Sonic Rush Review (DS)

So what does this mean for all those Sonic fans who still feel Sonic 3 and Knuckles was the last great Sonic game? Nothing because this is just as good if not better! No longer do we have bottomless pits from Sonic Advance 2 or stupid team up moves from Sonic Advance 3 and I wont even mention the 3D games, nope its gone back to basics and by doing that has returned Sonic back to his roots of extreme speed.

An interesting story Eggman somehow finds a way to gain access to a parallel universe in which Blaze the cat, a fire elemental with royal lineage, is sworn to protect the Sol Emeralds. The ultimate power said to hold the space-time continuum in perfect balance. By teaming up with his alter ego Eggman Nega, Eggman is able to gain access to these Sol Emeralds and along with the chaos emeralds bring complete annihilation to the world. It’s up to blaze and the unwanted help of Sonic and friends to put a stop to his plans before it’s too late..

Visually Sonic Rush is a really nice game to look at, with 3D character models and lush 2D backgrounds, it really does merge well together giving Sonic Rush its own art style. This really brings out the best in Sonic and the world he lives in. The best use of the DS power is on the boss levels which use 3D arenas along with bosses for you to battle it out with.

The Rush meter, such a simple addition to the franchise but very much a complete overhaul, no longer do you need to build up speed, with the touch of a button you boost off into the screen and back on track to the finish goal. This along with the action taking place on both screens really does add to the frantic pace of the game and never feels like the use of two screens is an obstruction. Along with using the touch screen for the special stages you can move Sonic around obstacles while collecting rings, this game really feels right at home on the DS. The addition of being able to play as Blaze doesn’t hold any great advantages other then making the game a little easier with her abilities to perform two jumps and float at any time, making those jumps of luck not so scary any more. Other than that it’s the same old Sonic formula getting from start to finish as quickly as possible

This is a hot debate by many fans as to whether this new techno sound is better then those of the Megadrive era and I’m all for it as I don’t believe it takes anything away from the series. My two favourite themes that I can’t stop humming to are “zone 4-mirage road” and “extra zone-exception“. The developers have also kept all the sound effects from previous games, to the relief of the fans. All in all, the music is to a very high standard unlike the voice actors used for all the characters; Tails and Cream especially are still very annoying and simply not needed.

Completing the game with both characters unlocks a time attack mode along with a bonus level. Collecting all of the Sol/Chaos Emeralds unlocks the final act and sound test. Not too bad but nothing new for a Sonic game, what will bring you back to playing the game is how much fun you have playing each zone time and again.