The problem with all of the 2-D Sonic titles has always
been the difficulty level. Anyone over the age of five could run through each stage with
little resistance. Each new entry was easily beaten in an afternoon. There's no chance to
do the same thing with Rush. It's not because of the health system. It still only requires a single ring to withstand contact with an enemy, and those gold pieces are littered everywhere. It's not the enemies. The new trick system (a combination of the d-pad and a face button when in the air) lets Sonic combat those in his paths by charging forward with an unstoppable blast.
It's not the use of the second screen for gameplay. This well-implemented feature adds to the sense of speed and height, while benefiting the game tremendously. It's not the 3-D boss battles, which will only take one or two deaths to figure out. A few shots to their special weak point (which they of course reveal in an obvious manner) and it's over.
What it is are pits. Numerous, countless, poorly mapped out chasms that kill the Hedgehog instantly. This is a problem that plagues most of the game. In other titles in the series, you had a general idea of what was a bottomless crater and what was a fall to an off-screen platform. That's not the case here. Ramps send players flying into the death inducing traps, and you won't even realize you're seconds from losing a life because it looks like an extension to the level or a new area to explore.
There's also a focus on tight platform jumping. This is not generous in the least, and Sonic's jump has never been the most accurate. Obviously, missing a single leap is a death warrant into another bottomless "badly placed pit of doom."
Multi-player takes its concept from Sonic 3 on the
Genesis, letting players race against each other wirelessly and only with a single cart
(on levels already beaten). It only uses the top screen oddly enough. The bottom one
displays a map so you can check your opponent's position. If you've been involved in the
single player game, it's a jarring switch. It doesn't feel right without an extra screen
anymore if you've become accustomed to it.This really is a disappointment all around. If it weren't for the level design, which is wonderful at capturing the Sonic aesthetic, this would be an excellent extension of the Game Boy Advance games in the series. Those deep falls don't help a series that's set on letting players explore gigantic levels multiple times. You can expect to be frustrated long before you appreciate the dual screen and multi-player bonuses.
