The original Sonic Rush game signaled a welcome return to form when it appeared late in 2005. Overshadowed by New Super Mario Bros’ neverending assault on the charts, it was an exhilarating audiovisual ride, mixing searing speed, intelligent dual-screen design and superb soundtracks to mesmeric effect. Understandably, hopes are high for the sequel with promises of more fleshed out, organic Sonic the Hedgehog experience, Sega was onto another sure thing. Surely?

The short answer is no. As so often happens in videogames sequels, the bloating and building of the purity inherent in Sonic Rush has come at a steep price. The immediacy has been lost, replaced by sub-per mini-games, tedious exploration and huge amounts of backtracking. Its Sonic Rush, but not as we know it. Initially, everything is acceptable. After a muddling but passable boat-sailing mini-game, Sonic arrives at the first act, and that familiar dual-screen adrenaline burst hits you with full effect. Multiple routes, tricks, grinding and boosting are all here in abundance. The secret to a successful Sonic Rush game is found in identifying the optimum route through a level and then trying to boost your way to the end without stopping, Feasible in the original but often too cumbersome here.

As if to enforce the new ‘Adventure’ tag like a name badge stapled straight into your skin, Sega has gone for a pitiful and intrusive story as an excuse for horrendous amounts of backtracking. In order to reach distant islands – or the levels in Sonic Adventure – Tails has to build increasingly complex sea craft. Add all this pointless map plotting and you have a sonic game struggling for its own identity. Not something the world’s most famous hedgehog should never need to do.
[via Gamespot]