Sonic Rivals (PSP)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 6.9 (3.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Greg Mueller
• Reviewed on: 12/08/2006
• Released on: 11/16/2006
• Originally published on GameSpot: Sonic Rivals (PSP) Review

If there's one thing that Sonic does well, it's running really, really fast. It makes sense then that Sega would put the feisty hedgehog in a racing game that lets him do what he does best. That's exactly what Sonic Rivals is, and while it certainly has plenty of fast, exciting moments, it also has a lot of frustrating moments. But despite its flaws, Sonic Rivals is a fun game that puts an interesting twist on the classic Sonic gameplay.

The story in Sonic Rivals is pretty nonsensical. Sonic's enemy, Dr. Eggman, has developed a special camera that he can use to take pictures of people and turn them into trading cards. After Eggman turns both Tails and Amy into cards, it's up to Sonic to rescue his friends. But before you can defeat Eggman, you have to catch him by running through six different worlds and defeating the handful of bosses that he throws your way. Sonic isn't the only one after Eggman, though. Knuckles, Shadow, and Silver all want a piece of the mad scientist as well, so it becomes a race to see who can get to Eggman first.

The game consists of a series of one-on-one foot races through typically fast and twisted stages. There are six worlds in the game, most of which have two acts and a boss battle. There's a green hill area, a theme park area, a high-tech laboratory, and more. Your goal is to run from left to right and be the first across the finish line. The levels all look good and feature some classic Sonic design elements such as huge loops, corkscrews, speed boosters, and spring-loaded platforms. The game isn't quite as simple as that, because there are a lot of hazards in each stage as well. There are pits to fall into, enemies to hit, and spikes to poke you. You also have to contend with your rival, who will jump on you and assault you with power-ups such as fireballs and ice blasts. You can get power-ups as well, which can be helpful, but there are only a few in the game, so there's very little variety to the power-ups.

It's quite satisfying to hit an open stretch of track and just run really fast, which makes it all the more frustrating when obstacles are thrown in your way to trip you up. It's a problem because you're usually moving so fast that you won't see the obstacles until you're running into them, which means that you'll usually have to run a race several times before you beat it, just to memorize where the hazards are. There are also a ton of blind jumps in this game, so when you're running along at top speed and the ground disappears, you just have to hit the jump button and hope for the best. When you fall in a pit or hit an enemy, you'll lose some of the rings you've collected, but even if you don't have any rings, you'll simply be reset back on the track. There are no lives or continues, so you can run a race as many times as it takes you to beat it.

The artificial intelligence in the game also isn't very good. Your rival will always be either right behind you or right in front of you, no matter how well you're doing. It works just like the rubber-band artificial intelligence prevalent in many traditional racing games. If you start to slow down and do poorly, your rival will do the same. If you freeze your rival with an ice blast, he will be slowed momentarily but will inexplicably catch up within seconds.

There are boss battles in the game as well, and you have to compete with your rival to be the first to destroy the boss. Each time you hit the boss you get a point, and whoever has the most points when the boss is defeated wins. Most bosses take only about five hits to kill, so these stages typically don't last very long, and they're much easier than the racing stages.

Continue reading