I think the selling point of this game was just how similar the gameplay was to the classic Sonic the Hedgehog games. Run through (mostly) 2D environments, jumping on enemies and such. They even introduced a new Boost system that was really cool. But the issue I have with this game is that it doesn't seem like they put enough effort into making the game fun. And that's not exactly my only issue. Anyway, when I say that they didn't work hard enough at making the game fun, I mean that there aren't enough areas where you can run really fast free from enemies, like the older games had. There always seemed to be enemies placed in areas that you are made to assume are for experiencing the speed side of the games. You find yourself running into enemies without seeing them coming. There are just some really irritating enemy placements in the game. Add that to an overload of bottomless pits and other obstacles that will just make you die a little inside every time you die in the game.
The bosses are fairly generic, making you dodge their attacks until they give you an opening to take down one of their eight health points. What makes the boss battles even worse is you have either Cream or Tails at the bottom cheering for you, and making comments every time you get hit or hit the enemy. It was just completely unnecessary to have them there. There was only really one boss battle that was actually that fun, and it was one of the last ones. I liked the bonus rounds of the game, where you use your DS stylus to collect rings in a Sonic 2 Bonus Stage type environment. This could also get frustrating at times with the obstacles, but all in all, the stages were pretty good.
The music in the game was not good. It went for a very "funky" style of music that just doesn't fit with a Sonic game. It lacked any of the charm the older Sonic music had, and it was just plain annoying. The storyline of the game wasn't much to talk about either, but in the end, I don't play Sonic games for their story, I play them to have fun. I just wish I could have had a bit more fun playing this game. I mean, it would be a lie if I said I didn't have any fun playing the game at all, it's just that by the end, I was playing the game because I wanted to beat it, not because I enjoyed playing it. It's just that it was a game that was so easy to get frustrated with. There were times when I just felt that the people who made the game wanted to see me suffer! In the end, it's far from a bad game, and it was a step in the right directions for Sonic games, but there was a lot of room for improvement. Luckily, they made use of that room for improvement for the sequel, Sonic Rush Adventure. For more on my views of that game, check out my review for it.
As a lifelong Sonic fan, I never regretted buying Sonic Rush, and I liked the gameplay enough to spend money again on the sequel... although that was in part due to the fact that I had already heard that they had made improvements. But I probably would have bought it anyway.
