Sonic Rivals 2

Sonic Rivals 2 is the sequel to Sonic Rivals. The game was developed by Backbone Entertainment and supervised by Sega Studio USA, exclusively for the Playstation Portable handheld videogame console. Sonic Rivals 2 was released on November 13, 2007 in North America.

Plot
The Chao have gone missing and Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower immediately get on the case to find them. It turns out that Eggman Nega (once again masquerading as Doctor Eggman) has stolen the Chao and hidden them inside a haunted mansion. His plan is to feed them to an inter dimensional beast called the "Ifrit" who needs to eat them to become invincible. After that, he plans to release the Ifrit into the world in order to destroy it. However, to open the portal to Ifrit's world, the seven Chaos Emeralds are required. Eggman Nega thusly hires Rouge to collect the Chaos Emeralds. The Master Emerald has also gone missing (again) and Knuckles the Echidna teams up with Rouge to find it.

Meanwhile, Silver has returned from a now ruined future caused by the Ifrit. In order to make a new future, he steals the Chao that are left in order to hide them. He crosses paths with Espio the Chameleon, who is also on the case of the missing Chao, and they work together to save the world. The real Dr. Eggman sends Metal Sonic to find Shadow the Hedgehog, and lets them know of Nega's plans. Nega has learned of the Ifrit by accessing Professor Gerald Robotnik's journals, and Shadow and Metal set out to get the Chaos Emeralds before he does. Eggman uses Metal Sonic as a communication device to aid Shadow along the way.

All of the teams meet up at the Mystic Haunt Zone where the portal to Ifrit's world is. Despite Rouge only collecting six of the Emeralds, the portal opens anyway and Nega dispatches his new Metal Sonic version 3.0 to awaken the Ifrit. Despite possessing Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge (depending on who the player plays as), the Ifrit is defeated by the other teams. Shadow and Metal Sonic close the portal and seal themselves and Eggman Nega in Ifrit's dimension. Metal Sonic reveals that the seventh Emerald was stored in his chassis and he and Shadow use Chaos Control to exit that world. Nega is left trapped under some rubble.

Sonic and Tails take all the Chao to a Chao Garden, and Knuckles finds the Master Emerald in the Emerald Detector that he and Rouge stole from Eggman Nega. Rouge steals the Master Emerald and runs, and Silver returns to what he hopes is a happy future. Espio has to answer to Vector the Crocodile who has spent their client's advanced payment on late rental fees.

Characters
Sonic Rivals 2 has the same original five characters from the original game and adds three new ones. All characters use Homing Attack and Spin Dash to move through the levels. Each character can also use a "Signature Move" by collecting Rings, or killing enemies to fill the "Signature Meter" (formerly the Star item in the first game).

Playable Characters
Sonic's Signature Move is "Sonic Boom". This allows him to break the sound barrier in an instant and take off at high speeds. This move also destroys enemies and damages other opponents.
 * Sonic the Hedgehog: The World's Fastest Hedgehog, Sonic works with Tails to investigate the Chao disappearances.

Tails's Signature Move is "Tail Copter". He can quickly cover short distances and large gaps by flying.
 * Tails: Sonic's Friendly Sidekick, Tails assists in finding the missing Chao.

Knuckles's Signature Move is his "Knuckle Slam". Knuckles punches the air and surrounds himself with a fiery forcefield.
 * Knuckles: The Guardian of the Master Emerald, Knuckles teams up with Rouge to find it once it goes missing.

Rouge's Signature Move is "Bat Guard". A swarm of bats circle her and act as a damaging shield to other players. She can also launch the bats one by one to attack enemies and players.
 * Rouge: A Government Spy with a great desire for jewels, Rouge teams up with Knuckles to find the Master Emerald.

Shadow's Signature Move is "Chaos Control". This slows down the other player's movement for a few seconds.
 * Shadow: The "Ultimate Life Form", Shadow works with Metal Sonic to stop Eggman Nega's plans.

Metal Sonic's Signature Move is "Copycat". This allows him to copy the Signature Move of the other player. In the event that Metal Sonic is playing against Metal Sonic 3.0, or there is no opponent, Metal Sonic's Signature Move defaults to "Sonic Boom".
 * Metal Sonic: Sonic's Robot doppleganger, Metal Sonic is sent by Eggman to work with Shadow.

Silver's Signature Move is "ESP". He temporarily alters the other player's controls (Often causing them to go backwards or look around).
 * Silver: A Psychokinetic Hedgehog from the future, Silver works with Espio to rescue the missing Chao.

Espio's Signature Move is "Chroma-Cammo". He cannot be seen by enemies or other players, and gains a speed boost.
 * Espio: A Ninja Detective, Espio works with Silver to solve the case of the missing Chao.

Supporting Characters

 * Dr. Eggman: The Main antagonist of series, who actually plays a protagonaistic role in this game. Eggman Nega disquises himself as Eggman to fool the eight playable characters, however, the real Eggman is giving instructions to Shadow and Metal Sonic and gives them missions they must complete.


