Maxie Rivals

Heads to Heads to Heads to Heads!!
— Tagline

Maxie Rivals
Developer(s)	Backbone Entertainment Sega Studio USA (supervision) Pumpituppartyzone
Publisher(s)	SEGA
Release Dates	NA-April 3, 2013 EU-April 20, 2013 JP-April 2, 2013 AUS-April 10, 2013
Genre(s)	Action, Racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer
Platforms	PSP, Wii, XBox360, PC
Media	Universal Media Disc, CD Rom, Wii Disc

Maxie Rivals was developed by Backbone Entertainment and supervised by Sega Studio USA, playable on the PSP, Nintendo Wii, XBox 360, and PC. Maxie Rivals was released on April 3, 2013 in North America.

Plot

The Chao have gone missing and Maxie and Max Flippercorn were instantly called to investigate. 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 use Blop, a completley unknown creature, to feed off the chao to become more powerful. This way, he would use Blop as his servant to take over the world. However, to get Blop to feed, the seven Chaos Emeralds are required. So, Eggman Nega hires M.L. the Otter to collect the Chaos Emeralds. The Secret Thing has also gone missing, so Jake the Wolf teams up with M.L. to find it.

Meanwhile, Razz the Bear is being brainwashed by The real Eggman (again) and Shawn the Bandicoot finds him. After knocking some sense into him Razz, promises to help him with whatever he needs for the time being. Shawn informs Razz that chao have gone missing and that Maxie would think more highly of Shawn if he helped find them. So, the two of them work together to find the missing chao. The real Dr. Eggman sends Ned McMuffin and Freckles Jeeperchomp to investigate the Blob character, and to see if he can help him with anything. He soon realizes Nega's plans with Blob and insists that the pair find the chaos emeralds before Nega gets to them, and that they get Blob on their good side so he will help.

All of the teams meet up at the Mystic Haunt Zone where the chao are found. Despite M.L. only collecting six of the Emeralds, the portal opens anyway and Nega gets Blob to feed off of the chao, making him large and much more powerful. Despite possessing Maxie, Max, Jake, and M.L. (depending on who the player plays as), Blob is defeated by the other teams. Ned and Freckles defeat the Blob and Blob swallows up Nega. However, Freckles reveals that she had another Chaos Emerald hidden in her shoe. Ned uses the Emerald to teleport back. Nega is left trapped inside Blob, who, during some odd digestion, opens a portal inside his stomach and teleports him to a different dimension.

Maxie and Max save all the Chao and bring them to a Chao Garden, and Jake finds the Secret Thing in the Emerald Detector that he and M.L. stole from Eggman Nega (oddly). M.L. steals the Master Emerald and runs, though Jake catches her and takes it back, flying off on a pile of rocks. Shawn and Razz confront Maxie, who is flattered by the attempt. Before she can finish her though, Shawn immediately thanks her and runs off. Razz facepalms and runs after him. Maxie is at first confused, then finds that her wallet is gone and chases after the two.

Characters

Sonic Rivals 2 has 8 different playable characters at first. After defeating Story Mode once, a ninth (Freckles) is playable. 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 defeating enemies to fill the "Sig Meter."

Character	Decription
	Maxie Flippercorn - The swift and sassy Nebelung Cat is back. Her action and attitude are well known and she possesses many high-speed offensive and defensive abilities. When Maxie hears that the Chao have gone missing, the race is on to catch up with her old nemesis, Dr. Eggman (Eggman Nega in disguise). With hers and her brother's speed, the two are a force to be reckoned with. Maxie's Signature Move is "Seltzer Swoosh". 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.
	Max Flippercorn - Max is Maxie's little brother and a master mechanic. This absent-minded cat excels at building things and flying machines. He is Maxie's sidekick; the two of them will do whatever it takes to stop Eggman. Max has teamed up with Maxie to locate Dr. Eggman (Eggman Nega in disguise) and get to the bottom of the missing Chao. With the combined speed of Maxie and Max, they are a force to be reckoned with. Max's Signature Move is "Jet Rocket". He can quickly go through places that others cannot by flying.
	Ned McMuffin - A mysterious and charming Burmilla Cat, this ex-boyfriend of Maxie's considers himself a bitter rival of her. Unlike Maxie, however, Ned's speed comes from his patented Slippy Sneakers which allow him to slide on any the surface. This time around Ned answers the call of... Dr. Eggman?! Ned's Signature Move is "Grin Gleam". This smile mezmerizes slows down the other player's movement for a few seconds.
	Freckles Jeeperchomp - Maxie's arch rival in just about every aspect of life, Freckles is Ned's sidekick for once. The two are partners in crime with just about everything, but will they really be taking orders from the infamous Dr. Eggman? Freckles's Signature Move is "Bunny Hop". This move is a swift kick in the face to the opponent, completley stunning them for a couple seconds.
	Blob - We don't know who--or what this thing is! But it's creepy, liquidy, and seems very powerful. Who knows what kinds of things it's capable of??? Blob's Signature Move is "Copycat". This allows it to copy the Signature Move of the other player. In the event that there is no opponent, Blob's Signature Move defaults being a toss-up between "Seltzer Swoosh" and "Bunny Hop".
	Jake the Wolf - Not quite as fast as Sonic, or even Maxie, though what he lacks in speed he more than makes up for in limited geokinesis. He often uses his earth-manipulating gloves to his advantage to smash up his enemies. As guardian of The Secret Thing, Jake is going to have to team up with the sly M.L. to track down Eggman and his Secret Thing. Jake's Signature Move is his "Rock Slam". Jake smashes the ground with rocks and surrounds himself with an earth-shattering shockwave, damaging or destorying all in its path.
	M.L. the Otter - M.L. is a professional spy, always with her head in the game and eyes on the prize. With her take-no-prisoners attitude and incredible focus, M.L. is dedicated to her work and never leaves a task empty handed. In this adventure, she's on a special kind of mission.... M.L.'s Signature Move is "Otter Swarm". A swarm of sea otters circle her and act as a damaging shield to other players. She can also launch the otters one by one to attack enemies and players.
	Razz the Bear - An easily brainwashed bear, Razz finds himself in another predicimant. After being saved by Shawn, Razz insists on doing whatever it takes to pay off his debt to Shawn. He doesn't care really what he does, just as long as it can clear his conscience! Razz's Signature Move is "Electric Shock". He temporarily alters the other player's controls with electrokinesis (often causing them to go backwards or look around).
	Shawn the Bandicoot - Shawn is an immature and stubborn bandicoot, completley determined to have Maxie think more highly of him, as he has the impression that she despises him. To get on the cat's good side, Shawn decides to go on the good side and investigate the case of the missing chao. Shawn's Signature Move is "Super Spin". He spins so quickly that he is no longer visible by any opponents or enemies.

