Sonic Rush is a healthy dose of old-school Sonic the Hedgehog.
Sonic Rush still incorporates the fast Sonic the Hedgehog gameplay we've all grown to know and love. Sonic Rush adds new twists to the gameplay, such as a trick system to earn points, and a new playable character named Blaze.
Sonic Rush uses the two screens to its advantage by using the touch screen as a continuation of the level you're playing. Throughout each level, you will be switching between the two different screens. This makes each level quite large with several different paths to take. Sonic Rush also fixes the problem of getting easily lost in a level, and having to waste time by getting back on track - something that was a rather annoying problem in Sonic Advance 3.
For the most part, Sonic and Blaze control the same way. The only difference with Blaze is that, when she jumps, flames surround her body, but the attacking principles are the same as with Sonic - jump on/roll into enemies to defeat them. Of course, this was fun in previous Sonic games, and it is still fun today.
Graphics:
Most of the game is 2D side-scrolling. Sonic and Blaze are both 3D models, but the environments are in 2D. That is, except for the bosses, which take place in 3D environments. The graphics are quite good, and have exceptionally fluid animation, and the 3D environments are colorful and well-rendered.
Sound:
Sonic Rush scores big here. The game's soundtrack is unbelievable! It uses the modern approach the Sonic game's have been using lately, and combining them with the old-school sounds of the old-school Sonic games. The result is a fabulous sounding game which may have you visiting the Sound Test once you have unlocked it.
Value:
Sonic and Blaze's levels are exactly the same; they are just played in a different order. You are still faced with the challenge of collecting the Chaos Emeralds to unlock a bonus, but once the story is completed, you will see that there is very little replay value. Collecting all of the S ranks on each level is not really a goal worth pursuing unless you are a hardcore gamer bent on completing everything there is to complete in a game. If anything, the only reason you may continue to play Sonic Rush is because of fun factor. However, it is safe to say that, years from now, you may pick up Sonic Rush and be just as charmed by it as you were when you first played it, maybe even more.
Sonic Rush is a healthy dose of old-school Sonic the Hedgehog. The game succeeds at it's new gameplay additions and gives gamers another flashback to the series they love.