Sonic Adventure 2: Battle is a port from the Dreamcast title with a few extra levels in the multiplayer. One of the nice additions is the ability to raise your Tomagachi-like Chao on the GameBoy Advance (if you have the Sonic Advance cart), instead of the Dreamcast's smaller VMU. Right off the bat, players can choose to play through the story mode as either the good guys or the bad guys. From that point, the story is broken up into one of three types of gameplay: high-speed platforming with Sonic or Shadow, 3-D shooter with Tails or Dr. Eggman, or treasure-hunting with Knuckles or Rouge. Every now and then, you have to face a boss and make the occasional trip to Chao Garden to drop off Chao you find in the levels. Once you start completing levels, you can then go back and retry the levels to get a better score.

Sonic Adventure 2: Battle looks good, even if there are a few rough edges here and there. The level design is nice and the gameplay stays fun without being overly difficult and unfair. Where the game really shines is when you're going really fast in the Sonic/Shadow levels, as the design of the courses really make good on the hectic action. And the way the game is designed, you'll most likely want to replay levels over and over again to find rings and Chao's that you've missed on the first time through. Visual and lighting effects are good and don't detract from the gameplay.

Audio-wise, the game is done decently. Music is appropriate for the image of the title and the voice-acting, while cheesy to the most part, seems to likewise fit the whole Sonic "feel". My only real gripe is that often when the music is playing during cutscenes, it seems a little loud, making some of the conversations to hear clearly.

Sonic's biggest challenge is the in-game camera, which is often placed so poorly that you have a hard time seeing your environment. I imagine that an number of times, the placement is to hide the occasional pop-up, but even then it does turn up, especially in the Sonic/Shadow levels. While the variety of levels is nice, there does seem to be a lack of what you bought this game for: high-speed Sonic/Shadow platforming levels. Also, without a GameBoy Advance and the Sonic Advance game, the Chao levels are a waste of time are limited*.

If you're a fan of the Sonic series, you'll probably want to give this one a play. It is a good platformer with a lot of variety, even if the variety may deter from the style of gameplay most gamers come to expect from a Sonic title. If you can look past the poor in-game camera, you'll be playing this title for some time.

* Note: Due to some consideration, calling the Chao levels useless is a bit unfair. Limited is more like it. You can still do things, but without a GBA and the Sonic cart, you miss out on probably the best part of the Chao portion of the game. Or at least the most addictive part of the whole game.

- - Kinderfeld