"Sonic Rushes back into the Golden Age"

Sonic's 4th try at a Platformer on a Nintendo Handheld? Did Sega finally get it right?

Many have considered the Advance series to be average. Some even call the series dreadful. Sonic Rush, Sega's first Sonic the hedgehog title for the Nintendo DS, changes the style a bit and creates a great new title, perhaps the best 2D one in a decade.

Story: Handheld Sonics haven't had much a story really. This one is a few steps above the Advance 3 story. However, it isn't as detailed as Sonic Battle's. Somehow, Dr. Eggman has found away into an alternate dimension. This time Sonic doesn't only have to deal with the doctor but a mysterious Eggman look-a-like and a stubborn cat girl. The game has a few cutscenes but nothing too major. 6/10

Graphics: The graphics in Sonic Rush are great. The backgrounds are beautiful and enemies and characters are 3D models. The bosses are amazing, and extremely unique and great looking. 9/10

Gameplay: Sonic Rush is awesome! The new gauge allows for high speed action and the level design is usually perfect for it. There are times when Sonic will fall into a pit if you are traveling too fast, but normally the level design is good enough to avoid those happenings. The special stages start out easy but get harder as you progress through the game and are probably the most enjoyable special stages ever created. The Special Stages are controlled via Touch Screen and are a lot like Sonic 2's half pipe stages. The touch screen makes a bit easier but harder in other ways because of potentially blocking the stage with your hands. The Dual Screens are pretty helpful during gameplay but once you start, you never really need to pay much attention to both. 10/10

Extras: Sonic Rush doesn't have a lot of things on the surface in the Extras department. You can unlock a time-attack mode and stories by playing the game, but that's really it. If you really enjoy the game however, you can try and S rank all the levels. It's a difficult job but the game keeps making players come back for more. 8/10

Story: 6/10
Graphics: 9/10
Gameplay:10/10
Extras: 8/10

Overall: (Not really based on an exact average)
9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/21/05