In Sonic Rivals, Eggman is up to his old tricks again. A mysterious land called "Onyx Island" suddenly appears in the seas out of nowhere. Sure enough, the evil Dr. Eggman is behind the island and when Sonic and Tails reach the island they see the villain of the piece waiting for them. Eggman then holds up a card which bears an image of Amy Rose on it, who he's captured on a card. Sonic is initially doubtful, but quickly realises this isn't a joke when Dr. Eggman captures Tails on a card. Eggman also has the Master Emerald and plans to turn everything into a card, so Sonic will need to catch up to him to retrieve the emerald. Just as Sonic and Knuckles are about to race after Eggman, Shadow and Silver appear holding Dr. Eggman's cards. Sure, the storyline isn't great, but it sets up the game.
It looks like Green Hill Zone, but it isn't..
The main mode you're likely to jump straight into is the story mode. This lets you select a character (Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow or Silver) and jump into a zone. You'll begin at Forest Falls Zone and move through quite a few different locations. Each area has two levels, plus a boss fight; the objective is to try and get to the end of the track first. It sounds quite easy doesn't it? But it's actually not as simple as pushing right on the analog nub and just sprinting. Each level plays out much like the 2D Sonic games, you'll need to collect rings to survive and collect power ups to keep your speed, there are obstacles along the way which slow you down such as enemies and large jumps. There is a wide range of power ups which include a homing mine, electric shock, tornado and more. Each of your characters also has a signature move which can be used to try and get ahead. In your quest to get first you'll need to look out for the boosters on the ground, these will make your character go faster, you can also attack your enemy by leapfrogging them or shoving them. Whilst you remember all of this you need to look out for the enemies, multiple paths and jump certain obstacles; so the game is very intense.
Aside from the story mode there is also a challenge mode and cup circuit option. The challenge mode lets you choose your character and a rival, then you have to fulfil certain requirements fo each zone. There is also a difficulty level for each level you play and the challenges vary depending on the difficulty chosen. The challenge mode is extremely lengthy, so completing all that is has to offer will require a lot of dedication. Finally, the cup circuit option takes you through a few zones sequentially. You'll need to win the cup before you can progress to the next cup. It is suprising just how much content there is in Sonic Rivals.
Slide down Sonic.
The cards also play a significant part in the game. There are a total of 150 cards to be collected and you can win cards by beating bosses, winning races or fulfilling the challenge requirements. The cards unlock shoes, gloves and suits for every character and you can wager the cards in a wireless battle. The wireless battle is limited to local ad hoc, rather than online, which is a little bit disappointing. You can choose to play a single race or a cup circuit in multiplayer.
Because the game is basically 2D with a few 3D effects the game feels like an old school 2D Sonic platformer, the emphasis is on speed, the levels are well designed and fun to play through and there are multiple paths. We may not have had a 2D Sonic game for over a year, but even though you're racing it sometimes feels as if you're playing a platformer. Your characters really do get to some insane speeds and pleasingly, the frame rate never falters. One of the complaints we do have about the game is that it is often a little difficult to time your jump, controlling your character isn't as intuitive as we'd hoped and it's quite common to jump further than you wanted too or miss the mark completely.
Graphically the game is pretty impressive, there is a lot of detail in the environments and some of them just look incredible. It always feels like you're taking a different path and when the camera zooms out whilst your character is speeding by rapidly you're bound to smile. There are some extra little effects too, such as in the sky park zone the fireworks will go off as your character passes. Soundwise the game isn't overly impressive, the tunes are basic and occasionally you'll hear one of the characters say something.
Silver: One of the new hedgehogs.
Completing the story mode doesn't take too long, but the game keeps a summary of your score at the end of every level, so if you want a perfect score then you'll need to complete each zone with every character and with a fast time. Then there is the challenge mode and the cup circuit option to come back to, there is plenty to do in the game. There are a few hidden secrets as well, including an unlockable character which keep the lifespan going.
Sonic Rivals is one of the best Sonic games in recent times. It's ironic that the developer behind this game isn't actually Sonic Team, but Backbone entertainment, who developed Death Jr.. With fast gameplay, great level design and 2D gameplay Sonic Rivals is an easy title to recommend, the sheer amount of things you can do is very impressive and should keep you going until the next good Sonic title comes along.
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