I'll be the first to admit that I often harp on at Sega for not making traditional Sonic games... I honestly can't stand Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes and especially Shadow the Hedgehog; I've said numerous times that they need to bring back Sonic as he was on the Megadrive - but the fact of the matter is, he's been back since April 12th, 2002, and better than ever.

That was the day Sonic Advance was released on the Gameboy Advance to rave reviews: it was classic side-scrolling Sonic goodness on the go, what more could you want? The series has three fantastic iterations, and fortunately Sonic Team hasn't stopped there. The Nintendo DS continues the Sonic rebirth with Sonic Rush, perhaps the best game for Nintendo's second handheld franchise.

As I said, Rush is a traditional 2D side-scrolling platform game with Sonic's trademark style. Players run through grassy hills, a floating sky paradise, carnivals and even underwater at breakneck speeds. Like the classic Sonic games, this isn't just a case of holding right and jumping; in fact, the action is broken up numerous times for various reasons. It could be an object you need to interact with by pushing or riding on, there could be a series of platforms to carefully jump across, or the path may even be blocked off until you defeat a specific amount of enemies. Each zone has a 'gimmick' object that you need to stop and interact with, such as a huge spring you have to preload, a parachute you ride down into the next area, or even a hovercraft! There're even sections where you ride on an object while fighting off foes before hitting the loop-the-loops again. Sonic Rush is packed with variety and truly redefines the Sonic side-scrolling legacy.

You see, the DS has two screens. As you know, one is a touch screen, but that doesn't come into play anywhere except during the bonus stages (which are a complete throwback to Sonic the Hedgehog 2's halfpipe bonus levels). Instead, both screens are used to display the insanely fast action; you might start on the top screen but soon you'll hit a giant hill that takes you to the lower screen, only to run through a loop that's so large it spans both screens entirely and you'll see Sonic run through it on each one as well. You can hit a ramp and launch up to the second screen, then hit a speed loop and soar back down to the lower screen. You'll also see numerous alternate paths on the screen below or above and find yourself pondering how you could reach them next time, or you could hold Up or Down until the screens shift and you get a better view of what's below or above you. It is not possible for Sonic to be implemented onto the DS any better than this.

Boss battles have long been a great aspect of Sonic, with plenty of memorable encounters in the original titles (if you went back and played them now I'm sure you'd remember it like you've played it every day since!) and Sonic Rush continues that tradition, which has since been upheld by the fantastic Sonic Advance series.

Using a whole new perspective, these battles all involve you moving Sonic left or right along a rotating axis, in complete 3D. It's hard to describe but it works out beautifully and makes a great change of pace but still keeps the feel of classic Sonic. I highly recommend following the link to the left, which directs you to the official site; directly on that page is a video showcasing the boss battles, as well the fantastic gameplay.

Excuse me, I was so hyped up over writing about the gameplay that I forgot to mention the storyline - though Sonic has never really been about that! Our blue friend is once again chasing the Chaos Emeralds, and his arch nemesis Dr. Robotnik (oh, sorry - I mean Eggman...) is hot on his tail. Except this time you run into a curious cat named Blaze, who Cream the Rabbit has befriended. Blaze is from an alternate world where she's on a quest for the Sol Emeralds and a villain known as Dr. Eggman Nega is on her tail. And yes, I know that is a horrible, horrible name! The two worlds collide, as Sonic is baffled when he runs into Eggman constantly referring to himself as Eggman Nega, and Blaze finds herself in a territory she is completely unfamiliar with, having only Cream to guide her.

Only being able to play as Sonic and Blaze (it's a tragedy Knuckles and Tails were not available this time) you're constantly guided by Tails or Cream, depending who you play as, and the journeys unfold very differently although taking place across the same span of levels in a varied order. The storyline and writing is pretty dull most of the time, but it's not like that matters; it's full of great gameplay and plenty of familiar and fun characters, and that's what counts in a Sonic game like this - this isn't Sonic Adventure after all (perhaps the only good 3D Sonic game ever made!) [I'll second that! Ed]

Now that the story aspect is out of the way, let us get back to the gameplay. Expanding on the trick system introduced in Sonic Advance 2, where you can do various stunts in the air at high velocity, you now also get points for using them in a combo system, as well as an overall grade - both introduced in Sonic Adventure 2 - which makes replay value even higher as you strive to pull off every last trick you can and earn that high score for each zone. New to Sonic Rush is a tension gauge that fills up as you pull off various tricks and defeat enemies. The result? A nitro button! That's right, as if Sonic isn't going fast enough for you already, just hit the button and watch him rush off into a blue ball of flames!

