E3 06: Sonic speeds to PSP

  • By Staff, GameSpot
  • Posted May 3, 2006 10:01 am PT

Sega mixes 2D gameplay and 3D worlds for the upcoming "racing platformer," Sonic Rivals.

Sonic the Hedgehog turns 15 this year, and part of the celebration includes the blue speedster's exclusive PlayStation Portable debut in Sonic Rivals. Described by Sega as a "racing platformer," Sonic Rivals sends the familiar hedgehog dashing through 3D environments with 2D gameplay.

Whether playing against the computer or wirelessly against friends, gamers will pick one of four main characters and compete in races full of power-ups, boost moves, tripping, shoving, and other such displays of good sportsmanship. Each character has its own storyline, and the game includes a trading-card-style reward system that lets players customize their racers. Players can even wager their cards to spice up the wireless multiplayer battles.

Sonic Rivals is being developed by Backbone Entertainment, creator of the Death Jr. franchise. The studio also made Age of Empires: Age of Kings for the Nintendo DS and NBA Ballers: Rebound for the PSP. Sonic Rivals is set for release this fall.

61 Comments

  • Doug112792

    Posted Jun 17, 2006 10:54 am PT

    Finally, I have had the PSP for a while waiting for games that I love to play come out like this. All the games already set to come out are taking forever like kingdom hearts 2. And the new character on the game is most lkely the one on sonic ds.

  • Mizak_911

    Posted May 7, 2006 3:50 pm PT

    Well i guese they should make a game of sonic with some cars to race with him this will really make me happy and some other friends of sonic i think so i guese they make one of it cuz this game will be famous of sonic racing cars

  • dhmy2kgto

    Posted May 4, 2006 10:55 am PT

    I just hope they don't mess this up....

  • tergeoglou

    Posted May 4, 2006 9:21 am PT

    Just play the emulated genesis versions on psp they are way better than anything sega has done with the hedgehog lately.

  • ZonkSJx

    Posted May 4, 2006 5:58 am PT

    They need to make a Sonic Adventure type game. Have it on PSP, im buyin it

  • chrisdojo

    Posted May 4, 2006 5:24 am PT

    ok.

  • neoand12

    Posted May 3, 2006 10:21 pm PT

    is this a port of sonic riders?

  • xxcommixx

    Posted May 3, 2006 10:05 pm PT

    OMG. STOP MAKING RACING GAMING FOR THE PSP FOR GODS SAKE!
    THERE ARE LIKE 10 RACING GAMES ALREADY. WHEN WILL IT END!!!!!?!???? MAKE SOME AWSOME FIRST PERSON SHOOTERS LIKE SYPHONPHILTER.

  • troakun

    Posted May 3, 2006 9:29 pm PT

    cool, a new game for the PSP. Sounds a bit like a Sonic Battle-esque racing game. Which is good because that was one of my favorite Sonic Advance titles, but then again, it is being developed by Backbone. Somehow I think this won't end well.

  • comthitnuong

    Posted May 3, 2006 8:34 pm PT

    sonic = not cool

  • 777rak

    Posted May 3, 2006 6:05 pm PT

    Man I wish/hope they make this game for the DS

  • kryptin

    Posted May 3, 2006 5:55 pm PT

    with the track record Backbone has so far I'm not getting my hopes up

  • 6hostb1ur

    Posted May 3, 2006 4:39 pm PT

    Seriously. Why do they keep making Sonic games? How do good mega man games keep coming out but the Sonic series has gone straight to crap.

  • ClaudeLv250

    Posted May 3, 2006 4:19 pm PT

    I don't see this picking up much steam.

  • gameapple

    Posted May 3, 2006 3:53 pm PT

    kinda reminds me of sonic R for the sega saturn, which i enjoyed but the game was too easy and playing with amy and eggman was awkward and useless, the game did have potential also the soundtrack was great.

  • Agreb91

    Posted May 3, 2006 3:23 pm PT

    Hopefull Sega can make this Sonic good, and not let the series die.... which seems like it will.

  • grayfox_2k

    Posted May 3, 2006 2:43 pm PT

    wow wii boys are really trying to trash this game!!
    funny how we didn't hear these complaints when "rush" was announced?!

  • cesarotromundo

    Posted May 3, 2006 2:32 pm PT

    sweetness!

  • allmybase

    Posted May 3, 2006 2:31 pm PT

    I'm not going to hold my breath on this one, although it is nice to hear that Sonic will indeed be heading to the PSP in an actually original title. But, as was stated earlier, I'd rather be playing my Sonic games on a good old Genesis, plain and simple. However, maybe Sega can give some fan service by adding Sonic Crackers as a major unlockable in the game. XD

  • gamepunk86

    Posted May 3, 2006 2:20 pm PT

    probably won't be good unfortunately

  • Flame_of_Nova

    Posted May 3, 2006 1:39 pm PT

    Good! Some sonic love on the psp!

  • xbox_gamer1

    Posted May 3, 2006 1:36 pm PT

    Sonic games suck. The only good sonic games were on the Genesis and Gamegear. I dont know why sega keeps making these bad games. They should quit before they tarnish sonic even more.

  • ShadowBladeX8

    Posted May 3, 2006 1:10 pm PT

    oh poop, it's from the makers of Death Jr. -_-

  • Fallout_red

    Posted May 3, 2006 12:53 pm PT

    AWESOME... now I need to buy a PSP. I LOVE 2d Sonic.

