Sonic Heroes is a 3D action-platformer in which the player takes control of a team of three characters, each with a special ability - speed, fly and power. The objective of the game is to race through levels as quickly as possible whilst defeating enemies and collecting rings. Your time, rings and enemies defeated make up a point system, and more points mean a higher rank on the level.
The game features four teams of characters each with their own changes to the gameplay: Team Sonic, Team Shadow, Team Rose, and Team Chaotix. Each team has its unique combination of abilities, which affect how you play through levels. For example, Team Sonic is the intermediate difficulty featuring Sonic (speed), Tails (fly) and Knuckles (power).
The game features four modes: Story Mode, Challenge Mode, Battle Mode, and Tutorial Mode. In Story Mode, players can play through levels as the story progresses. Challenge Mode allows players to replay levels that they have previously cleared in Story Mode. Battle Mode is a multiplayer mode where players can race or battle each other. Tutorial Mode teaches players the basics of playing the game.
Sonic Heroes was released on February 6th, 2004 for the Xbox console.