Don't always believe what you hear. If you listen to the gaming media, they will tell you Heroes is an average game. The camera still has some issues, but Heroes is one big step in returning to the hedgehog's roots. If not for the lack of story, I would have given this game a 10.
The game is amazing. It is packed full of long zones, some lasting up to fifteen minutes. The media says that the different teams games are too similar. Well, Sega included them to have different difficulty levels. Yes, you do have to beat them all to unlock the final boss, but the levels are so fun, you would have played through them again anyway. The only problem in the game is that Team Chaotix does some scavenger hunting, but you get to play through interesting levels, which is the main difference between this and Knuckles' levels in the Adventure games.
Bottomline, if you are a fan of the original Sonic games, or a fan of the Adventures, you will love this game. It blends the best of both worlds and almost reaches perfection.