Platform: PSP
Maker: Backbone Entertainment
Review: Jason Round

I recall many a late-night fight with my brother over who was better, a fat plumber with a fascination for magic mushrooms or a hedgehog with spiky blue hair. Naturally, I’d always pull out the ‘Sonic is faster’ card, and on and on it went from there.

The ‘fast’ thing was really the trump card back in the ’90s, when Sonic burst onto the scene with speed and complexity previously unseen in the 16-bit world. It was fast and it was crazy, and that’s how we like things here at Hot4s. It’s good to see then that the latest instalment for PSP, Sonic Rivals, stays true to its faster-than-a-speeding-plumber heritage.

Of course, that goes without saying that although still great, the last Sonic title we reviewed for the Xbox 360 was kind of missing said speed and craziness. Not here, though. No way.

You see, Rivals is best thought of as a kind of Sonic Mario Kart, where you race against other characters collecting various ‘weapons’ and bits and pieces, trying to pull in front through, well, dirty play. It gets better, though...

Obviously, the developers were smoking the wacky, because again there’s some tripped-out tale of animals frozen into pictures, but really, who cares when you have corkscrews and loop-de-loops to burn around?

Yes, the tracks, while freshly baked in 3D, are just like those of old, ie. insane, and that feeling of speed is well and truly engrained into this title. You can play Sonic or one of the other three characters as you make your way around four different storylines through six worlds, each with their own unique themes.

Sound and graphics are fantastic on the small screen, and it’s quite obvious that Rivals is a title that makes the most of the PSP’s capabilities. Naturally, die-hard fans will recognise a whole bunch of classic imagery and aural ques, including that trademark ring pick-up ‘ding’.

There is also multiplayer offered in a head-to-head format, though we did find things started to get a little ‘T88 on a 1.5’ – very laggy.
Really, though, that and a couple of frustrating barrier and obstacle quirks are minor blemishes on what is fast becoming a very impressive resume for a blue hedgehog hoping to rejoin the new-format workforce.

5/5