Any true lover of the Sonic series going all the way back to its humble origins on the SEGA Genesis will tell you that, since the series has entered into the 3D realm of gameplay, with the Sonic Adventure series, Sonic Heroes, and the upcoming Shadow the Hedgehog, there has been one thing sorely missing from the experience: speed. Sure, Sonic can still run like the wind in those games, but it just doesn’t feel right. Sonic Rush, the hedgehog’s first foray onto the Nintendo DS, is just what it claims to be: Sonic in a bloody rush.

The game puts you into a 2D setting with graphics and environments pulled right out of the most acclaimed games of the franchise, those being the original Sonic trilogy along with Sonic & Knuckles. The only thing you have to do is get from one end of the level to the other, and the faster you do that, the more fun the game is. Just the way Sonic should be. Control is just what you’d want it to be – left and right run left and right, down ducks, the action buttons perform actions like jump, spin jump, spin dash, etc. Sure, there are some new moves thrown in there, such as Sonic’s ability to create a gust of wind in mid-air, or his flying side-kick that will help glide you down to the ground more smoothly and attack anybody that happens to be in your way, but it’s the classic elements that give the game its charm.

Note that this game is not the Sonic demo we saw at E3 last year, where you rubbed the stylus back and forth across the touch screen as fast as possible to make Sonic run. This is a new game that we had not seen before. While there might be elements of that demo, perhaps in the bonus stages that Sonic is famous for, it was not the main focus of this game. And DS touch screens and gamers’ wrists everywhere just breathed a sigh of relief.

The graphical look of this game is not stellar. It looks almost identical to its Game Gear counterparts from the mid-nineties, with some obvious improvements in textures, colors, and resolution. But don’t expect to be blown away by the graphics. It’s almost as if Sega never stopped production on the original Sonic series and this is the next logical step in that arena. As for sound, we had the camera plugged into the headset on the DS, so I didn’t get to hear it. You, though, are in luck, as we have video footage of the game running with direct feed audio, so you can judge that for yourself. You know you love us.

So, my E3 verdict? Ever since I experienced the 3D Sonics with their focus more on crappy walk-around-in-a-big-machine or search-for-a-crystal-in-the-ground missions than speed, my general statement towards Sonic has been “Who cares? I just want to RUN.” Well, this game is my wish. If you want to run, and to experience brilliant 2D level design and breakneck speed hearkening back to the classic days of yore, this is the game you’ve been waiting for.

Carl DeNovio