Gaming to Go: Sonic Rush

by Matthew Madeiro { Dec 22nd 2008 at 11:00AM }

This is the other occasion where you're allowed to roll your eyes and say "Well, duh." A Sonic the Hedgehog game being featured for its emphasis on speed? Yeah, it's not a revolutionary concept, but it's still not quite the immediate conclusion one might have drawn some ten or fifteen years back. Where the much-maligned hedgehog used to be known for ultrafast platforming, recent entries in the series have introduced all kinds of kooky new gameplay elements, often stealing the spotlight from eye-melting rollercoasters and placing it firmly on beloved new characters like Big the Cat.

Sonic Rush, however, is a throwback to the olden days, when a typical Sonic level had twists, turns, and strategically-placed spikes after every freaking loop. That's the precise formula the series built its name on, and it's this exact same formula that makes Sonic Rush such a thrill ride to play. It's pretty possible to blaze through some of these levels in under three minutes, especially early on in the game, making it a title pretty well-suited for this week's edition of Gaming to Go. Thinking of giving Sonic another chance? Click that big button down there and see for yourself if it's worth bringing this hedgehog along on your daily commute.

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Gallery: Sonic Rush

Tags: joystiqfeatures, sega, sonic, sonic the hedgehog, sonicrush, SonicTheHedgehog

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

pman1225 @ Dec 22nd 2008 11:30AM

Sonic Rush was great; short, but still fun on the go for sure. Just make sure to lower the volume when facing a boss as Blaze; hearing Cream's shrill exclamation of "That's it!" every time you do damage got old and annoying REALLY quickly.

spartan_agr @ Dec 22nd 2008 11:31AM

big the cat isnt new

Nohbdy @ Dec 22nd 2008 12:31PM

Sonic Rush is a shitty game. This is no throwback to the old games. This thing is linear as FUCK. It penalizes you FOR EXPLORING and there are no ALTERNATE ROUTES. Even slowing down and blind memorization are there to penalize you.

DIMPS failed hard with this. I wasted my $10 on this..."game".

SephFinale @ Dec 22nd 2008 12:48PM

Someone obviously never played through the stages of Sonic Rush multiple times. I found about 2 alternate routes for some stages. And Sonic is about SPEED. Go back to Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.

Roto13 @ Dec 22nd 2008 3:47PM

Yeah, put "game" in quotation marks. Go for it. That doesn't make you sound like even more of an idiot.

Jacksons @ Dec 22nd 2008 7:48PM

I didn't like it, either. I love the Sonic Advance games, but this one didn't do it for me, except the music.

I swear one of the songs says "Taco taco wheat, taco max smack face, ugh!"

MowDownJoe @ Dec 22nd 2008 12:44PM

To be fair, Bioware did live up to their promise of making us love Big the Cat... albeit in a "laugh at the idiot" kind of love (think Brick from Anchorman) rather than making him a deep enjoyable character.

ALH @ Dec 22nd 2008 1:09PM

I dont like sonic rush, its like a parody of sonic, things go so fast you cant see whats going on - and in the end youre pretty much watching the action instead of playing it. Sonic was never *all* about holding right and tapping A occasionally, there was actual platforming to be done too.

scissors125 @ Dec 22nd 2008 2:23PM

God, I hated Sonic Rush. It's like watching a shitty Sonic movie, and you have to hold left or right on the dpad to make the movie go.

There is no content, or challenge, whatsoever. Worst Sonic game I've ever played, especially because of the crazy hype behind this so called "game"

Triptych @ Dec 22nd 2008 3:22PM

I love it. When a Sonic game concentrates on platforming, people bitch about it not having enough speed. When a Sonic game concentrates on speed, people bitch about it not having enough platforming.

I found Sonic Rush a fun and fast portable game. Seriously, it's like some of you will never be happy with another game unless it's an exact updated copy of Sonic 2.

Monodi @ Dec 22nd 2008 3:40PM

I bought it on January 1st this year as it was on sale. I have heard a lot of mindless whined reviews saying it sucks but they are blinded fucks that probably didnt even knew about Sonic until Adventure 2 Battle.

It has really great replay value and even if the dialogue is a bit stupid, the gameplay itself makes a lot of justice.

And you know what's the best part? i still havent been able to beat the final boss. Its mindblowing hard.

Roto13 @ Dec 22nd 2008 3:48PM

Any hatred anyone has for Sonic Rush comes from the their weird bias against Sonic games. Yeah, most of the 3D ones suck, but there's no rule that says Sonic games have to be bad, as evidenced by Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure. Both great games.

NixonTech2071 @ Dec 22nd 2008 4:10PM

Ugh, this game got old pretty damn quick when I gotten to the city levels, and the sky levels are just embarassing. I thought this would have been a good welcome-back-to-2D title, screw this game its overrated.

wiinterfang @ Dec 22nd 2008 7:18PM

I bought this game with my DS 2 years ago and it's the only game I haven't sold. it's fast and enjoyable.

milan @ Dec 22nd 2008 9:56PM

I am another vote for the "I was impressed by this game and enjoyed it" camp. (and it was already one of my on the go games, spot on analysis)

Antonio @ Dec 23rd 2008 11:35AM

I can't believe all the hate here. Sonic Rush is the best Sonic game since the Genesis days IMO. The speed is great, pulling tricks to boost speed is fun, and the music is phenomenal. One DS game I'll be holding on to for a long time.

Rush Adventure wasn't that great though.