udging from the mountain of Sonic-related love mail that we get all the time, you people adore the blue blur in all his repetitive forms. I am not one of those people. I’m of the school saying that unless something major happens, Sonic and I are officially breaking it off. I don’t want to deal with the random loops and springs that (I think) are supposed to make me believe I’m having fun. I’m not anymore ? I can see through the otherwise simplistic level design and one-dimensional sprinting and look at Sonic Advance 3 like any other Sonic title, because that’s all it is.

Sure, his crew is along for the ride, and they do offer some extra moves. To enhance replay, players choose a main member and then one of the remaining furry squadmates to come along for the ride as a partner. Although having certain characters as a sidekick is supposed to change the dynamic of each area (Sonic as a partner increases your speed, Knuckles lets you hit harder, etc.), it’s just too much of the same for my blood.

For those of you who manage to take advantage of the multiplayer options, I say, "more power to ya." There are a lot of modes to dig through, and I’ll let you do that on your own time. For my hours of leisure, I’ll be looking for Sonic to really do something different. These are great characters that have been the same since the start of the franchise. I want more now.