How wrong we were. The English language version of Sonic still labours beneath the weight of its enforced plot asides. In principle, they're not a bad idea. A bit of plot to glue together disparate experiences? Great. A 'skip this drawn-out nonsense! Let me get on with the game, you arse!' button is still, however, conspicuous by its continued absence. The rock tunes are still crap, the first bit of action is still frighteningly underwhelming - it's a feeble 'boss' battle - and it's still a bit slow-moving in places. Oh, and the game camera isn't averse to the odd bout of eccentricity.

But Sonic Adventure is genuinely excellent. The temptation, or pressure, that Sega must have felt to simply churn out their own take on the Mario 64 blueprint must have been considerable. The fact that they have, in effect, recreated much of what made the original Sonic the Hedgehog so good, but in 3D, is a remarkable achievement. At first, the various levels seem like racecourses, with Sonic's furious pace rendering sight-seeing opportunities few and far between. Later, though, you begin to grasp and experience its many subtleties. Every level, for example, has numerous different routes that you can take. Resist the obvious urge to speed through the stages as fast as you can and there are so many things to see and do.

Like Mario 64, Sonic Adventure's levels are linked by a hub that you're free to explore. With elementary puzzles to solve, secrets and people to natter with, it's worth checking every nook and cranny for goodies and quirks. Generally, its plot pushes you in a linear direction, but you're always free to revisit stages that you've already completed. It's worth doing so, too. Each one usually has three different ways in which you can complete it, and once you open up the other characters there are even more.

This is where Sonic Adventure is really clever. Throughout his titular exploits, Sonic meets friends old and new. He bumps into Tails near the start and a message flashes up to tell you that you can now control him. You might expect that this option to be a bit underwhelming; that controlling Tails would offer an alternative backside to follow, and little more. At best, you might anticipate a few different moves. But a whole new adventure, based on Tails' participation in the fight to defeat the evil Doctor Robotnik? Surely not! But yep, that's what you get.