A surprisingly fun racer!
Gameplay: You have the choice of playing as one of four characters. The four consisting of Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, and Silver. Each Basically plays the same as the other, with only minor changes in power and speed.
The story mode will take you across a variety of levels ranging from the Snow Peaks, to Green Hill and beyond. The levels are fun and the AI is smart enough to make the races interesting, though they do tend to make stupid decisions and get stuck up on walls every once in a while.
The problem with the story mode is that there's too few levels, and while the plot has never been a strong point in the series, this story is just laughably bad! Something about Eggman getting his hands on a camera that will turn anything into a card if he snaps a picture of it. So Sonic must stop the evil scientist from taking a picture if the world and turning it into a card. ...Okay? Why would Eggman turn the one thing he's been trying to take over since the beginning into a piece of cardboard? Couldn't he just take a picture of Sonic to prevent any thing from standing in his way of world domination? Ahh... anyway, the point is that the story is just another excuse to get you to run really, really fast!
Graphics: Not the best looking title there is, but it does look sharp and colorful. The stages and characters are easily recongnizable and fit the overall theme well. Yep, this is a Sonic game.
Sound: Can't say I found much to love. There really isn't any tune in this game that sticks with you. Kind of a shame really, considering how catchy the music was in the Rush titles. As for voices you get a few grunts and that about does it.
Value: Four characters to play as, numerous cards to collect, and so on. There isn't a ton here, but considering that this game is only 20 bucks you can't be picky.
Overall: Fun, fast, and sometimes even exciting, Sonic Rivals gives us that speed that we thought had gone missing from the series long ago. And with all the corkscrews and loop da loops abound, you'll find yourself returning often for just one more race.