Game Review: Sonic Rush (Nintendo DS)

[Homer]

Hard to believe, but I am now finding the Nintendo DS to have better games than the consoles as of late. With Wi-Fi capabilities on 2 of 4 games so far and the endless capabilities of a second/touch screen.

 

So now, here's the blue blur's first appearance on the Nintendo's dual-screened gadget. I got this game 2 days ago at EB, I was going to get Shadow The Hedgehog... but that game was just abyssmal, and Charmy's voice was god awful, enough said. So instead, I decided to get the high-scoring, underdog release, Sonic Rush on the DS. In a few words, this game is like Viewtiful Joe (2.5 D) with SPEED.

 

Of course, you can't have a Sonic game without speed. No interaction with the touch screen is needed, but the action is on both screens and the controls are simplistic. The Y-button on the DS can give Sonic (or Blaze the Cat (new character)) a boost of speed, but watch that Boost meter.

 

The story? Of course, mostly generic "Eggman has the Chaos Emeralds". But this time, two dimensions have collided, sending characters Blaze the Cat and Eggman-Nega into Sonic's world. Blaze suspected this was done by the power of the "Sol Emeralds". It is up to Sonic and Blaze to fix the hole in the Space-Time continnum and seperate the dimensions.

 

The graphics in this game are great DS graphics. The characters look a little cel-shaded in gameplay. Boss battles are in "2.5 D" and are usually hammer-like machine boss battles, but each of them have a twist. The level design is superb and are really huge, some stages take 3-4 minutes or so to complete. Of course, these levels are full of loop-de-loops and corkscrews and speed boosters.

 

Gameplay and music takes a page out of Jet Grind Radio in a way. While in the air, for bonus points and speed, press the B button and your character will do tricks. You can also do the same with the R button while grinding on a rail. The soundtrack seems to be more funk than rock in this game, unusual for a Sonic game. As Michael Ian Black once said on the sadly canned show Stella, "Why listen to funk rock, when you could listen to funk rock?".

 

But overall, if your a fan of 2D platformers, the blue blur, or speed... Sonic Rush is a game you must take a look at.

 

Overall score; 8.5/10 - If your looking for a Sonic game, please pick this game up.

[Erik Johnson]

Yeah I am going to get this one a little later. It does look great.