Sonic Heroes

Sonic Heroes is a 2004 platform video game, developed by Sonic Team USA and Vicarious Visions, published by Sega and Universal Interactive for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. It was first released on December 30, 2003 in Japan, and then on January 5, 2004 in the US. As part of the PlayStation 2 classics program, the PlayStation 2 version was re-released in Europe on the PlayStation Network in late February 2012 and September 17, 2014 in Japan. It is the first Sonic game to be released on Sony and Microsoft consoles.

Sonic Heroes is the eighth primary installment in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Set after the events of Sonic Adventure 2, the game's story follows the journeys of four individual teams of three on their search for the mad scientist Doctor Eggman. However, Sonic the Hedgehog Sr's robot duplicate Metal Sonic has secretly captured his own master and manipulating part of the game's events in a plan to eradicate his longtime foe.

Gameplay
Sonic Heroes is a platform game in which players navigate through numerous levels using teams of three characters. The game features four teams; Team Sonic, Team Dark, Team Rose, and Team Chaotix, each with their own campaigns. Team Rose, Team Sonic, and Team Dark represent easy, medium, and hard difficulties respectively, with the harder difficulties featuring longer stages and tougher enemies. Team Chaotix's levels, on the other hand, are mission based, requiring players to fulfill a specific objective in order to clear each level. Each team contains three character types; Speed, Power, and Flight, which the player toggles between at any time, also changing the team's running formation. Speed characters can perform homing attacks and light dashes, and can form whirlwinds to climb up poles, Power characters can break through objects and glide on air fans, and Flight characters can temporarily fly in the air and attack airborne enemies. By acquiring certain items or enemies, characters can level up, becoming more efficient when fighting against enemies.

Like previous games, players collect rings to protect themselves and earn extra lives, which are lost if players are attacked with no rings, fall into pits, or fail certain objectives. By defeating enemies and collecting rings, players can build up a Team Blast meter, which can be used to perform a powerful attack that destroys all on-screen opponents, as well as activate certain abilities unique to each team. By collecting a key hidden within each level and reaching the end of the level without getting hit, players can enter the Special Stage, in which players speed across a tube, collecting spheres containing boost power whilst avoiding obstacles. If the stage is entered via Act 2 of each zone, an Emerald Challenge takes place in which players must catch a Chaos Emerald before it reaches the end of the stage. If players can collect all seven emeralds and clear each team's story, an additional Last Story is unlocked. The game also features a multiplayer mode, in which two players can race or battle against each other.

Plot
The game takes place three months after the events of Sonic Adventure 2.

Sonic Sr (voiced by George Clooney), Ignitus (voiced by Kenneth Mars) and his friends Tails (voiced by Anna Paquin) and Knuckles (voiced by Brendan Fraser) receive a letter of challenge from Doctor Eggman, who claims to have an ultimate weapon that will take over the world in three days. As the team sets off to put a stop to Eggman Imposter's plans, Amy Rose (voiced by Tea Leoni), who is infatuated with Sonic Sr, teams up with Cream the Rabbit (voiced by Russi Taylor) and Big the Cat (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) to help them search for their missing friends, Chocola and Froggy vocal effects by Bob Bergen). Elsewhere, Rouge the Bat (voiced by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) infiltrates one of Eggman's bases, where she discovers Shadow (voiced by William Fichtner), who was presumed dead following the battle aboard Colony ARK before the station was destroyed, and a discarded robot named E-123 Omega. With Shadow missing his memories and Omega seeking revenge against Eggman Imposter for sealing him away, Rouge, who wants to get ahold of Eggman Imposter's treasure and tell Omega that Eggman is killed from the wounds 6 years ago, forms a team with them. Meanwhile, the Chaotix Detective Agency, formed of Vector the Crocodile (voied by Dorian Harewood), Espio the Chameleon (voiced by Mark Hamill), and Charmy Bee (voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey, receive a job from a mysterious walkie-talkie, which they blindy take due to needing the money.

As the teams make their way towards late Eggman's whereabouts, clashing with each other along the way, many of the characters start having doubts about who their adversary really is, while Shadow comes across hints that suggest he might actually be an android double. Unbeknownst to them, someone is hiding behind the scenes, posing as Eggman and secretly obtaining data from his enemies. After late Eggman's final machine is defeated, Team Rose is reunited with Chocola and Froggy, while Rouge, who discovers a large number of Shadow Androids, is told by Omega that the original Shadow should still be out there somewhere. Meanwhile, Team Chaotix discover that their mysterious client is actually Ignitus, who tells them that the real Doctor Eggman is dead while his imposter, revealed to be Metal Sonic (voiced by D.B. Sweeney). Using the data he had obtained from his enemies, including data of Chaos that he copied from Froggy (who swallowed Chaos' tail in Sonic Adventure) and Chocola, Metal Sonic transforms himself into the Metal Overlord in order to prove himself as the ultimate being. However, Sonic Sr and Ignitus uses the power of the Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Sonic Sr and Ultra Ignitus, with help from his teammates, defeats Metal Sonic, welcoming him to challenge him again anytime while Eggman is taken by the American Military Custody with the help of Team Chaotic and Ignitus.

