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Sonic Rush Review - DS

I have to admit that I never really got on the Sonic the Hedgehog bandwagon. Luckily, from what I hear, this DS version is possibly the best of the series, so it was a good starting point for me. It's certainly got it's merit's, that's for sure.

Gameplay

First of all, I'll stay straight off that the game uses both screens together. You'll do loops on the top that suddenly drop down a screen, and for a while it's a bit confusing. Eventually you'll get the hang of it, and even train yourself to look out for secret areas outside of the general track - and there are definitely millions of different paths to completing a level. Initially, though, it is a bit disconcerting to take a corner and suddenly find Sonic has disappeared. Dimps and Sonic must have worked hard at the engine, because when you switch screens all the surrounding menu information shifts instantly too. You'll be impressed when you realise what an accomplishment it is.

You'll control Sonic with the D-pad, in terms of running. The A button jumps, the Y button boosts and the X button spins (an attack). R lets you perform stunts in mid-air, and the like. It's intuitive and flowing, though I did tend to mix up the boost and spin buttons, though since they tend to have the same effect on enemies it didn't matter that much.

The game is set out with eight locations, each with two stages and a boss battle. The locations vary, including some which take you underwater and even mess with gravity so that it goes upwards on the bottom screen (so you hang underneath ledges) and downwards, like normal, on the top screen. Unfortunately, the stages vary in difficulty greatly, and though they generally get tougher some feel as if they're out of place. As with all classic games (as in, those in the style of games from older generations), you'll find yourself dying regularly, especially in the later levels, and only twitch reflexes and endless replaying of a level will let you pass it. In some ways, I guess, this could be seen as a benefit, but I would have preferred more stages with a smoother difficulty gradient. Perhaps it was a side effect of the space of the DS carts.

Sonic Rush actually contains two stories; Sonic, of course, has his own story about...something, I don't really know - I just made it through a hugely corny and poorly voice acted cut scene and skipped the rest - and Blaze, a new flaming cat that is more agile than our hedgehoggian pal does something too. Her story had something to do with Sol Emeralds, I think. I skipped it too. Now, while this may seem interesting, in fact all that happens is that you visit the eight stages in a different order. There aren't any new worlds. I finished Sonic's story, and couldn't be bothered playing through Blaze's (continued next page)