tails)
  • EggRobo
  • Metal Knuckles
  • Super Sonic

Development

Sonic R uses an engine described as "12 layer transparency" that makes distant textures transparent to disguise the Sega Saturn's limited draw distance.[1]

Versions

For the PC versions the graphics were somewhat modified with better graphics and details. For example, races occur in random weather conditions, either normal, rainy, or snowy, unless the default settings are altered. Snowy weather freezes the water so that racers can run across it without sinking. The PC versions also allow one to select between software rendering and 3D acceleration. When using 3D acceleration, track lighting is far less dramatic, almost unnoticeable and occasionally too dark, when compared to the software rendered or original Saturn versions, a Drawn Distance option is available with either having far-off objects more noticeable or ridiculously close (making it an extra challenge for players). There were at least three PC versions released. The Activision release does not require the network patch, but does not include CD Audio tracks. The ValuSoft version has corrected some glitches and includes native support for Windows XP, and is identified by the credits as Sonic R 2004.

The version of the game in Sonic Gems Collection is similar to the PC version. Minor differences include that there is no Network option on the main menu and that the Options menu is slightly different. It uses the lighting style from the 3D accelerated mode. There is no Drawn Distance option as it is in the PC version, the entire level is seen with no drawn distance pop-ups including the multiplayer mode.

SoftKey released a jewel case version in 2000 for PC/Mac.

Reception

 Reception
Review scores
Publication Score
PC Saturn
Electronic
Gaming Monthly
7.75/10[2]
GamePro 3/5[3]
Game Revolution C-[4]
GameSpot 5.6/10[5]
Aggregate scores
GameRankings 70%[6] 68.92%[7]

Both versions of Sonic R received mixed reviews from critics. Peter Suciu of GamePro concluded that "despite the range of characters and numerous race options, Sonic R doesn't offer enough varied gameplay in the races, and loses its appeal quickly."[3] Ryan MacDonald of GameSpot commented positively on the graphics and audio, but said that the game is "so short that you'll probably finish it the day you rent it."[5] Game Revolution noted that the game was "a little different" from normal racing games, but was highly critical of the music (remarking that "With lyrics like "Can you feel the sunshine brighten up your day," you feel like Disney has suddenly taken over the world and Gestapo mice are forcing you to smile all the time") and the "wily and inexact" controls.[4]

References

  1. "Blue Is Back Again! Race Around Moebius! [sic]". GameFan (11): p. 126. November 1997. 
  2. Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis). June 20, 2003. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 Suciu, Peter. Sonic R. GamePro. Retrieved on June 8, 2010
  4. 4.0 4.1 Sonic R Review for the SATURN. Game Revolution (June 6, 2004). Retrieved on June 18, 2010
  5. 5.0 5.1 MacDonald, Ryan (December 22, 2007). Sonic R Review for Saturn. GameSpot. Retrieved on June 8, 2010
  6. Sonic R for PC - GameRankings. GameRankings. Retrieved on June 18, 2010
  7. Sonic R for Saturn - GameRankings. GameRankings. Retrieved on June 18, 2010

External links

Template:Sonic games (spin off)

ar:سونيك آر fr:Sonic R nl:Sonic R pt:Sonic R

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