If anyone is looking for a quick (in every sense of the word) 2D side-scrolling adventure this is the game for you
Sonic DS isn’t just about hurtling through levels at the speed of light though, this time around your skills will be tested that bit further as the game implements new abilities. Perhaps the most prominent of these is the dash-attack which grants you the option of boosting even faster with a turbo-charged bash of your Y button. This not only makes you quicker but also destroys the majority of enemies that stand in your way. While this does take the need to jump at enemies away in most cases you will need to rely on your reflexes to give that Y button a whack before you go charging into your enemies. It isn’t always that simple given the fact your boost will run out with excessive use, you can however fill your meter back up by performing an array of tricks. These can be executed with certain button combinations in certain situations, for example tapping your R trigger 3 times in quick succession whilst grinding will result in some fancy spins. Fill your meter to the top and you will temporarily gain unlimited boosting ability which can come in rather handy.
The story centres around two characters this time around, Sonic obviously playing the main role and a character by the name of Blaze The Cat makes her debut outing. Both these playable characters have almost identical attributes and abilities which is highly disappointing, the fact each respective characters campaigns are identical only the zones are set out in a different order doesn’t help either. Each zone that a character completes results in a boss battle with the sinister Eggman which scraps the 2D concept and delves you into an impressive 3D battle. None of these battles will challenge you too any great extent, it’s all about memorizing some pretty standard attacking strategies. Sonic DS also brings back the retro bonus stages which play out within some funky looking half pipes, once completed you’ll earn yourself a shiny chaos emerald.
In addition to the single-player campaigns you can also take part in a multiplayer racing mode, while this only supports up to 2 players you can still play with only copy of the game. The first player to complete certain selectable zones wins; while this isn’t the most enthralling of modes it does make for a nice contrast to the story driven counterparts. Each level is sprawled with power-ups to make your opponents lives as hard as possible, including one that scrambles their control system which is always fun.
The graphics within this game aren’t all that groundbreaking by any stretch of the imagination; they do however look sharp and create a sense of immense speed with no apparent slowdown issues. The characters are presented in high detail as they speed along some pretty colourful looking levels, each with their own vibrantly varied themes. The audio holds up pretty well also, it’s just a shame many of the sound effects were recognizable from Sonic games over a decade old. The soundtrack does a brilliant job though and the high-tempo tunes really fit the fast-paced action rather well.
All-in-all Sonic DS does recapture some of the magic the series created way back when, unfortunately some of the levels are badly designed and become rather frustrating when you have to replay them through no fault of your own. Also the characters are just too similar which results in a story mode that doesn’t have much lasting appeal and a multiplayer that doesn’t have much variation. If anyone is looking for a quick (in every sense of the word) 2D side-scrolling adventure that spans not only one but two screens then this is most certainly the game for you.
Gameplay - Brings back the great sonic gameplay that we all know and love, unfortunately there are minor issues with level design.
Graphics - Looks superb and plays with a real sense of speed, the characters look great in a variety of vibrant levels.
Sound - Some of the sound effects used are over a decade old but a fantastic soundtrack more than makes up for it.
Value - Both characters are basically the same so the single-player is not worth playing through twice, the multiplayer makes for a short-term contrast.