Whereas the home console Sonic games may have recently lurched from one half-baked disaster to another (though we’ll concede that the Wii’s Sonic and the Secret Rings was quite a few shades better than the pancaked roadkill that was Sonic the Hedgehog), the blue blur’s recent appearances on the handhelds have been pretty darn good.

2005 saw the release of Sonic Rush on the DS, a Sonic adventure that returned to the 2D roots of the series, and that was all the better for it. The following year, 2.5D racer/platformer hybrid Sonic Rivals appeared on the PSP, and also fared well with the critics. And now, Rivals is going to see a follow-up produced, with Sega of America declaring today that Sonic Rivals 2 will hit the PSP this Autumn.

There’s a sprinkling of new additions for the sequel, with Sega promising tighter races, a Free Play mode that will allow players to sample courses at a slower pace, and an assortment of new power-ups, long-range attacks, and characters.

The old cast returns as well, along with 150 new collectible cards that open up new circuits and other such niceties. Best of all, however, is the news that Rivals 2 will support Game Sharing, meaning two of you can take part in six Battle mode multiplayer challenges, and all with a single UMD.

Scroll down for the first four shots of the game in action.