Maybe it was only a matter of time before Sonic found himself in a RPG game on the DS, after all he has already appeared on TV all over the world, which of course is a pre-requisite for this type of game, so here we are sitting with the Bioware created Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, wondering if this is a step too far for the already aged Hedgehog.

Now if you are going to reinvent a character in a new type of game, then there is no better place to do so than on the DS, for one it has a huge install base, which of course is a must for any publishers and secondly it is know for it’s rather innovative games, oh and it does have quite a few classic RPG’s already in it’s back catalogue.

So what of Dark Brotherhood? Well considering this is the first time Sonic has found himself in an RPG style package the results are fairly impressive. The story starts off with you going on a mission to rescue Knuckles after finding out he has been abducted, from here you will travel the lands, fight all sorts of creatures and eventually unravel the other mysteries that are tied into the games story.

Although the story is fairly generic in a sense, a lot of effort has been put into the look of the game, the graphics are actually really impressive, with beautifully rendered backgrounds, and some neat looking cut scenes that certainly grab your attention.  Fans of the series should certainly be happy as the game includes 11 characters which should all look familiar, with the like of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles all featuring prominently throughout the game. 

Thankfully the game is very easy to navigate thanks to the all-touch approach adopted by the developer, not once during the game will you make use of a single button, instead all of the control you need over the game is assigned to the DS touch screen, meaning that you will be moving your character with the stylus and also selecting which actions you wish to take during combat in the same way. Selecting the menu is as simple as touching the icon at the bottom left of the screen, this will then cause a menu to pop up and gives you the option of saving your game, checking the map, looking at your journal, inventory or seeing how many Chao you have collected.

During the game you are able to switch between any of the four characters in your party, just click on the icon for the relevant character and he will appear on the screen to represent your group, the only time you see all four of your party members together is during combat.

Most of the games quests to begin with are made up of collecting items, unfortunately this does get a bit tedious after a while, however the saving grace is that you at least get to try out the combat against the many creatures you will meet in this part of the game.

Combat is a simple affair really, your four characters will line up on the screen, facing up to the four enemies, then like in most DS RPG’s you will then choose the actions for each of your characters, such as attack, heal, defend etc and then these actions will be played out on the screen. There is one twist in that you will sometimes be required to interact with combat, to do this you will be required to tap circles or follow dotted paths as they appear, this will then allow you to dodge attacks or pull them off. This will be repeated until someone wins, all basic stuff really.

The characters in The Dark Brotherhood each have a great mix, which means that you should find yourself making use of all their powers at some point in the game. All this means you will have access to abilities such as healing or stealing as well as special moves like Axe Kicks and Whirlwind. During the adventure itself, you will meet up with different characters and use a dialogue tree to communicate with them, which basically gives you a list of options of what you want to say, however it all ends up fairly irrelevant as no matter what you say you will still ends up doing the same things. 

Sonic die-hards will be pleased to know that rings make an appearance, except this time it as in game currency, collect enough rings and you will also gain other options such as hints when you are stuck or the ability to fight again if you have been defeated.

Overall The Dark Brotherhood is a well presented game and for a first attempt it is fairly decent, this however may be the games own downfall, after all who wants an average RPG when the DS is full of outstanding one’s? Maybe only Sonic fans can be the difference between this game standing out from the others in the pack.