Sonic Rush is full of sound effects so familiar that I wouldn't be surprised if they were directly taken from the original game. That's a good thing, of course, though the inclusion of voices for each character during gameplay may not be. An aspect definitely not taken from the original series is the music, however. As much as I loved the catchy tunes of the introduction screen and Green Hill Zone from the first title, Sonic Rush is full of funk driven tunes straight from Hideki Naganuma himself, the man behind the classic music of Jet Grind Radio and Jet Set Radio Future. Though the music isn't as catchy as the original Sonic, it's definitely unique to say the least and fits the action well.

Aside from the iffy voice acting, there are some other gripes putting the brakes on Sonic Rush. The difficulty is high, which is great, but many areas are very trial-and-error based, with pitfalls that come out of absolutely nowhere. It doesn't ruin the game and indeed makes it last longer (since you'll be replaying certain levels many times, no doubt), but it's very frustrating when you just want to get onto the next zone and see what the boss is going to be like! Speaking of which, my only other real complaint is that a couple of the bosses are recycled later on in the game, but since they've ramped up the difficulty, added new attacks and completely changed the battlegrounds it's difficult to complain about it too much!

Most of the time the bosses and their attacks are totally unique and original, as are the way to go about defeating them. They're a joy to fight for the first time and all this can be said about the level design as well. Some of them are simply breathtaking (such as the air base surrounded by clouds, which is full of grind rails galore!) You'll find yourself, like me, wondering why they never thought of doing a 3D based side-scrolling Sonic sooner.

Like Sonic Advance and the classic Sonic games, Rush includes wireless download multiplayer races with power-ups not found in the single player area. Though the mode is great fun, I would have loved to see a Sonic the Hedgehog 2 style mode - you remember, where one player played as Sonic and the other as Tails as they teamed up and raced through zones on the same screen? That was great fun, but I'm sure with the complexity of the levels in Rush it would have been nearly impossible!

The graphics in Rush are a big departure from any other 2D Sonic title. Instead of using animated sprites like every other entry into the side-scrolling games, fully polygonal cel-shaded characters are used that animate and move just like you'd expect Sonic to in a game like this. It allows for some really breathtaking moments where Sonic comes right up to the screen at huge speeds before returning as he swings around ropes or twirls around bizarre circus contraptions. The boss fights take place in full 3D environments as well, despite not having the ability to move Sonic in any direction other than left or right.

Sonic Rush is full of throwbacks to memorable aspects of the original games, be it a level design that brings back fond memories or a gameplay element such as underwater air bubbles identical to those in the original Sonic's fourth zone, the Labyrinth and Sonic 2's memorable third zone, the Aquatic Ruins. Those of you who played them will instantly think back every time you jump up for that air bubble, as the little number counts down to one and the music reaches a dramatic peak before dropping out as you hear that unmistakable sound that lets you know you just saved your rear end for a few more seconds.

Sonic Rush is not only a great Sonic game that takes you back and shows you what made him great, and it's not just a great evolution for the series either - it's simply a great DS game that will last you a good while. The system is not in short supply of great games of late, with the next wave being Mario Kart DS, Animal Crossing: Wild World and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. But Sonic Rush will always be there ready for you to pick it up again and try to beat your highest score once you do complete the game's two story modes, or search out for those hidden and hard to reach areas until you memorise the best route, just like you did on the original games. Fans of the true Sonic games will absolutely die for this game and you have my personal guarantee that you will love it - there's no little blue fuzzballs to raise, no unnecessary character interaction... just pure, plain ol' Sonic greatness. Let's just hope that the next-generation Sonic the Hedgehog remake will take notes from the continued dominance that is the handheld Sonic. Oh yeah, and if you haven't already please, please go pick up Sonic Mega Collection Plus for your PS2 or Xbox. You'll be glad you did!

Reviewed by Christopher Martin for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).