Supporting Characters

• Dr. Eggman: The Main antagonist of the series, who actually plays a protagonistic role in this game. Eggman Nega disguises himself as Eggman to fool the eight playable characters, however, the real Eggman is giving instructions to Ned and Freckles and gives them missions they must complete. Only 2 playable characters can tell its Eggman Nega (Ned and Freckles)
• Eggman Nega: The main antagonist of the game. The player must battle him at the end of each zone, however he is disguised as Dr. Eggman. His true form is only revealed to Ned's and Razz's teams. During the storyline he hires M.L. to find the Chaos Emeralds for him and has Blob feed on chao energy, making him bigger and more powerful.
• Creepster Ghost Man: A ghost that shape-shifts into the appearance of others. In the Mystic Haunt level, he attacks Maxie and Max and takes on their appearance.

Game Modes

Single Player

Maxie Rivals 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 (Maxie and Max, Ned and Blob, Razz and Shawn, Jake and M.L.) 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 (nine after completing Story Mode once) 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.

Multiplayer

Maxie Rivals 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, squared lands. 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. The Boss is Blob. The boss in this zone is the first time Freckles can be playable in the game.

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.

Trivia

• This marks Ned's and Freckles' first appearance as protaganists as opposed to antagonists.
• This is the first game where no one smiles on the box art.
• This is the second game that Razz is brainwashed in, though this does not last as long.
• This is Freckles' first time as an unlockable character.

Gallery

Suits

Various Character Outfits that can be unlocked in the game by meeting select challenges. Each character has four unlockable skins, making a total of 32 outfits that can be unlocked for all eight characters.

• Race Suit: Challenge: Run 15,000 meters with Maxie.

• Rider Suit: Challenge: Win Maxie Cup in single player.

• Gardening Suit: Challenge: Beat Ned 20 times in any mode with Maxie.

• Clown Suit: Challenge: Win Maxie Cup in multiplayer.

• Race Suit: Challenge: Log 5 minutes of fly time with Max.

• Pilot Suit: Challenge: Win Max Cup in single player.

• Captain Suit: Challenge: Beat Freckles or Blob 20 times with Tails.

• Fox Suit: Challenge: Win Max Cup in multiplayer.

• Race Suit: Challenge: Attack any Rival 50 times with Jake.

• Armor Suit: Challenge: Win Jake Cup in single player.

• Eggman Suit: Challenge: Win Jake Cup in multiplayer.

• EarthBender Suit: Challenge: Beat M.L. 20 times in any mode with Jake.

• Race Suit: Challenge: Use Ned's Grin Gleam times.

• Business Suit: Challenge: Win Ned Cup in multiplayer .

• 80*s Suit: Challenge: Win Ned Cup in single player.

• Mercenary Suit: Challenge: Beat Maxie 20 times in any mode with Ned.

• Race Suit: Challenge: Use Razz's Signature move on any Rival 20 times.

• Lightning Suit: Challenge: Win Razz Cup in multiplayer.

• Girly Suit: Challenge: Win Razz Cup in single player.

• Cyber Suit: Challenge: Beat Shawn 20 times in any mode with Razz.

• Race Suit: Challenge: Collect 500 rings with M.L.

• Stealth Suit: Challenge: Win Marie Cup in multiplayer.

• Sonic Suit: Challenge: Beat Jake 20 times with ML.

• Commander Suit: Challenge: Win Marie Cup in single player.

• Race Suit: Challenge: Use Shawn's Signature Move 20 times.

• Mummy Suit: Challenge: Beat Razz 20 times with Shawn.

• Hawk Suit: Challenge: Win Shawn Cup in multiplayer.

• Samurai Suit: Challenge: Win Shawn Cup in single player.

• Race Suit: Challenge: Successfully copy every Rival's Signature Moves with Blob.

• Circus Suit: Challenge: Win Blob Cup in single player.

• Jester Suit: Challenge: Beat Max 20 times with Blob.

• Mouse Suit: Challenge: Win Blob Cup in multiplayer.

• Race Suit: Challenge: Use Freckles' Signature Move 20 times.

• Leather Suit: Challenge: Beat Max 20 times with Freckles.

• Lazy Suit: Challenge: Win Total Cup in multiplayer.

• Queen Suit: Challenge: Win Total Cup in single player.