Over the years Sega have tried many ways of reinventing their famed mascot since he made the transition from 2D to 3D in Sonic Adventure. While the first outing on the Dreamcast was a decent title for it's time it was still hampered by poor camera controls and some poor programming in places; and these two things have remained consistent criticisms ever since. But, with a well received Sonic and the Secret Rings laying the foundations, how does this second "Storybook" title fare?

Sonic and the Black Knight - the latest in the 'Sonic Storybook' series - places the blue blur in a Medieval setting with a story revolving around the legendary King Arthur; where each of the supporting characters takes up the role of either a Knight of the Round Table or a related role such as Amy Rose playing the role of the Lady in the Lake. One might ask, what exactly does this have to do with Sonic? Well, it makes for an interesting new way of presenting the game - in an original way so as to broaden the appeal of the series. And some ways it succeeds.

The actual presentation is top-notch with a decent intro complete with Crush 40 accompanying music which, while a tad cliché, has always suited the 3D games; the menus are easy to navigate, as is the map which thankfully does away with any need for an awkward hub world, there are also plenty of extras that you can unlock along the way and everything looks visually decent and even impressive by Wii standards in places.

But then it comes down to actually playing the game and this is unfortunately where the game doesn't deliver nearly as much as it surely should; you start out running through a town and castle level with grassy areas. It all looks and feels great as you run along at high speeds, until you face your first few enemies.

The title has undeniably good looks...

This is where the swordplay comes in - you are guided through your first battle by the very sword you carry (yes he talks...) named Caliburn who instructs you on how to swing your weapon. For every enemy you defeat you will fill up your Soul Gauge. From here holding down the 'B' trigger will allow you to make more timed slices against your opponents and doing this at the right time will allow you to string together combos (you can also use it on a long stretch of land to get you running faster).

Running along at top speed is what Sonic does best, but when you consider that Sega have chosen to abandon the trademark twists and turns of the series - and even the famous loops - then it all ends up feeling a bit muted and futile, no matter how pretty it might look. Couple this with the fact that you will seemingly be doing more fighting than running - even if some of the battles are over quickly - and you get the overall feeling that what you're playing isn't really a Sonic title at all aside from the implementation of the characters, a few references and the final battle which does redeem the title to a degree.

Fragmenting the gameplay even more are the levels which require you to do more than just reach a goal. The "defeat 'x' amount of enemies" missions are fine to a point but the "ring-giver" ones which have you collecting rings, stopping at townspeople to hand them rings and then having to complete a quick-time event in order to actually give the rings really takes the proverbial biscuit.

Boss battles are good but have their moments of frustration due to the timing of swings that are required and the fact that the IR doesn't seem to register your actions if you are more than a little out-of-sync with the on-screen prompts, as aforementioned though the final boss battle is something of a redemption and without potentially spoiling things it's a pleasingly original take on what has been tried before.

We want to be running faster!

Alas one single battle does not save the game from being decidedly average, and unfortunately once you have beaten it there is little to come back for. There are additional missions along with items to identify which will allow you to forge new swords and make playing a little easier as well as being able to control Blaze, Knuckles and Shadow in the single-player missions, though this adds only very slight variation to the proceedings.

Various multiplayer modes are also included, which consist of players picking their favourite character (including a couple that aren't playable in single player) and then either fighting it out against each other or competing to dispatch as many enemies as possible. All of this sadly takes places in disappointingly static arenas which are nothing like the single player levels however.

Indeed the best alternative mode is the single player challenge mode, where you can play levels with set parameters and conditions to beat - these are unlocked by playing the standard single player mode - and once you beat them your score is uploaded to a leader-board using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Unfortunately for some reason it takes a full thirty seconds or more each time to upload your score so while the main challenges themselves are fine, having to wait an amount of time that almost amounts to another whole attempt at the challenge goes a long way to killing the experience.

Without any real incentive to carry on after the credits have rolled what you are left with is a short game, and one that doesn't represent the true Sonic name very accurately at all. The fact that it's part of the 'Storybook Series' and not part of the main chronology should not be an excuse for Sega to drag their mascots name in to a game where the main swordplay mechanic just doesn't blend with Sonic's speed.

As a fan of the series, as much as I want to love this game I can't justify it as being anything more than an average affair. If I had to suggest a route for Sega to take next with the series it would simply be this simple formula: Sonic plus two dimensions is proven to amount to success, if you're going to add a third then try to retain the core elements, not add a gimmick - this will only take the game so far.