The game opens as Sonic is mysteriously transported to the world of The Arabian Nights where he encounters a mystical genie, Shahra. Shahra pleads with Sonic to save her world from the powerful evil genie, Erazor Djinn. As the story unfolds, Erazor confronts Sonic and pulls him into his evil plans. Sonic has a limited time to deliver Erazor the seven World Rings and save the storybook world.

Navigating a world full of obstacles and enemies, from Erazor’s genie minions to dinosaurs, players use a bevy of core moves to keep up the pace. Holding the Wii Remote horizontally, players tilt the controller left and right to control Sonic’s signature speed. They jump, perform sliding stops, pull off wicked homing attacks with a snap of the controller, and even walk backwards with a tilt of the Wii Remote.

Players also hop aboard winged pots and fly with a vigorous shake of the controller. They launch themselves from catapults with a whip of the Wii Remote, surf through rapids on tree trunks and even pilot flying carpets in the race to restore this storybook world before all is lost.

Players navigate 100 missions within eight wildly varied worlds, gaining new moves and abilities along the way. As players progress through the game, Sonic’s abilities can be strategically equipped based on the demands of the mission ahead. From a boost called Speed Break to an ability called Time Break that slows the world around him to a near stop, Sonic needs every trick in the book to make sure Erazor Djinn stays in the storybook world.

In addition to the single player adventure, Sonic and the Secret Rings offers 40 mini-games that support up to four players. Showcasing the abilities of the Wii Remote, players will use the controller as a violin bow, an axe, a canoe paddle and dozens of other motions to compete in these easy to pick-up-and-play games. [SEGA]

In light of the formal apology recently issued to disgruntled consumers by SEGA regarding the utter debacle that was Sonic’s next-gen outing on the Xbox 360, it’s somewhat intriguing to discover what the sharp-clawed critics have made of the spiky blue-haired hedgehog’s foray onto the Nintendo Wii…and whether newfangled control gubbins make a blind bit of difference to a trend that’s fast making a mockery out of a once mighty gaming icon. Spend or Lend?

81% - GameBrink - "Sonic Team has taken Sonic, put him on rails, added a ton of variety, and made something that is definitely worth a rental. Some might find it too short to be a purchase, while others may just enjoy playing the levels over and over again with different setups in order to unlock the many goals available."

76% - GameSpot - "Sonic and the Secret Rings delivers an excellent sense of speed and plenty of depth, and what’s just as impressive is that it makes Sonic fun again."

75% - 1UP - "Although Sega deserves praise for Secret Rings’ innovative single-player adventure, the less said about the four-player party mode, the better. It’s another low-budget "Mario Party" rip-off that stretches out a few weak gameplay concepts into multiple multiplayer contests."

69% - IGN - "Sonic and the Secret Rings offers moments of greatness where I find myself caught up in the intensity of the experience and, oppositely, moments where I want to pull my hair out or throw the Wii Remote down because of imprecise control or insulting design choices."

50% - GameDaily - "Sega delivers inaccurate Wii controls, ridiculous objectives and a bad guy named Erazor. On top of that, it somehow screws up fixed camera angles while attempting to convince the gaming public that a group of rampaging triceratops runs faster than Sonic."

Verdict: um, that would be Lend