As far as Sonic is concerned, it doesn't get any better than this. The thrill has staying power, my friends.
Nowadays, it is pretty uncommon to find a game that has such a lasting appeal, that you can play through more times than you can count. Games are quickly consumed and sold second hand for quick pennies that fund the next purchase. There is no staying power in most of these new games. The used game shop shelves are packed to the ceiling with "franchise" games and sequels. The gamer has become nothing more than a consumer. He buys, plays for a week and sells to recoup a little dough in order to consume the next game on his wish list. Where has all the passion gone?
For me, the passion has returned in the form of Sonic Rush. Although the game is far from perfect, it retains that undying quality that is only usually found in a good pinball machine, or an old arcade cabinet. It is not by chance that Sonic Rush (and Sonic in general) reminds me of pinball. Clearly, the creators knew what they were doing when they came up with the immortal concept of a good 2D Sonic platformer. There are few games that can match the thrill of Sonic Rush. In fact, there are few games that even begin to scratch the surface of the word "thrill."
In a nutshell, Sonic Rush is like some kind of dense amalgamation of pinball presentation and arcade gameplay. The platforms, slopes and other constructions fly across the two screens while saturated colors and bright lights leave firework' like residue on your retinas. The whole experience is maddening! Sonic blazes trough these massive and dense landscape rollercoasters as the player struggles to keep the death pits far below and their troubles far behind.
I have to mention that the levels are not laid out in the standard left to right shape that most 2D platformers employ. No, in this case, the path to the finish line can (and will) take detours high above the rest of the level, underwater etc; you will often find Sonic alternating between two, three, or four directions in the space of a few seconds (or frames!), you will be launched across the level, dropped below the main path…basically the levels are unpredictable and consistently exhilarating. In fact, the dullest parts of the game are the boss fights, which are quite engaging and fun, so there really is no bad to be found here if you like fast-paced platforming, sonic-sty1e.
As if taking the core sonic experience and feeding it sugar saturated breakfast cereals wasn't enough, the game designers threw in additional mechanics to add more depth to the gameplay. For starters, you can now use a "rush" command that gives sonic a temporary burst of speed that is powerful enough to atomize most enemies, but does not affect your top-speed in the long run. Coupled with the rush command is this energy meter that fills up when you pull off "tricks", but reduces when you use the rush technique. By tricks, I really just mean: tapping the "A" button after being launched off a trampoline and tapping the "R" button while rail sliding. There are several neat moves you can do with Sonic, but I won't spoil it all for you here.
Evidently, Sonic Rush is not a game to be missed by anyone who calls themselves a gamer; whether it is pinball machines you prefer, or arcade cabinets you linger for, this game will not disappoint. I mean, you have to be pretty jaded not to appreciate a solid 2D platfomer that hearkens back to the good ole days, except this time with new fangled gameplay mechanics, fancier presentation, and most notably some high flyin' velocity. Don't miss it.