I can definitely say this is one of the best Sonic titles I've ever played.

Why is that you ask? Well, simply, the game controls great, there are six characters divided into three play styles, and a whopping 155 missions to tackle. There's also kart racing, Chao raising (a Chao is a type of virtual pet), and multiplayer.

First off, the characters. Six characters who mirror each other in the "light vs. dark" scenario, with a style of play unique to the pair of characters in question. Sonic and Shadow's levels revolve around fast-paced platforming; get to the end as fast as you can, and be a daredevil while you're at it, as performing tricks increase your score. Tails and Dr. Eggman's levels have you shooting out as many enemies as possible; locking on to more targets before firing results in more points. Finally, Knuckles and Rouge's levels have you hunt for three objects, usually pieces of a large gem called the Master Emerald; the faster you claim the treasures you seek (and with as few hints as possible), the more points will be added to your score. These styles of play encompass 31 different playable levels with five missions apiece. You'll explore and run through areas resembling Los Angeles, a military base, a scorching desert with a pyramid filled with ghosts, and lastly a 50 year old abandoned space colony. You play through these areas in the main story, split into the Hero Side (Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles) and the Dark Side (Shadow, Eggman, and Rouge). Each stage also has its secrets - different passages to take, hidden goodies like Rings, 1-Ups, and Shields, as well as special "Level-Up" items that allow the characters to perform different abilities.

Next, the controls. The controls are very responsive, and can be mapped to your liking on your keyboard. I cannot currently say how a game pad would work with this game.

What kind of missions are in store? Well, there's the main story missions - the first of each stage. Every stage, barring kart stages, also have missions requiring you to collect 100 Rings as fast as you can, finding a lost Chao as quickly as possible, completing the story mission within a time limit, and finally completing the stage on a harder version of the level. Since there are no Chao to be found in Kart Stages in Story Mode (and since you're racing against time anyway), your driving skills will be put to the test as you have missions requiring you to not hit a single vehicle, and not even touch a wall on the way to your goal.

What are Chao? Chao are small creatures that originally appeared in Sonic Adventure for the SEGA Dreamcast in 1999 (or 1998 for Japan). You basically raise them as virtual pets - you can feed them, pet them, or cuddle them as one of the six characters. However, if you're feeling like a bully, you can also attack them or throw them (seriously though, why would you???) It's generally not a good idea to attack a Chao - you'll need to raise them using the small animals and Chaos Drives you find in the enemies you destroy in the main game. Once your Chao's stats (Speed, Power, Stamina, Flight, and Swim) are high enough, you can enter them in races to earn prizes; don't neglect this part of the game, as you need to finish those races to finish the game to 100%.

Lastly, there's also a multiplayer mode that can be played locally. If you really want all of this mode's offerings, make sure to download the "Sonic Adventure 2 Battle" DLC with this game. You can play as not only the six characters in the story, but six more additional characters in the three play styles mentioned above. You can also race each other in Kart Racing, or pit your Chao against each other in racing (or Chao Karate if you have the DLC installed).

While this is a review, I will add my own tips as follows:

1. Make sure your system's specs are considerably higher than the recommended system requirements. Mine barely match them, and as a result the game runs at about 20 FPS instead of the preferred 60.
2. This game does have a somewhat steep learning curve. So some practice can help you out.
3. If you're serious about completing the game to 100%, prepare to hunker down. It's not an easy feat to claim all 180 Emblems - you need to finish every mission with the highest Rank, finish in first place for every Chao Race, clear each Chao Karate Class (if you have the DLC installed), and complete a few other modes.
4. In addition to #3, be prepared to spend a lot of time on this game. Especially with the Chao - it takes quite a while to raise one Chao's stats to the high levels it needs to be at to finish all the races and karate tournaments.
5. Most of all, have fun! The game has aged well from 2001, and if you're a Sonic fan, don't pass this game up!

So, with all of this being said, Sonic Adventure 2 is a great game at only $10 (or $13 if you get the DLC with it). You won't regret your purchase.

I'll score it by the same score I did back when the game was just release.
I'm using the xbox controller, so the analog positions reminds me of the dreamcast's mote.
The game colors on 1080p really make it as pretty, and if you have a 3d compatible screen, like the 3311gt, it makes it just that much better. Overall, I feel as I can finally let my Dreamcast rest in peace.

What to say about this game..

This is the one game that probably made up the vast majority of my childhood. It was one of the first games that we got for our gamecube and I played it right up to high school before putting it away. Now in college, im playing it on my gaming rig alongside all my other "big boy games :P" It is by far my favorite 3D sonic title, as it has a good story along with enough variety in the number of levels and playable characters to always give you something different. You have the fast paced Sonic/ Shadow levels, Gem hunting Knuckles/ Rouge levels, Mecha eggman/ tales levels. Heck, there is even racing built in.. No other sonic game has combined the variety this game has.

