Many of the things you expect in a Sonic game are here – lightning fast gameplay, power up items including a magnetic barrier that helps you collect rings, and a tension meter power up.

The instruction manual is definitely well worth your time to peruse, and all of the power trick moves are detailed in there.

If there’s anything to complain about it’s the boss levels. They are relegated to one screen only and the 2D playing field becomes 3D. Getting through the boss levels is indeed a challenge – even from the first level – but once you have the timing down, it’s not a problem. Once you beat the first boss, additional characters are unlocked.

After you’ve completed a level, you can then replay it. At the end of each level, you are given a grade based on your time, your tricks and your total score. There’s just enough incentive to try a level again to get that higher grade, which keeps the game addictive.

If the single player game isn’t enough for you, once you’ve finished, you can then unlock a ‘time attack’ mode which is essentially beat the clock. There’s also a multiplayer mode. With Sonic Rush DS other players do not need to have their own copy of the game in order to play. The multiplayer game is somewhat interesting, but doesn’t keep me coming back in the same way as other multiplayer games have. Players that don’t have the game can download a demo from the game holder, which is a nice touch.

Overall, this is the first Sonic game in a long time that I can recommend. If you have a DS, you should absolutely pick this one up. Sonic Rush pays tribute to the original game but also adds some welcome new features that really make this game more enjoyable than ever.