Sure, everyone remembers the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games for the Sega Genesis, but can the same be said ten years from now about the current generation of Sonic titles? Our favorite spiky-haired hero has had his ups and downs as of late, with too many renditions straying away from the super-fast gameplay formula that we used to adore. Adventure games, racing games, even puzzle games can be detracted from the current generation of Sonic sequels, but no one can attest to the impact that the 1991 release brought upon the platforming genre.

Has Sonic reached its peak? After a lengthy play-through with the recently released DS title, a certain shock factor can be said about Sonic Rush’s amazingly fast and classically implemented non-stop action. Now this is the sort of tweak we’ve been waiting for; and with the innovative usage of the Nintendo DS hardware and its dual screens, we’re finally back to square one. Now that’s a good thing.

Facts and Features:

• Play as Sonic the Hedgehog or Blaze the Cat in a multitude of high-flying and amazingly fast levels
  
• Clasically-backed platforming 2D/3D action that takes place on the dual screens
  
• New Tension Gauge and Trick system
  
• Wi-Fi Multiplayer Support
  
• Touch-screen support for bonus stages

Sonic Truly Is Back
Immediately upon trying the game, you’ll notice the DS-specific features right away. Sonic Rush clearly takes advantage of the system’s dual screens, portraying all of the action at once. The classic 2D gameplay mixes with a bit of 3D sprites, following Sonic as he moves from top to bottom screen based on his exact position. The entire effect is orchestrated rather nicely, since you’ll have to keep up to speed during the engaging obstacles, items, and all-familiar loops. Believe me, the presentation of it all is done intensely and brings back memories of why we love Sonic so much. For example, bungee-platforms will sometimes force gamers to glance from bottom screen to top, until Sonic gets into a lower level area. In fact, the view is so intuitive that going forward usually isn’t always the correct direction in Sonic Rush. Hence, that doesn’t deter the game from maintaining its incredibly fast sense of speed and rapidly challenging obstacles.

The storyline in the game revolves Sonic’s duty to recover the Chaos Emeralds and the mystical items known as the Sol Emeralds. The entire recognizable list of characters is back, including Eggman, formerly known as the more-familiar Dr. Robotnik. However, this time Sonic is joined by a mysterious feline by the name of Blaze the Cat, who also seems to have an interest in protecting the power of the Emeralds. There’s even an alternate-dimension of our villain, a new bad-guy named Eggman Nega. Now, the plot is conducted through a series of character-portrait conversations in-between levels, and although they may seem a bit light-hearted, the construct of the game doesn’t really revolve itself around the seriousness of these character interactions. However, they do give a good general background on each of the characters. The game allows you to play as Sonic or Blaze from the get-go, but the both of them are strikingly similar in movement, with the Hedgehog taking a slight blue-streaked edge. Blaze’s path is similar to Sonic’s, but you won’t be missing too much on the level variety. What’s most intriguing about Sonic Rush is its classical take on its original gameplay roots.


Sonic Rush is certainly head over heels above the rest.
Why Improve On Success?
Sega obviously has learned to stick with what works best in this title, taking a partial stance on fast 2D action with several 3D quirks here and there. Sure, all of the levels re-enforce an unimaginable sense of speed, but mindless speed-boosting won’t get Sonic through the levels as easily as before. The levels in Sonic Rush are selectable through a Super Mario-ish map, and keeps track of levels cleared including your high scores, times, and trick points. Adding a bit more to the replay value is the same ‘ol ranking system judged at the end of a particular stage. Also, the goal for each of the level environments remains the same (get to the ending mark), but there’s just so many different strategies you can use to work your way around the various obstacles. Each level contains the myriad of golden rings seen in the previous Sonic titles, but this time, they’re used to gradually fill up a tension gauge located on the left side of the screen displaying your character’s boost meter. The gauge, when filled can do much more than temporarily giving you an infinite boost of speed. It’s actually the key to unlocking bonus stages within a level. Switches cleverly placed around each stage will require Sonic to boost and rotate them enough to open these pseudo-3D mini-stages.

Seeing Eye To Eye With Sonic
The control scheme for Sonic Rush is as simple as can be, without too many abilities limiting players from maximizing the potential of each character. The direction pad is used for moving left, right, or ducking. There’s no required touch-screen control here in the regular campaign. The A and B buttons are used for jumping, while pressing down and either of those buttons will charge your character up for the classic dash move. In addition, you can also use the R trigger button in mid-air to gain a boost to reach those far-fetched platforms. As mentioned before, the tension gauge is utilized by pressing either the X or Y buttons, and gives either character an extreme boost that slowly depletes the meter. By collecting enough rings and reserving usage of the boost, the gauge can expand three times (red color) giving Sonic, for instance, an infinite boost for a limited amount of time. Ramps are also found in abundance throughout each stage, shooting each character in mid-air, allowing for trick combinations. These tricks, which stack up at the end of a stage, are done by combining the R and B buttons at the same time as the control pad. If you’re able to stack up different tricks during this short period of airlift, you’ll earn serious trick points. However, the same tricks will only result in lower repeated scores. At the end of each level, you’ll want to see "S" ranking as much as possible.


Sliding down the sand...
The various amounts of items that can be collected include a ring power-up, tension gauge power-up, a random power-up, and power-ups that allow each character to receive invulnerability for a short time. All of them remain vital for sustained success in each of the stages, but the 1-up item is most appeasing. I’m surprised most by how well Sega has managed to hide the various 1-up items in each stage, as it seems I narrowly miss them when going too fast. Although cliché, it’s brilliant level-design. In fact, Sega has positioned each of the 1-up items specifically that it’s easy to miss them upon deciding a new pathway. Still, the golden rings are the main means for keeping Sonic and Blaze alive, and act as dual-functions for keeping the gameplay rapidly fast as well. With all of the levels that's included in Sonic Rush, our hero will need all the help he can get to overcome everything being thrown at him, even if it means "rushing through" the challenge.