Company of Origin:
SEGA
Graphics and Sound:
Sonic Adventure DX Director's Cut is a fun game that puts the speedy
hedgehog and several of his friends in a 3D environment as they attempt to
stop the evil Dr. Robotnic from collecting all of the Chaos Emeralds. And
this time the Eggman has a side kick, Chaos - the god of destruction who
grows more powerful with every emerald that the round doc collects.
The worlds and levels that Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy Rose must travel
through are filled with many highly detailed obstacles and objects. The
detail put into the game's graphics were definitely above par. They weren't
the typical blocky models and scenery that has become common on the
GameCube.
One aspect of Sonic Adventure that really impressed me was the music.
It wasn't the basic bells and whistles that I have come to expect from some
games, but the music in Sonic DX fit the levels and was of high
quality. For example, the first time I traveled to The Mystic Ruins, I was
shocked to hear a lot of percussion and chanting that made me feel like I
was at some ancient temple deep in a South American jungle. The sound was a
big plus for me. In most games, I found that I could play without the music
and not have any problems, but this was the first game in a long while that
made me want to turn up the sound.
Gameplay: 
Sonic Adventure DX Director's Cut continues the story of the fastest
hedgehog and his friends as they foil Robotnic's plans. This time, the evil
doctor has taken control of Chaos itself and has the blue creature doing his
bidding. Every time Robotnic collects one of the seven Chaos Emeralds and
gives it to the Chaos creature, it gets more powerful.
Your mission as Sonic and his pals is to collect the Emeralds before
Robotnic can get them. Sometimes he will take them from just under your
nose and you will be forced to face the big baddy just after he gets
stronger. Generally, this is a quick battle and consists mostly of jump
attacks and collecting rings.
As you progress through the game, you unlock the other characters that make
up Sonic's band of heroes. You will gain access to Tails, Knuckles, Big the
Cat, Amy Ross and Gamma. Each of these people has their own Mission Level
where you are required to finish some task.
Along the way, you will also find special items for each of the characters
that will help that person's special attributes. An example of this is the
Shovel Claw for Knuckles that allows him to dig and collect items.
You can also connect to Sonic Advance and Sonic Advance 2 to
transfer your Chao, a small creature that you can raise and watch as they
develop different abilities, from one game to another, as well as different
items that you can buy to keep the creatures happy. With the connection,
you can also open up mini-games that use the Chaos.
Difficulty:
The difficulty isn't that high for Sonic Adventure DX Director's Cut.
You can get through most of the levels in the Adventure mode without any
problems, though I found it hard to complete the some of the timed
challenges in the game.
Game Mechanics:
The menu system is a pain for Sonic Adventure DX Director's Cut. I
got lost a few times just going around getting a feel for it. It seemed to
be overly complicated and really took away from the enjoyment of the game.
However, in general as far as the control scheme is concerned, it is really
intuitive. I rarely had problems getting used to the controls. When I
approached a completely different scenario, like Sonic turning into a
pinball and gaining over controls of the paddles in the Casino level, it
wasn't hard to adapt to the new system.
When I got a hold of one of the character's special items, Sonic's Light
Speed Shoes for example, it was easy to adapt my game style to the new
controls and integrate the added abilities into gameplay.
Basically, Sonic Adventure is an all around good game. Its menu
system leaves something to be desired, but once you get into the game, you
can have a lot of fun. I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the
series.
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