"Sonic Rushed"

The Sonic franchise is primarily focused on the presence and aspect of speed. However recent Sonic games have taken a different approach to its game play and focused more on an adventure type installment then its traditional 2d adrenaline rush experience. Sonic Rush is the latest installment of the Sonic Franchise and it makes its way to the Nintendo DS for the very first time. Sega is making an attempt to revive the classic 2D gaming Sonic that gamers love and enjoyed in the Genesis and Saturn days. Sonic Rush is the result of their attempt to revive the blue hedgehog back into being a gaming icon once again.

At first the story seems very traditional and expected in what is present from past Sonic games. Eggman is the main antagonist featured once again and his goal is to create havoc in the world. It's Sonic's job to collect the Chaos Emeralds and restore peace. This unimpressive story has been redone in many of the sonic games. The redundant storylines and unimpressive character development leads to the gamer skipping story sequences that are found after beating a boss and going on to the next world. However in the beginning to the middle of the game, the pacing is exceptionally well done and there's no complaints. Eventually, the gamer will have the option to control Blaze the cat. Her intentions are to receive the Sol Emeralds to protect the world from the evil Dr. Nega Eggman. Despite Sega trying to do something fresh to the storyline, it's very hard to be engaged in this game if both characters have the same goals and responsibilities. It provides for lack of enjoyment and proves that Sega took no time to really think of a storyline for this game. Even though the first few levels provides great pacing for the storyline, once the gamer reaches halfway through the game, it's more convenient to skip cut scenes as they are boring and provides no real plot twists to the game. The only major plot development happens near the end of the game but at this point, gamers have given up on the story and really have no interest at this point.

Character development is poorly done as well. Tails is brought in to be Sonic's companion. Other then that, he has no importance to the game. Blaze's character personality is superficial and unrealistic. Her character is depicted to be a cat who prefers to do tasks by herself but she continues to follow Amy and that other annoying Rabbit girl. Knuckles is also briefly mentioned in the game but he's there just for a boring story plot advancement which has no purpose to the game itself. Sonic remains to be the same Character he has been since Sonic Adventure 1. His traits never chance and he remains consistent in his personality throughout the entire game. That's not a flaw but his personality is very boring.

The major highlight of the game is found within it's deep game play and great use of the dual screens. Sega's attempt to make Sonic Rush a replica of what gamers experienced during the early Sonic days was a complete success. By far this sonic game is the fastest one. Also there is a lot of fluidity in the game so it's nowhere near broken and unfixed. The enemy placement is at the right place at the right time. Each world is separated into three acts. There are a total of 7 worlds for both Blaze and Sonic to play in. However for both of them, they play the same levels and fight the same bosses. Regardless of that, the levels are very enjoyable and there is a lot of replay ability found within the game. Similar to the Sonic Adventure series, each level depending on how well you play is graded from a scale. Time limit, Coins and Trick points are used to grade the player on how well they did in completing a level. This provides for some replay ability as some gamers will strive to "S rank" all the levels.

The game play is very similar to what the original Sonic games were like. It's all primarily based on pure speed and enjoyment. However this game does have its puzzles and enemies which make the game play even more enjoyable. It doesn't detract from the fluidity of the game and it's also provides for a greater difficulty. There is a "tension" system included in the game which gives sonic temporary super speed which allows you to cruise through some parts of the level with ease. The tension bar increases with powerups you find within the level and with more trick points you do. To do a trick point, all the gamer has to do is press the jump button repeatedly in the air when jumping off a ramp or the bounce buttons. In order to gain a higher rank, using the tension button (which is "X") is necessary to use.

Just like most Sonic games, if Sonic is hit from an enemy or spike, he loses all of his coins. It's the gamer's responsibility to collect these coins as they are essential for preventing death and for getting a higher grade. The shield and coin collecting shield also makes its presence in the game. It doesn't enhance the game play a lot but it prevents the gamers from running straight into an enemy. The farther you progress in the game, the more difficult it becomes. The first world is an introduction the Sonic Rush series. The 2nd world takes you into the watery depths of a ruin in which sonic must proceed through to reach to the next level. Other scenario includes ancient ruins, a carnival, a sky zone, space and even a military facility (which I found to be my favorite.) There are big differences between each act you play which makes the game more replay able and enjoyable.

The game uses the dual screen to its full potential. Sonic will traverse through both screens, going through loops and through pipes just to finish the levels. The use of both screens is a breath of revitalization in the redundant series. The touch stylus isn't used at all except in secret levels which are reminiscent to the secret levels in some of the 2d Sonic games on the genesis. The stylus is used to direct sonic in third person perspective to collect coins and dodge spikes. Also there are different paths in beating a certain level which again emphasizes on the whole replay ability factor.

One major flaw in the game play though is the boss battles. They are very annoying and at times too difficult. The varieties between the bosses found in the game are too few and sometimes they will all carry very similar moves and fight patterns. Despite the boss battles being in 3d, there's no excitement and not enough detail to them to make them very original. For example, the first and 6th boss is the same but they vary within difficulty. It's more of a nuisance to fight the bosses then to rather enjoy the battle.

The graphics are very fluid and there's no lag at all. Each world is unique from the other and is colored with bright and vivid colors. As stated before, Sonic and Blaze will both traverse through many different worlds, each in which is different from the other. The boss battles are fully done in 3d and are innovative but poorly executed. The secret levels are also done in 3d and unlike the boss battles, they are enjoyable. The animation effect is nicely done as well. Even the background is drawn well and is best in some levels such as the Carnival. This is one of the best games when it comes to transition from 2D to 3D as well.

Perhaps the other best aspect to the game is the catchy music. The tunes found in the game are very original and really catchy. It's a genre of rap/techno/hip hop all merged into one which provides for excellent sound quality which matches the fast adrenaline rush of game play. The music is amazing and done perfectly.
Rent or Buy: Sonic Rush is roughly around $29.99 and is worth the purchase for any DS owner. It's completely innovative and very original. It's a revitalization of the series and the use of the stylus screen and glimpses of the stylus pen provides for a lot of innovation and new game play experience.

Overall impression: The immersive worlds, graphics and music is done exceptionally well. However the boss battles, lack of levels, difficulty and poorly done character development and storyline really holds this game back from being one of the best games on the Nintendo DS. If Sega emphasized on some of the smaller game play in the game and reworked the storyline to make it interesting, the game would be truly one of the best in Sonic's long life line.

Score:
Story: 4/10
Game play: 9/10
Graphics: 9/10
Music: 10/0
Tilt/Value: 8/10
Overall: 40/50

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/13/06