Review by: Danielle Riendeau

Considering how mixed-to-terrible the last Sonic game (that would be Sonic: Unleashed, for those keeping score) turned out, my expectations going into Sonic and the Black Knight were incredibly low. Somehow, despite the goofiest storyline yet and more Wii-mote waving than is healthy for anyone, it turns out that Black Knight is actually surprisingly decent.

The whole affair starts out with an inane cutscene that tells the story of how Sonic is summoned to a Medieval world, complete with swords, sorcery and several of his crappy friends (think King Arthur with furries). From here, you’re given control of a speedy, sword-wielding Sonic and set loose to try out the first stages.

Sure, there’s a plot. It involves an evil/dark version of King Arthur himself, a magical talking sword and a few Sonic-ized knights of the round table, but trying to make sense of the story in a Sonic game is sort of like trying to sort out a congruent timeline in the Zelda universe. Actually, Black Knight’s art style and “medieval action” tropes are ripped right out of your average Hyrulian adventure – and the cutscenes, as whacked out as they are, actually look quite beautiful, thanks to a gorgeous, hand-drawn style. It’s all very “storybook meets Okami” and totally unexpected, especially if you witnessed the vomit-inducing cartoon horror of the last game’s cinemas.

Really, if you have to be subjected to dumb, ‘tude-laden dialogue, it may as well be set to stunning visuals. And the graphics in the game proper are quite nice as well – they’re clean and crisp, although the setting is pretty generic (castles, forests, etc.).