Sonic Rivals 2 is the sequel to the popular Sonic Rivals, and follows the same formula as the last, but with the addition of a new game mode and lots more playable characters. The story is unfolded while the player goes over each of the games battle modes and locations, advancing the plot. The new mode introduced is called Free Play mode, and in this the player can choose a character and play through the zones of the game in traditional 2D sonic game play. For those who want something akin to traditional Sonic then this is quite a boon over the original title.

The story follows that once more the Chao have been kidnapped by Eggman Vega, who is once again masquerading as Eggman, in an attempt to feed them to a demon called ‘Ifrit’ so that this demon becomes powerful enough to devour the world. Sonic and his friends need to recover the Chao before this can happen, competing against Rouge and his comrades while they gather necessary Chaos Emeralds for the summoning. To top it of, Silver Sonic comes back from the devastated future where the demon has been released, to prevent it from occurring again, and fights to secure some of the Chao. The plot is in typical Sonic fashion, if a little dark when written down.

From a multiplayer point of view, the various game battle modes are all available. The include Rings battle, Knockout, and the capture the flag like Capture the Chao. All of it follows the theme of racing, and the time allowed for each round can be set via selection options. Multiplayer is fun, and really it seems that its what this game is all about, as even the single player is made up of pre configured multiplayer matches, ala Quake 3.

Basically, Sonic Rivals 2 is a nice continuation of the series. There isn’t too much that is new and exciting, but if you want more of the same with just a little extra gloss then this is definitely it. The storyline doesn’t let you down, and the graphics and game play is still top notch, so Sonic Rivals 2 is a welcome continuation of the Sonic legacy.