| Sonic Rush review |
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There’s quite a hefty number of video game icons that are easily recognisable to the ‘Average Joe’ on the street. Flash a picture of a rotund plumber with a bushy moustache, and they’ll instantly utter something along the lines of “err…Mario?” Same if you show off the silhouette of a huge pair of breasts. Well, unless Jordan happens to spring to mind before good old Lara Croft. But for the 16-bit generation, those whose most fond memories are ensconced within Sega’s immense Mega Drive/Genesis heritage, Sega’s iconic blue hedgehog is remembered with vivid detail.
Sonic’s most recent outings, starting with the 3D Sonic Adventure titles on the ill-fated Dreamcast, have all lacked that magical ‘X-factor’ that the 2D incarnations of old – and even the GBA’s Sonic Advance titles to a lesser extent - spewed out from every pore. Hence, a brand-new 2D title on Nintendo’s innovative handheld seems to be a match made in glorious heaven, and something that cant help but initiate huge excitement levels.
Getting past the first obstacle – seeing Sonic on a Nintendo machine still seems odd – it’s obvious that Sega have been eager to create a title with Sonic’s early days at the forefront of their minds. The 2D viewpoint of yore shows off just what the DS’s technical capabilities truly are. Each level is awash with vivid colour and detail, and characters move with some spectacularly high-quality animation, sprinting and jumping across the screen in delightfully smooth motion. During boss battles, when the visuals take a slight 3D twist, the quality doesn't drop below the high standard that the traditional zones set.
It’s not just Sonic who will be taking on Eggman this time around. Blaze the Cat, the guardian of the Sol Emeralds is also hot on the trail of that particular evil genius, and Sonic Team have been happy to include her as a playable character. Though the characters' routes through the different zones do differ slightly, actually taking control of each proves there is little difference in terms of gameplay style. Whether or not the chance of seeing the story told from a different viewpoint is worth a second playthrough will be down to the individual; it surely won’t be because of the game’s plot, which is played out via a few sentences of dialogue between zones, and the odd cut-scene post-boss battle. Performing tricks, and defeating enemies charges up your Tension Gauge, which when full allows you to perform a ‘Super Boost’ which makes Sonic invulnerable to enemies.
Level design itself wavers between the sublime and disastrous, unfortunately offering far too many sections which can cause fantastically high frustration levels. That old Sonic rush (pun most definitely intended) of speeding through levels, racking up huge ring totals without coming to a standstill thanks to an encounter with an enemy is back with a vengeance. Sadly, some instances of poor level design force much slower plodding progression, rather than with the unbridled velocity that Sonic games are famed for. Otherwise Sonic will plummet to his death, or run straight into an unseen enemy. Such events are infrequent, but happen much more often than is welcome.
But what of the DS touch screen? Rather than cram in some obtuse control method using a stylus for the main part of the game, instead the ‘selling point’ of the DS is only utilised during bonus levels. During these, Sonic is viewed from behind, just like the bonus levels of Sonic 2, using the stylus to manipulate movement. It’s a simple method of control, and one that works obscenely well - even to the point where these bonus levels are one of the game’s major highlights.
Thankfully Sonic Team have seen fit to utilise the DS’s two high-quality screens during ‘normal play’ too, with the viewable area split across both. During play, Sonic or Blaze can be featured on either screen as the level design demands. Boss battles however occur purely on the top screen, and like the battles of old, it’s a case of discovering each weak point, and learning how to exploit it. The difficulty levels during these boss battles do seem to have been cranked up a few too many notches however, causing the kind of frustration that no other areas of the game seem to instigate.
Sonic Rush only goes to prove in no uncertain terms that 2D is the way the series should stay. With the fast and furious gameplay of old once again rediscovered, it’s only the odd moments of glaring level-design error that cause the kind of dismay that a selection of the 3D titles offered up. Though the series might still be a step behind its early years in terms of pure enjoyment, at least Sonic Rush goes to prove that Sega have got the right ideas in mind, and are still capable of developing an impressive Sonic title.
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System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Platformer
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1-2
Version: United States
Reviewed: Feb 2006
Writer: Chris Pickering
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Pros:
- That old 2D Sonic gameplay
- Excellent use of the DS’s touch screen
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Cons:
- Too many instances of poor level design
- Lack of real individuality between the two playable characters
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Sonic Rush Video: 9.7MB
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