Although still early, Sonic Heroes has thoroughly impressed me on the showroom floor. Sonic and his teammates, Knuckles and Tails, are playable on two levels. The Easy level looks to be the game’s first level, and does a good job of introducing the game’s mechanics. 100% Sonic goodness, the level features fast-paced loops, robots, cannons, and a whole lot of speed. The design makes good use of the new team setup. Setting Tails as the leader lets you fly, while Knuckles’ strength makes him a perfect choice for fights. Sonic, of course, is fast. This level also features a downhill cart. The Hard (and lesser played) level is a grind level similar to those found in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, with long rail segments connected by dangerous platforms and is heavily weighted in Sonic’s favor.

The game’s biggest surprise is its improved control. The camera, now adjustable with the C-stick, is a god-send for any Sonic fan. The two playable levels’ default camera angles are also greatly improved over Sonic Adventure 2’s. That’s not to say the camera is perfect now, but it is better. Sonic and Knuckles respond to the analog stick very well, though Tails still needs some work. I also enjoy the characters’ special moves: Knuckles and Tails can throw their teammates as an attack, and Sonic’s light-speed dash seems more reliable. Grinding is exactly like it was in Sonic Adventure 2, at least for now. Some moves haven’t been implemented, but Sonic Team USA is heading in the right direction.

Sonic Heroes may be early, but it is already looking very good on GameCube. Sonic Team’s experience with the system is paying off: the game features bright colors and sharp textures with no pop-up to speak of, and slowdown is minimal. The character models come off as slightly plastic-like, though they certainly didn’t look bad. The game’s audio is already well underway with sound effects and voices, and Jun Senoue’s new music fits the two playable levels very nicely in his standard style.

Sega only has the most popular of the four trios on display, so I can’t make any grand statements on the whole game, but what I've seen of Sonic Heroes makes me very happy. Sonic Heroes has the best 3D Sonic gameplay yet, and those burned by Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 may want to give Sonic Team another chance. If the other teams’ gameplay are equally improved, this game will be huge.