One cannot simply blow through this game (unless you REALLY don't want to accomplish anything). There are over 130 levels to beat, all of which will take you 2+ minutes to finish. So that will take you at least 4 hours to just try and blow through the game. Not counting in your deaths, rage moments, longer levels (there are some really long ones at times, the last mission can take a very long time). And that is just going through just to get through the game. You will not score well on your first runs, and certainty not perfection. If you want all the emblems in the game, you must do just that: perfection. You will need to keep all your rings and get through with a decent time for most characters. The mecha levels are a bit of a exception as you can rack up huge combos and get a A.

Did I mention that there are 5 "levels" to each level? That's right, just when you thaught you had it all done. You can replay each level in a different mode, which will change the layouts and objectives of the missions. Eventually unlocking a hard mode of the level which adds many more units, all upgraded to how they are at the end of the game. You also have to get A's on these as well to get the extra emblems.

And then we have the Chao garden that returns from the first game (sonic adventure DX). This minigame? ( dunno, its taken up more of my time than the actual game) is basically a 3d tamogatchi (or however you spell it). You have to raise Chao which have a complex emotion, evolution and DNA system that will be difficult to understand at first. (google chao island to find out more) you raise and breed them to race and fight in Karate matches, raising their stats with items you find in the main game. (look for blue boxes). There are even moral classes for the chao. If they like a dark character, they will evolve into a dark chao, if they like hero characters they will turn into a hero chao, and neutral if they don't have any preference. Then they have a sub-evolution determined by their highest stats. They will evolve twice and then either be reborn (if you pay attention and care for it) or die and disappear. There are many many many things to unlock in the races as well as teaching them skill sets at the "kindergarden" I can go on and on about how great this feature is and how bummed i am that they havent bothered to put it in a newer game. I think it would be fantastic for things like the Wii U.

To sum up this review there is a absolute TON of replay-ability. heck, I would say that i've spent about 5000 hours playing this throughout my life so far, and I just installed it onto steam :P My main recommendation for steam is to get a controller. One that is layed out just like a xbox 360 controller (im using my ps4 controller). The controls were never made for a keyboard, and it shows. Do yourself a favor and use a controller!

The graphics for this game are decent, nothing to shout about but they are decent. You will probably be moving through the levels so fast you wont notice half the time. Though that might be a issue as there are secret upgrades to find for every character. And they are not all easy to find. (check those areas behind your camera!) When you find certain upgrades they can really help you finish levels with your rings and in a good time as the relics can teleport you or simply make platforms past annoying parts of the level, or l;et you into secret areas. (guess what/ more replay) Heck you will immediately notice that some areas are not accessible, and you need a upgrade further on in the game to access them.

So by now, your probably wondering why you would want the emblems.. well, the more you have, the more stuff you will unlock. Getting A's in all of a character's levels will give you a alternate skin for battle mode (in the dlc i would assume) These will change how your character plays. They also will unlock quite a few items (and new chao eggs) in the black market. which is definitely worth it.

Do yourself/ your kid a favor and buy this game. It offers a lot of play time for what it really costs. Heck, check out to see if the "sonic everywhere pack" is on sale. Its 17 sonic games (including this one, it's DLC, sonic adventure DX, and numerous other) for only about $15

my first real STH game and my intro into the series, the game is a little old but contains impressive graphics for the fact it was a gamecube game before. played it for a while and completed the game.

contains two intertwining storylines, the hero and the villain (known as "dark" storyline ingame), you can play as each in the beggining and when you complete both it unlocks a final story where the two teams band together against a common enemy.

I played this game as a child all the time on the gamecube before my family sent all of our gamecube stuff to our cousin, I wanted to play the game again and show it to my sister so I looked to buy it again on the game cube but was shocked at the prices! Then I saw this option. It was very affordable and downloaded fast. It runs great on my computer despite it not being a gaming machine. It looks great too.

As for the game itself, its probably my favorite sonic game of all time. Give it a try.

this game was pretty good. first I will list the bad parts. 1, its kind of confusing. the chao thingies were hard to figure out. they are the little animals that you rescue in 1p mode, but so far the eggs wont hatch. also we didn't know what they were at first. it would be nice to have instructions. 2 it takes up way too much memory space. 2.36 GBs!3, it takes FOREVER to download. about 4 hours. now the good things. 1 it is fun in 2p mode and 1p mode, 2 it is nice to play it before we go to bed, and three, it has an exciting story plot. I am 11.