[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvjLf21n9no[/youtube]
Sonic Colours for Wii and DS was made available to purchase in Australia today, the first official release for the game, with Europe receiving it tomorrow and the U.S. on the 16th. With the first official release has come many story mode spoiling details and media in the Sonic community for both versions, which we won’t relay here, but some interesting news you may want to hear is that more characters make non-playable appearances in the DS version than first thought. Joining already confirmed Amy & Knuckles are; Shadow, Blaze, Silver, Rouge, Cream, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Big and Chao.

You can hear some voice clips of the new voice actors portraying the characters in the video at the top of the page, courtesy of YouTube user MidniteWv4. The clips are played in the following order of characters: Sonic, Tails, Yacker, Eggman, Cubot, Orbot, Knuckles, Shadow, Blaze, Amy, Silver, Cream, Big, Espio, Charmy, Vector, Chao, Rouge, Omega and Wisp.

In other news, more reviews have been published across the net for both versions of the game, some scoring the game high and some scoring it low. British newspaper Guardian, along with Gamekult have given the Wii version its lowest scores of 3/5 and 6/10 respectively. Guardian cite dull presentation, lack of polish and an untidy interface as their reasons for an average score.

Eurogamer put their review of the Wii version out today and it was a positive one, with an 8/10 score awarded. The game received positive marks for its controls, simple storyline and replayability. Videogamer are equally positive in their review, where the Wii version got another 8/10. Videogamer’s Jamin Smith says “The controls are tight and simple, and even the camera is on its best behaviour throughout.”, the latter being something most modern console Sonic games are often panned for.

As for the DS version, Game Informer gave the portable outing an 8.5/10 for its fluid high-speed, the Wisps adding interesting gameplay and the addictive special stages. Elsewhere, the DS version was given a 7.9/10 by GameTrailers, a higher score than the 6.4 they gave the Wii version. GT’s reviewer appears to have really enjoyed the multiplayer modes of the DS version and the Wisp abilities that encourage exploring and replayability, but they say the game can get frustrating, because of the gap between the two screens resulting in you losing sight of Sonic from time to time.

You can check out more Sonic Colours Wii and DS reviews at Metacritic.

What do you think of the critics impressions of Sonic Colours? Have you picked up or will you be purchasing the game? Let us know in the comments.

Thanks to Woun at the SSMB for first revealing details about the cast of characters in the DS version!