Sonic Rivals

"Not bad, but not as good as the series once was..."

It's fair to say that I'm not a major fan of the hedgehog. Not with the newer games, anyway. This is about as far as my experience with his recent titles goes, unless you count a brief play on Sonic and the Secret Rings. Sonic Rivals interested me because it looked like it might finally, actually, have gone back to how Sonic originally was back when he was the pioneer of his console. Has it? Well...

The plot is that Dr. Eggman has somehow created a weapon which transforms real things into cards, which can then be used to power his empire (really, play it and you'll see). When Tails is transformed, Sonic sets out to defeat Eggman and his newest crazy scheme, and gradually learns that others are out to defeat him, as well. There are four characters to choose from at first, plus a secret one. The majority of them are hedgehogs, with only Knuckles varying. Sonic, Shadow, Silver and Knuckles are all initially playable, each with his own storyline, and all play slightly differently and have different attributes and special abilities. Throughout the game, the player can collect cards which make new modes and outfits available.

The story is advanced through cut-scenes which generally consist of character stills, text lines and limited voice acting (although from what I've heard of the voice acting in other recent Sonic titles, perhaps that isn't a bad thing). Each character has his own storyline, and each is relevant to the others. It's hardly epic, but it does keep the flow of the game going fairly well and it does give you a reason to keep playing. Most stages see you facing your "rival" - a CPU controlled character whom you have to beat to complete the stage. If you zoom ahead it will instantly become much better, and if it gets too far ahead of you it will start messing up. Even in the boss fights which separate different chapters of the storyline, you're up against a rival, either trying to hit the boss the required number of times before you can or trying to prevent you from hitting the boss, which does bring a second objective to boss fights.

The graphics of the game are impressive, even for the PSP. It's usually possible to tell what something will do to your character before he lands on it (not that it's easy to avoid), and the game usually keeps up with the characters well. The sounds are fitting, the music is varied enough and what voice acting there is generally works.

Unfortunately, the gameplay is a different story. The controls, while usually good, have a habit of being unresponsive at critical moments, and all too often you'll run into something that you don't have a clue how to operate or pass, losing any lead you might have had on your rival. Races are often won or lost depending on who gets ahead during the final few seconds or who is faster on a section where you have no control over your character. The stages do feature items which can be collected for your character, but they usually don't do much except trigger a constant back and forth match with your rival which will continue until one og you (probably you) falls behind. Even the special attacks can be a problem, because the rival always seems to know exactly where to deploy them to improve their race or destroy yours. It seems as if the CPU always has an unfair advantage over you, and because it always keeps up with you, even if you make it through the course at unbelievably speed it can still win if you make a small mistake. Often, you have to run at something and hope that you don't fall afoul of whatever function it has to injure you (most things in this game have at least one). Things really start getting bad at the final boss, where this is a necessity rather than a harder option.

Another problem with the game is the length of it. Once you've completed all four stories, there isn't much left to do unless you're determined to collect all of the cards or you can get a lot of enjoyment from the multiplayer mode. It may not last as long as some games if you're quickly bored by repetition, but those who enjoy it can probably make it last a while.

Sonic Rivals isn't a bad game, and there's probably enough here to keep fans of the hedgehog amused for a while. Those who aren't fans may not get quite as much enjoyment out of it. Personally, I think it's a fair game, but not quite as good as the classic ones.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 07/26/07