Development and release

 * Main articles: Sonic Heroes Official Soundtrack, Triple Threat: Sonic Heroes Vocal Trax and Complete Trinity: Sonic Heroes - Original Soundtrax

The video game was developed to celebrate the twelfth anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog. The director, Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, stated that they were worried only core gamers would buy the title, and both decided to create a game that more casual players could adapt to and is later takes place after the events of Sonic Adventure 2 and before the events of Shadow the Hedgehog.

Sonic Heroes uses the RenderWare engine so that the game could be programmed and ported easily to the GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Microsoft Windows. Despite being able to port some textures and character models from the Sonic Adventure titles, most work on the title was done from scratch. Sonic Heroes was Sega's first multi-platform title, and the development team found additional challenges in working with the Xbox, a platform with which they had very little experience.

The video game was later released in a package with Super Monkey Ball Deluxe on Xbox, then in 2009 as a part of Sonic PC Collection, and finally in 2012 for PlayStation Network.

The original score was composed, conducted and produced by Randy Edelman with the additional music was also composed, orchestrated and conducted by Carter Burwell. Verbinski oversaw the score with Edelman, who headed 3 composers to finish it quickly. Alan Silvestri, who had collaborated with Verbinski on Mouse Hunt and The Mexican, was set to compose the score, but Bruckheimer decided to go with Randy Edelman and Carter Burwell instead, who were frequent collaborators of his productions. Silvestri left the production before recording any material. Phil Collins composed the majority of the theme songs for Sonic Heroes with the new songs writen by Carole Bayer Sager, David Foster, Steve Perry, Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz, David Zippel, Tom Snow and Jack Feldman. The original themes from "Sonic Adventure" by Michael Kamen were also used for the video game. The game features returning vocal talents Phil Collins, Hayden Panettiere and Michael Crawford, as well as new musicians Justin Timberlake and will.i.am. Zimmer has said that the intention was for the music to return to the roots of the Sonic experience and to be exciting and fast-paced.

The Sonic Heroes Official Soundtrack was released in North America on November 9, 2004 by Warner Sunset Records and Atlantic Records. Triple Threat: Sonic Heroes Vocal Trax, which also includes the vocal theme songs from Sonic Adventure, was released in Worldwide by Warner Sunset Records and Atlantic Records on February 4, 2004. Complete Trinity: Sonic Heroes - Original Soundtrax was released in Worldwide by Warner Sunset Records and Atlantic Records on March 3, 2004. To commemorate the series' 20th anniversary, the game's official soundtrack was re-released on August 24, 2011 in Worldwide as Sonic Heroes Original Soundtrack 20th Anniversary Edition by WaterTower Music and Atlantic Records.

Reception
Reviews of the video game were generally mixed, with Metacritic ranging from 64% for the PlayStation 2 version, based on 29 reviews, to 73% for the Xbox version, based on 28 reviews. GameRankings averages range from 60% for the PC version, based on 9 reviews, to 75% for the GameCube version, based on 35 reviews.

GameSpot noted that the gameplay of Sonic Heroes came close to the series' 2D roots and praised the sound design, describing it as "inexorably linked" to the experience. IGN called the sound "at least very pristine" with "perfectly implemented" sound effects, running in Dolby Pro Logic II. Graphics design and environments were also highlighted, described as colorful, vibrant and cheery, with consistent art design and an exceptionally vibrant color palette. Framerate was also consistent for the Xbox, GameCube, and PC versions, although a drop in framerate in the multiplayer component was noted.

The video game's camera control system was an often-cited criticism, described as "uncooperative" and "terrible". Coordination between camera position and character movement also caused problems, such that pushing forward may not move the character in the same direction the camera is facing. The game's voice acting also came in for criticism; it was described as "horrendous" and "the biggest misstep in the sound design".

The PlayStation 2 version received lower average scores. It suffered from clipping, graphic faults, and had a lower framerate than the other versions.

In 2004, Sonic Heroes was the sixth bestselling game in the United Kingdom overall and was still at number eight in the all-price chart a year after its release. By October 2004, the game had sold over one million copies in Europe. The game ultimately sold well enough to enter all three consoles' "best-sellers" lists: Greatest Hits/Platinum for the PlayStation 2, Platinum Hits/Classics for the Xbox, and Player's Choice for the GameCube.

Legacy
For Sonic's 20th Anniversary, Sega released Sonic Generations, a game that remade aspects of various past games from the franchise. The PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC version contained a remade "Seaside Hill" level. The Nintendo 3DS version contained a remake of the "Egg Emperor" boss fight. Additionally, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing contained race tracks that are based on locations from Sonic Heroes, including the Seaside Hill, Casino Park, and Final Fortress levels. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed has a new racetrack that takes place in Seaside Hill, and also features a returning Casino Park racetrack.

Sonic Heroes introduced the character E-123 Omega, and reintroduced Espio the Chameleon, Charmy Bee, and Vector the Crocodile, who first appeared in the game Knuckles' Chaotix in 1995.