  • Xanog1

    Posted May 3, 2006 12:26 pm PT

    Well, the 2D gameplay part seems appealing, since the 2D games were the only good Sonic games, however, by 3D worlds, do they mean 3D effects and graphics, or 3D like PS2 games?

  • Schillinger

    Posted May 3, 2006 12:26 pm PT

    sonic psp

  • Quezakolt

    Posted May 3, 2006 12:05 pm PT

    sounds like some kind of "nights" gameplay-wise... not sure abou the dev. handling this.. is Sega driving its franchises to the ground?

  • powlord

    Posted May 3, 2006 11:55 am PT

    All the current generation Sonic games are boring. I still don't understand why they keep making Sonic games...They should make a Sonic game a la Mario Kart / FZero.

  • Manatassi

    Posted May 3, 2006 11:49 am PT

    Ok kiddies stop arguing here and go play in system wars... the PSP does not suck neither does the DS.

    Anyway, I dont have high hopes for Sonic its a pretty dead franchise which is a shame but when they began baseing the games on the sturday morning cartoon for kids they pretty much killed it. But I guess we will see.

  • Willy105

    Posted May 3, 2006 11:42 am PT

    Sonic Rush was the best Sonic game ever, this game sounds like it, but it is any good?

  • SDog624

    Posted May 3, 2006 11:41 am PT

    omg they killed it....AGAIN? WOW sega make a 2d side scrolling platformner like the genesis games, or a 3d platformer like sonic advenutre. i dont need any more of this stupid racing stuff. wow this makes me sooo mad.

  • vincentrulez

    Posted May 3, 2006 11:40 am PT

    ok i think it will suck

  • Ericvon71

    Posted May 3, 2006 11:35 am PT

    phinsfan and umcp.............. they both know what sucks(literally)!

  • phinsfan

    Posted May 3, 2006 11:33 am PT

    PSP sucks, DS kicks it's ass.

  • Ericvon71

    Posted May 3, 2006 11:33 am PT

    UMCP
    Who cares.. psp sucks........................


    I am sure you would know!!!!!!

  • bigbadshamoo

    Posted May 3, 2006 11:26 am PT

    Sweet Sonic Rawks.

  • Robio_basic

    Posted May 3, 2006 11:22 am PT

    Yeah because Sonic racing games have been so successful in the past. Why Sega feels the need to mess with the Sonic formula is just a mystery to me.

  • ReyesClan06

    Posted May 3, 2006 11:17 am PT

    You Know What UMPC....You Suck

  • Biggs6575

    Posted May 3, 2006 11:04 am PT

    Wow has it really been 15 years

  • blackIceJoe

    Posted May 3, 2006 11:03 am PT

    I hope This new Sonic game will be fun the last Sonic game that was good came on the DS and that was awesome hope they can do the same with the PSP Sonic game.

  • MartinMan

    Posted May 3, 2006 11:02 am PT

    Cool, looks like i'll be picking this one up when it's released.

  • Mysterious_Bob

    Posted May 3, 2006 10:58 am PT

    Racing? Why doesn't Sega stop screwing around with Sonic and just let him die in peace? They should do Sonic 3 and Knuckles in Megaman Powered Up style and even include a level creator. That would rule.

  • crithon

    Posted May 3, 2006 10:58 am PT

    will there ever be a decent sonic game? that's all I ask for

  • Redstorm

    Posted May 3, 2006 10:58 am PT

    Sonic BOOM!!

  • UMCP

    Posted May 3, 2006 10:57 am PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • Lauryn2000

    Posted May 3, 2006 10:50 am PT

    Mmmmmmm....not unless it's the original Sonic...I dunno..Sony looking for a mascot....I dunno about this pick....

  • Lewis-Morgan

    Posted May 3, 2006 10:41 am PT

    Doesn't sound good

  • GAMECAMILLER Site moderator

    Posted May 3, 2006 10:39 am PT

    Great now i got to get a PSP. xD Thanks a lot Sega. *rolls eyes*

  • grayfox_2k

    Posted May 3, 2006 10:38 am PT

    GR8 !!
    "3D environments with 2D gameplay." is one of the best formulas i've seen on the PSP so far (megaman X, megaman PU, Xtreme G&G and LocoRoco)
    i think this is a very smart move on sega's behalf... soooo looking forward to how it ends up ^_^

  • Sc0rp1on

    Posted May 3, 2006 10:37 am PT

    Sounds great, hopefully it'll be good.

advertisement

Hot Stories

Newsmakers

Featured Stories

Submit News

Got tips? Send them in!

Related Game

Sonic Rivals Boxshot
Sonic Rivals

Game Stats

  • Rank:
    2,619 of 59,060
    (up by 38)
    PSP Rank:
    203 of 1,184
    Tracking:
    1,163 Track It»
    Wishlists:
    621 Wish It»
  • Users Now Playing:
    127
  • Number of Players:

    1-2 | Offline Modes: Competitive

  • Top 5 User Tags:
    1. sonic
    2. sonic rivals
    3. sega
    4. psp
    5. racing
  • Everyone Rating Description

    Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language. Learn more

Full Game Details »Close

Related Games

Site Blogs