When Sega mentioned that they had something exciting, prickly and blue for Future Gamer to enjoy, we were mildly surprised. "We didn't know you were going up against Ann Summers," we said. But they meant Sonic Adventure! Oh, how we blushed...
James Price

Surprises are good. Last night, Future Gamer's esteemed helmsman bought a round. Jaws dropped, and gasps resounded from bar room grime as pints of pure 4.1 ABV shock were placed reverentially before all. Several days ago, the England football team limped into an almost entirely undeserved place in a European Championship play-off, thanks to a helping hand from Sweden. Days later, their play-off opponents were named - Scotland! Who'd have imagined that during the grim 0-0 draw at Wembley against an ageing, guileless Bulgaria?

Probably the biggest shock of recent weeks, however, is that Sonic Adventure - contrary to popular office expectation - is actually really, really good. Months ago, Future Gamer obtained a Japanese copy of this flagship Dreamcast title. Duly, and with no lack of fevered anticipation emanating from a mass of rapidly-accreting onlookers, the disc was placed into our NTSC machine. And... well. Erm. The best way to describe the relative antipathy that everyone felt towards Sonic Adventure after their first viewing is best expressed by the following simple equation.

New Dreamcast game + office full of thieving, game-mad bastards = game stolen within hours of arrival, never to be seen again.

Tellingly, no-one got around to pinching Sonic Adventure. The disappointment of the team was so tangible you could almost taste it. Rather than the lightning fast, immediately playable classic epic we'd expected, we got minutes of incomprehensible dialogue. Instead of the classic Sonic tune - remember it? "Duh-duh, duh durrr durrrr, duh-duh-duh-duh durrr durrr!" Ace! - our ears were raped by endless, feeble rock tunes. With lyrics. Ugh.

When we eventually got to play a proper level, dark mutters competed with complimentary exclamations. "It looks nice," thought all. "It's fast," we added. "That's a good touch," we mused. But we couldn't shake off the feeling that, somehow, its action was on rails; that we influenced, but not controlled, the ever-frisky Sonic. After the completion of this reasonably-promising stage, yet more tiresome - and unskippable - dialogue followed. "We'll wait for the English version," said all. On that miserable note, Sonic Adventure was damned. It still, to this day, languishes in some forgotten drawer.