GB Review: Sonic Rivals 2 (PSP)

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GB Review: Sonic Rivals 2 (PSP)Posted 2:42pm Tue Dec 18, 2007 by Brian Mohr Tags: Sonic Rivals 2, review, psp, sega

Sonic Rivals 2 is mixed bag. On one hand it can be quite a frustrating experience due to the heavy focus on battle throughout the races, but on the other hand elements of it are enjoyable. It’s a real pity, as the game would actually be rather good if you were just judging by visuals and racing mechanics.

score:

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You can almost set it like clockwork: another Sonic game at least every year. This fall Sonic returns to racing in Sonic Rivals 2 for the PlayStation Portable. Is the Hedgehog racer worth a run?

First off, let me break it down as to what this game features: a story mode and racing mode. In race mode, all you do is pick one of eight characters and battle it out through a bunch of different levels. This is essentially what the game is all about - you racing against opponents. It’s a fun and engaging experience.

The same can not be said for the story mode which is poor to say the least. Sonic games aren’t about the story at all, they're about speed and moving as fast as you can through a level.

In the story mode, you pick one of four teams to race with, with each team featuring two racers. There are several issues with this, the first being the game's combat. There is too much of a focus on combat and not nearly as much on the actual racing.

In regards to combat, once you get close to an opponent you can press the circle button to pass or jump over them. You also can acquire items throughout the level to utilize in order to attack your opponent. In addition, characters are given unique abilities if they collect enough rings in a board. This is unfair to say the least as some characters are given a significant advantage over others like Tails's ability to fly compared to Silver’s power.

The focus of combat in the races continues when you’ll have to face off against the other characters in a one-on-one battle. To put it mildly, it’s not the most exhilarating experience because whoever gets hit twice loses.

That is followed up by another race and then you come to a boss battle. The ending battle features the same kind of gameplay that was popular in the original Sonic series in the 90’s. The difference here is that you’re also battling your rival in the boss fight to be the first one to hit the boss. The focus on battling your rival and a boss at the same time is utterly irritating to say the least.

That’s not to say that Sonic Rivals 2 doesn’t have its fun parts. The race mode isn’t bad as stated above because it’s not focused on the rival aspect.

Also, the graphics in Sonic 2 are phenomenal particularly for a handheld game. The game moves incredibly fast. In fact you do get the sense of speed you’re supposed to. In addition, the characters and environments explode off the screen.

While that is nice, the story and sound are quite poor. The game features typical bland Sonic music and horrible voice acting.

Overall Sonic Rivals 2 isn’t a terrible game, the problem is that it focuses too much on battle. In fact, the racing is pretty fun and you do really get a feel for the speed and pace of the game and it’s worth a run through.

Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Release: Nov 13, 2007
MSRP: $39.99
Everyone