In that case:
Silver's game is fresh and creative while being similar enough to Sonic and Shadow to not alienate Sonic fans. Being able to grab enemies' projectiles is very useful as well as good way to prevent death along side collecting rings. Silver's powers allows for interesting platforming to move by lifting up boxes and objects using his psychokinesis.
I really don't see how Silver feels similar to Sonic and Shadow. He is really slow, and his whole gameplay feels nothing like theirs. It lacks the fast-paced action that the other main characters have and usually focuses on puzzles and platforming, which are usually either frustrating or just boring. His gameplay isn't necessarily bad, but not only does it feel too drastically different from the rest of the game, it's also not very polished.
Moving onto stages, the stages all have incredibly interesting designs
Could you elaborate?. The level design in 06 is arguably the most competent thing about the game (outside of the OST), but it's not really interesting. I don't remember any part of a stage that stood out (for a good reason) and was really memorable (I guess the giant waterfall thingy in... was it Kingdom Valley? Either way, that was a pretty cool visual).
The hub worlds also do not take lives from the player when they die in the hub world, which Sonic Unleashed (the following main game) does not do (If you die in Sonic Unleashed's hub worlds it takes from your life counter).
That's such a minor detail that the only reason I even knew that you could die in Adventure Fields was because Amy spawned already dead once when I was playing Silver's story.
The town missions are good way to practice your characters moves as well as gain rings to spend on upgrades.
I really don't see how. They aren't that many rings there, and due to how much time it takes to load in and out of the missions, it's definitively not an efficient way to get rings.
As for practing character moves... like, what? You can't just do that normally, you don't need to be in a mission to practice a character's moveset, and it's not they really help that much since most of them are either very simple, short and don't really require to do much.
Most town missions are optional
Many of them are not. You are forced to complete several town missions in the game, and they just slow down the pacing. A lot.
Character battles are a staple to the franchise and I am glad that Sonic 06 continues it.
The fights against Shadow and Sonic are.. ok, I guess. Obviously, they're too easy, but I won't knock 06 for that considering it's just following the standard set by SA. What I will fault if for is the fact that Silver's fight exists, and I don't even I really need to explain why that one is bad. I imagine even someone who likes the game as a whole can recognize that it's an unpolished mess.
Eggman's robot designs continue to be interesting as shown in all the robot boss battles.
I like how the Egg Genesis looks like an E-Series robot, but aside from that, Eggman's robots in 06 look really generic, including regular enemies. They tried to make them look too realistic, and it ends up feeling more like a bunch of random robots you'd see in any sci-fi property ever than something specific and recognizable to Sonic. I mean, what looks more unique? This or this? The answer is pretty obvious to me.
And as for the boss fights themselves, they aren't that bad. The Egg Cerberus and Egg Genesis are fine, although quite forgettable. The Egg Wyvern is pretty much a rip-off of the Egg Viper, but it works well enough. And for the non-Eggman fights, same applies. The fights with Iblis aren't interesting in the slightest, and while I appreciate the creativety in Mephiles' fights (him being Shadow's shadow is awesome), they aren't anything special when it comes to gameplay. Overall, the fights in the game aren't bad, but I would hardly call them good.
Sonic 06's setting of Soleanna does show off a different part of Earth in the Sonic Franchise. it helps build the world and makes it more believable
It really doesn't imo. Soleanna doesn't feel like a part of the Sonic world at all. Not much from 06 really does. The whole game has a very bland feeling to it, as I mentioned earlier with Eggman's robots. It's trying to hard to be realistic and loses almost all of the personality and life that a Sonic game should have (when it comes to setting).
Rouge and Omega also are at the top of their game
Shadow's great in 06, but Rouge and Omega? Not really. Rouge is mostly just used for exposition (+ she and Knuckles have the worst gameplay, so that doesn't help either) and Omega, while having a cool role in the story with the whole time travel shenanigans, has no personality in 06. He is just "I am speaking in a way that can be considered very robotic because I am a robot and as such it is my obligation to act like a robot and move really slowly because that is how robots act".
Blaze the cat is much the same as she was in Sonic Rush, the dutiful princess that will do what is necessary.
Not really related to the point in question, but since you're talking about Blaze, I figured I'd point out that she doesn't have a single line directed to anyone who isn't Silver, and Sonic doesn't even acknowledge her (she mentions Sonic early in the game as if she remembered him but that is completely forgotten and never brought up again at all)
She does continue her motivation of following Sonic around in hopes of gaining his affection but she does not let that stop her from doing the right thing
"If I had to choose between the world and Sonic, I would choose Sonic!"
The main villain of the game Mephiles the Dark is the best villain of the franchise
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Mephiles is by far the most overrated character in the franchise imo. He is supposed to come of as creepy, smart and manipulative, but he doesn't. Sure, he successfully tricks Silver, but does so with about as much as cleverness as when Eggman tricked Knuckles in SA. His plan ends up working, but it's not really because he is smart.
If Shadow had brought the Septer of Darkness with him to the future, Mephiles wouldn't have broken free and his plan would have failed. If the plot didn't decide that sealing him wouldn't work in the very last cutscene of Shadow's story, his plan would have failed.
But it's not like it matters since his whole plan was pointless. He has time travel. He could just go to when Elise died and fuse with Iblis, or just kill her instantly. There's nothing in the game that implies that wouldn't work, so why doesn't he do that? Hell, he just go back to when him and Iblis were first separated and fuse with him then and there.
(Apparently this whole comment is too long. I replied to this with the rest of my points if you have enough patience to read them)