 * Eggman Nega: The Main antagonist of the game. The player must battle him at the end of each zone, however he is diquised as Dr. Eggman. During the storyline he hires Rouge to find the Chaos Emeralds for him and creates Metal Sonic 3.0, an upgraded version of Metal Sonic.


 * The Ifrit: A giant fire like beast unleashed by Eggman Nega. He attacks the player who must fight it and another character who is under his control.


 * Metal Sonic 3.0: An upgraded version of Metal Sonic. He is created by Eggman Nega and helps him to release the Ifrit at the End of the game. The player must fight him during Metal Sonic's story.


 * Sonic/Tails Ghost: A ghost that shapeshifts into the appearance of others. In the Mystic Haunt level, he attacks Sonic and Tails and takes on their appearance.

Single Player
Sonic Rivals 2 has four main Single Player modes. Story Mode is the main single player mode. Players will go through each of the game's battle modes (listed below) and levels to advance the plot. Each zone has three acts and a boss, with the exception of the final zone. The characters are divided into four teams (Sonic and Tails, Shadow and Metal Sonic, Silver and Espio, Knuckles and Rouge) and each character has their own story.

The game introduces a new mode called Free Play In this single player mode, players can choose any one of the eight characters and play through the zones in traditional 2D Sonic fashion. They can also try Time Attacking, or finding the ten hidden Chao in the levels. There are no opponents for this mode. This is a first for many of the characters featured.

In addition, players can also try the Cup Circuit and Single Event modes. Races and battle can be customized in every aspect, and players can try to earn cards by completing challenges. There are 150 different cards to collect, and each is tied to a certain achievement. For example, getting an S Rank in Knockout Mode unlocks a card of Mephiles the Dark.

The cards themselves contain art from various older Sonic games, and can unlock things such as alternate suits for the characters. Unlike the first game, only one card is needed to unlock a suit; and each character has four suits instead of the original three. The cards also unlock the Cup Circuits, and Chao Detectors for the Zones.

Multiplayer
Sonic Rivals 2 boasts a new "Battle Mode" with six different types of competition in addition to the main race mode. These modes are also worked into the story. The lengths of the battles can be set though the selection menus.


 * Knockout: Each player starts with three rings. Players must knock all of the rings out of their opponent and then attack them to win. First player to the set number of knockouts wins.


 * Rings Battle: Players have a set time to collect as many rings as possible. The player with the most rings at the end of the time limit wins.


 * Capture the Chao: A Sonic themed version of Capture the Flag. Players must steal a set number of Chao from their opponent's base and bring them back to their own base with their own Chao still there to win.


 * Laps Race: The first player complete a set number of laps around the track wins.


 * King of the Hill: An Omochao is stationed at the top of the level with a light beam. Players earn points by simply standing under it. The first player to the set number of points wins.


 * Tag: A Sonic themed cross between Hot Potato and Tag. Each player has a time limit that drops when they hold the bomb. Players pass the bomb by attacking the other player. The first player to have their time limit expire loses.

Stages

 * Blue Coast Zone - An aquatic zone containing white ruins. This is where all the teams begin. The boss is the Egg Liner, a vehicle that hits the characters with a spiked ball.
 * Sunset Forest Zone - A forest zone with vines and cliffs, set at sunset. Similar to Forest Falls in Sonic Rivals. The boss is the Egg Crawler, a big robotic worm.
 * Neon Palace Zone - A casino zone similar to that of Sky Park in Sonic Rivals. Contains number crates the characters can use to get a Bingo and win rings. The boss is the Egg Dealer, a bingo machine.
 * Frontier Canyon Zone - A desert wasteland based on the stereotypical "Wild West". The boss is the Egg Bull, a giant robot bull.
 * Mystic Haunt Zone - A haunted house. Here some battles involved fighting a ghost version of characters. It also appears to be home of other ghosts. The boss is the Egg Phantom, the Eggmobile disguised as a ghost.
 * Chaotic Inferno Zone - A ruined city covered in flames and lava. Similar to Crisis City in Sonic the Hedgehog and Westopolis in Shadow the Hedgehog. The boss is the Ifrit.

Each stage has three acts and a boss, instead of the original game's two. Acts one and three are races, and act two is always a battle. In the story mode, the races may be substituted with single character missions such as "Time Attack", "Collect X Rings", and other challenges. Certain stages can be skipped in the story, depending on the character chosen.

Music
It was revealed on Jun Senoue's (SEGA music producer) official website that he had worked together with Ted Poley on the game's theme song "Race To Win". This is not the first time Ted Poley and Jun Senoue have worked together; the previous times being in the video games Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes. The rest of the game's music is composed by Chris Rezanson.

Reception
The game, overall, has spawned average to bad reviews from many game sites. Game Rankings currently scores it 62%.
 * IGN - 6.5/10
 * GameSpot - 5/10
 * GameSpy - 3.5/5
 * GameZone - 6/10
 * GameDaily - 6/10
 * Game Revolution - D
 * Eurogamer - 7/10
 * 1UP.com - 4.5/10
 * Gamereactor Magazine Sweden - 5/10