PSP World

Sonic Rivals 2 Review Spinning Right At You!

Blue streak speeds by and too fast for the naked eye my friends. That’s Sonic is back with another sequel straight out of Robotniks lab with Sonic Rivals 2. Some of you might remember the first game where you are pitted with another rival character in the game; however this is slightly a better improvement on the last game. All right gamers strap on your speed shoes and don't lose those rings because we are about to spin into this review.

As in the first game you have different characters from each different sonic story line. From your favorite blue hero Sonic to his new counter part Shadow. The main goal of the game is to get from point A to point B and yes by racing the other character. This time it is trickier than that since you have added obstacles into the game for example hang gliders and barrels such things that will make you feel like you're in a bad episode of American gladiators. The controls are real simple you have your speed burst which is down while holding X. Some timed button moves will be used while racing where you either have to use X or Circle to get to different routes or special power ups in the game. When you do get a power up, you can use it on the other opponent to slow them down or get their rings.

The new story mode is nothing to brag about because you end up skipping it anyway, badly written just like the first version. The cool areas to look at are this time you have a partner instead of playing an individuals. The buddy system comes to play and you go through a map with your buddy. A new feature added is the fight mode after certain races. Oh yes Sonic rivals has gone the smash bros. route, well rather a really dumb down version of it. It is simple you head butt each other until no one has rings anymore and if that person doesn't have any rings and you attack round is won. So I would suggest keeping up with your rings so you can stay in the game buddy!

The replay value seemed to be an important focus this year for them. You have your un-lockable such as cards and clothing just like the first game, but you can also go back into the levels and try to find the little cute hidden chao characters through out the maps. As for the cards they changed them this time around where you don't need special goals to obtain them and of course you can trade them with other players, so in some form or another they muscled in card battles. Customizing the characters with clothing is a nice feature to add a bit of originality to the game. The free mode play is a nice addition for those that want to go through the game without actually racing. So snoop around a bit and enjoy the levels.

If I would have to down this game it would be the AI, storyline and boss battles to boot. The AI seems to have this bounce effect with no matter how much damage you do to them they will catch up or vice versa where you can't catch up to them, they are just gone no matter how many homing beams you send their way. The Boss fights are a bit timid in a way that some look great and original while others leave you at poor taste for words. You can have a blast one minute with a few boss fights and than others leave you annoyed and frustrated with certain task you have to do in the fight.

All and all I think the game is fun and would be a great addition this holiday season for the kids. I will honestly give Sonic Rivals 2 for the PSP 3.5 Rings out of 5.