Six characters--Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails the Fox, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Big the Cat, and a robot named E-102--tackle a variety of challenges in six worlds. Although each character has the same general movements, each has unique abilities. Knuckles' mountain climbing is especially impressive, as is E-102's homing laser; we wish we could say the same about Big's fishing. Gameplay is easy to learn, and glowing lights offer hints if you need them. You can play in either the full-screen or windowed mode.
As with past versions of Sonic, gameplay can be too easy, with accelerators, rockets, and bumpers often directing your character through the levels without much assistance. Even though the game originally was developed for the Xbox, the port doesn't support controllers. Controlling the characters with the keyboard is possible, but definitely not ideal.
