Sonic Rivals Comments by Rob Fahey

Glad to see there is finally a Sonic game worth getting (Since SA2 anyway)

So there is really a good sonic game after rush? (calls friend to borrow psp and videoclub to rent sonic rivals)

Zipping around the tracks at ludicrous speed with Sonic leaving a blue blur in his wake is just how Sonic games are meant to feel

Exactly. More of that, Sega!

The Klonoa influence is strong in this one

So, just like Sonic Rush then - frustrating course memorisation ahoy! Not for me.

Sounds cool, might give it a shot.

I'd get this if I still had my PSP

Ugh. Not a game for me. The last Sonic game I bought was Sonic Advance 2 and I really didn't get on with it at all. It's the "blind jumps, enemies you can't see until you're practically on top of them, or obstacles which slow you down to a sudden stop unexpectedly" and the trial and error nature of the game that I can't stand.

I'm sorry, but give me any old Mario platformer over this, any day.

It certainly looks nice. 2D in 3D... finally a Sonic game that "gets" it.

so 90's it hurts

A remake of the original Sonic with these graphics would be worth buying a PSP for.

Well thank christ for that. A decent Sonic game, AND on the PSP. About time.

or is it 3D in 2D???

ahem

So there is still hope that Sonic on the Wii will be good!!!

can someone explain to me how something can be 2d and 3d at the same time!?

'Sonic game made post 2000 in 7/10 shocker'

I agree with almost all of the the review. Its certainly the best sonic game in absolutely ages. I love the 2d factor, but the Rivals thing is hamstrung by it being teeth gnashingly frustrating. A 10 minute race where you are ahead until the final minute, only to fall foul of a blind enemy and the rubber AI zooms past you does not an enjoyable race make.

Still, i see why they did it, its just a shame that the AI isnt good enough to back it up. If they make a sequel and the iron this out it should be pretty good.

The fact that Team Sonic had little or nothing to do with it speaks absolute volumes.

Oh, I dont think it mentions it in the review, but it does continue the annoying trait of filling the game with crappy second tier characters and trying to disguise extra content as making you complete each level with every chracter, who all handle exactly the same, but with slightly different specials. You have to slog through it with sonic, then Silver, then knuckles and so on and so forth.

I completed the game with sonic and found no reason to go back and finish it with any of the other losers.

@superdelphinus

its locked to a 2d plane (as in side on - or a camera on rails so you cant control the the charcter in that elusive z axis)

but the game uses a 3d engine complete with polygons...

for all intents and purposes its like you are playing a 2d game (like those of yesteryear) but with 3d graphics.

does that help? :)

This review is spot on. I would have gone as far as giving it an 8, but I have always been a Sonic fanboy.

The game's biggest flaws are being really too short, and having no game-sharing, especially when the game was especially designed with two-player in mind.

Holding right on the d-pad has never been this much fun! :)

Right i sort of get it.
You just have to perceive a 3rd dimension for there to be a 3rd dimension technically though!

But is it a 7 if you get it free in a jiffy bag or a 6 if you pay full price at your local shop?

"(taking care to wipe off about six months worth of dust first)"

Lovely little sideswipe at the psp there - and you call yourself a games journalist?

Eurogamer is quickly becoming the Daily Star of the games industry.

"can someone explain to me how something can be 2d and 3d at the same time!?"

2D playing field with a 3D graphics engine. Plenty of games like this... Radiant Silvergun for example and a lot of new "2D" shooters.

yes dizzy but that's still just 3d. Just because you are running in one direction doesnt make it 2d

The graphics are 3D, but you can only move on a 2D plane - there's no ability to move in and out of the screen, so while you can *see* the third dimension, you can't interact with it.

quite a dull conversation really isnt it?

Yes :)

Looks interesting.....
but i sold my PSP from lack of use, ah well

'However, when it's bad, Sonic Rivals can occasionally be horrid - and this most often manifests itself in blind jumps, enemies you can't see until you're practically on top of them, or obstacles which slow you down to a sudden stop unexpectedly'

=

ALL SONIC GAMES

"yes dizzy but that's still just 3d. Just because you are running in one direction doesnt make it 2d "

Hence it is called 2D "gameplay" and not 2D graphics.

alright so 7 is my lucky number but this is like the 7th 7 in a row !

Apropos of bugger-all, but this 2d gameplay in 3d environment is nothing new - as the review pointed out, the Klonoa series featured this style, and also early PS1 title Pandemonium did this to fairly good effect. Back in them days (when it was all still trees) it was disparagingly referred to as 2.5d.

Jon.

"Back in them days (when it was all still trees) it was disparagingly referred to as 2.5d. "


who cares what the style is called? As long as the game is good?

7? 7??????

I played this. It's horrible. Think Pandemonium on the ngage.