Title: Sonic Rush
Developer: Sonic Team
Genre: Platformer
Platform: DS
Players: 1-2



Back 2 Back

Sega have never truly really emulated the success & solid gameplay from earlier Sonic games in their latest GBA/Multiplatform projects, all of them are an enjoyable experience in their own right but they've never had the memorable design and gameplay of the original Genesis titles. 3D gameplay didn't work out too well for them and the GBA games have always seemed a bit too different for their own good at times. Sega had a chance to work on something new with Sonic Rush for the Nintendo DS. The story of Sonic Rush, much like every other game, is a fairly simple one, Dr Eggman has (Yet again) come across the seven chaos emeralds and is plotting to use them to take over the world (Again!) Sonic sets off to defeat the evil scientist but comes across a mysterious young Cat woman by the name of Blaze, shortly after defeating Eggman he goes off in pursuit after Blaze, and Eggman to find out what exactly is going on between the meddling Kitty and the obese madman. With a few plot twists along the way. The story isn't really important but at least it gives you a valid reason to be playing through the game.


Vela Nova

Sonic Rush follows the tried and tested structure of any of the Sonic games released after the original game, get from point A to point B as quickly and efficiently possible. The usual slopes, loop de loops, and downward plunges are there as well as the trademark boosters and springs. Nothing different when it comes to the games style but when it comes to how the game plays and looks there are quite a few significant changes. One of the newest additions is the trick system, anyone familiar with Sonic Adventure 2 may remember the vague trick system that Sonic Team implemented into the game, well Sonic Rush uses the same system but with a much simpler layout. After launching yourself off a ramp/spring/rail you can press either X or Y to perform a little stunt and earn points, pressing the buttons repeatedly while in mid air pulls off more moves followed by more points depending on the amount of tricks you fit into one jump. The innovation really is commendable.

Pull off enough of these moves and a large bar on the left of the screen will fill up, this is your strain bar, filling this is allows you to activate a large burst of speed that will propel you quickly into the air or miles into the sky depending on what surface/angle you are situated on. The speed at which these bursts propel you at is quite frankly, ridiculous, everything will just zoom past you in mere seconds, these bursts are a handy way to quickly blast through any enemy formations of solid walls that block your path at any point throughout the game, but they're also useful to save time and improving your stage time record when aiming for a better overall score. This and the new trick system really add a lot more to the game and also helps to eliminate the feeling that your mostly just pressing left and right most of the time, they're both welcome extras and something that any of the future games really should implement from now on.


Jeh Jeh Rock

In regards to the use of the DS's two screens, Sonic Rush puts them to good use, the action is split between the two screens, the bottom half of each stage is shown on the bottom screen and the top half of each stage is shown on the top screen, you'll find yourself switching from screen to screen to keep up with the action, it's a rather neat use of the DS' touch screens and it gives you the impression that the game is trying to use the two screens as a vertical display unit. It makes a change from the usual HUD display that most games use the bottom screen has, and also helps to enhance the feeling that you’re darting around each stage at an incredible speed. It doesn't take much getting used to either, most people should adapt to it after only just clearing the games first stage. You'll also be using the bottom screen to find various moving platforms when making those deadly leaps of faith.

Sonic Rush doesn't make much use of the stylus though, the only times you'll ever use it is when navigating through the games menu screens and on the occasional bonus stages (Which take the form of the Half pipe stages from Sonic 2) what's there is good enough but the ways in which the stylus is used has been seen in about a dozen other DS titles before it.

But as mentioned before when it comes to the use of both screens Sonic puts the feature to good use and both screens meld together really well with the fast paced action of the game. Level design has been refined and perfected in Sonic Rush, the majority of the games stages implement both the platforming elements from the original Sonic games and the more high speed octane action of the GBA titles, the amount of obstacles and items that you'll be using for leverage are vast and varied, you'll even be using hang gliders and speed sleds at various points in the game too. The traditional loops and ramps also appear a lot more often in the game so it feels like your being tossed and lobbed around by gravity a lot more often, making each stage a real thrill to play, and so fluid as well, there is rarely a drop in speed or change of pace, even when platform jumping the game runs at a blistering pace. It's a huge difference from the GBA games.



Wrapped in Black

Visually Sonic Rush is a treat, especially for a 2D game, not only is the level design vibrant, crisp, and extremely well drawn but the 3D sprites are extremely well animated and presented, the special effects showcased in the game are also top notch and just provide the player with even more visual eye candy. Simply but Sonic Rush is one hell of a pretty looking 2D game, and the psuedo 3D design of the boss battles are extremely well done too. The cell-shaded style of these particular stages also rub off well on the DS.

What's even more impressive though is the soundtrack, it has a Jet Grind Radio feel to it and it's as clear as a whistle and each song is also very catchy, vocals are even implemented into some of the song and while the vocals not as brash as it's console counterparts they sound great on the DS's tiny speakers. SFX are a mix, the general sounds are great, but the voice acting on Tails and Cream who are you HUD between menus and boss battles are really grating and repetitive, you'd just wish they'd shut up and stop saying the same thing over and over.

Overall Sonic Rush is a triumph, it irons out the faults of the previous games and adds a whole lot more features and depth to the structure, the downside is it isn't exactly hard but if your used to playing Sonic games then you'll be used to the difficulty by now, and with two characters to play through it should just last a tad longer than the previous games. If your looking for another platformer after completing Mario 64 DS then Sonic Rush is a brilliant and fun addition to your DS library.


Graphics: 9.3
So crisp and smooth, everything looks and animates brilliantly, the mix of 2D and 3D goes extremely well together, with hardly a frame rate drop or hiccup in sight. Brilliant stuff.

Sound: 9.1
The Jet Grind-esque soundtrack and the meaty sound affects work really well, but the HUD commentary between boss bottles and menus makes you wish that Tails and Cream would shut the hell up!

Gameplay: 9.2
It sticks to the roots of it's predecessors while successfully throwing in a couple of major additions which work extremely well, plus it's the fastest and most fluid Sonic yet so Kudos to Sonic Team.

Lifespan: 8.7
It's not the longest game in the world but the easy and accessible gameplay easily gives you a reason to come back to the game and play in short or long sessions and aim for better times and grades.

Overall: 9.0
This is the best Sonic game in a long time, everything is put together so well that playing the game is never a frustrating chore, it's so fast fluid and fun, reminds you of what the series used to be like before the 3D era. Great stuff.