Sonic Rush (Nintendo DS) Reader Review

Well, quite a majority of the votes were on this one, must have a lot of Sonic fans here (not that I'm complaining. )
Have been both dreading and anticipating reviewing Rush in equal measure, for reasons I can't fathom right now, probably due to finding the right words to put in context, if you know what I mean, which you probably don't.
Since I have to go meet people and do boring things later today, this review is going up a bit sooner than usual. Hope you enjoy.
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When the DS took its first steps into worldwide domination waaaaaay back at E3 in 2004, Mario's game, Super Mario 64 DS, was the main graphical showcase for the system, in both playable and viewable forms. His historic rival, Sonic, had a game of his own to show off too, although the demo was even more impressive in looks, it lacked in substance, as it had a simple 'rub the screen' mechanic. Have a look below;

Sonic's 3D efforts, to that point, had been hit-and-miss, and it would be unlikely that Sonic's first proper DS title would follow the Demo's example. Sure enough, a few months later, Sega showed off Sonic Rush, another 2D-focused game for the DS, and this would be the game's final form.
Okay, no more history-related blah blah, what's the game like?

First, let's get the story out of the way. Warning; New Sonic Characters abound! (Boo! Hiss!...although in fairness they aren't too bad).
Basically, in a Parallel Dimension, another Eggman swipes some Emeralds and scarpers to Sonic's world. The protector of those gems, Blaze the Cat, give chase, and so on and so forth.
When you play a Sonic game, you wouldn't really give two hoots about the plot anyway, so don't worry about it here. It's okay, but hardly award-winning.

As mentioned somewhere up there in all that text, Rush delivers main Gameplay on a 2D plane, and (rather uniquely, a main benefit of the platform) this takes place over both screens of the Handheld. So, one minute, you'll be zipping along like Linford Christie with his ass on fire, on one screen, and a simple slope would catapult you to the other screen the next minute. Traditional Sonic games have always kept your eyes busy, and Rush is no different. There is a slight gap between both screens in both aesthetics and gameplay, but this doesn't affect the in-game action.
Your choice of playable characters is minimal; just Sonic and newcomer Blaze. Both characters are similar to control, although Sonic is faster (the universe would probably implode if he wasn't), and Blaze has a few fire-based tricks to compensate.
The levels are what you would expect, Left to Right, loads of themes (water, desert, forest, the whole textbook), rails to grind on here and there (blame the Sonic Advance series for them), it's really typical, enjoyable Sonic-fare. New to the proceedings though, is the trick system, and the Boost bar.
In older games, a smack into a wall or a headbutt with an enemy would bring your character to a halt, and it would be a drag to bring them up to speed again. Remember tearing you hair out over that? Worry no more, for as long as you have juice in the Boost bar, you can zip back into mach 3 at the press of a button. The afore-mentioned Trick system is how you keep the bar topped up; mainly in the air, or after a springboard, a quick few taps on a button makes your character freak out/perform acrobatic moves. These additions are very welcome to the Sonic formula, and provide more distraction from those pesky bottomless gaps.
The Boss fights in this game differentiate from the core gameplay, in that they are acted out in 3D, although still on a 2D plane. Most of the bosses feel unique and fun, with particular mention going to the Casino Night Zone Boss for all-out greatness.

As far as looks go, Rush performs well, and keeps up a stable framerate throughout, except in parts of the Multiplayer mode (more on that later). Cutscenes look great, although they would've benefited from more voicework, and the gameplay transition from top to bottom screen and vice-versa goes without a hitch.

The music in this game, in my humble opinion, kicks ass. Since Sonic's eyes went green, the opinions of the sound in his games have been hit-and-miss amongst fans. But meh to the naysayers, Rush's themes are great. Although both Sonic and Blaze's stages are essentially the same, there is a slight difference in the music, and you'll be divided over which is better. Thankfully, there is a Sound Test mode in this game too.

Sonic Rush houses a lot of features, aside from the main single-player mode. There is Time-Attack, Boss Fight marathons, Level Select for the individual, and a download-play (although there is a lot of slowdown) and Multi-cart play (none here) for the double players.
A quick whiz through the stages every now and then, and perhaps a boot to some of the Bosses when you're feeling down, ensure that this game will last you a while, and that's not even mentioning that the regular Story Mode will hand your ass to you from time to time.

I'd most definitely recommend this game to those sitting on the fence right now, and the best bit; It's dead cheap nowadays.