Sonic the Hedgehog 4 was a mediocre game at best. It was wonderful to see Sonic in a 2D platformer again, but there were several glaring flaws with it. Fortunately many of these issues have been addressed in Sonic 4 part 2.
One of the biggest problems with part 1 was the odd physics saddled onto Sonic. He had no momentum whatsoever and would stop like a dead weight if the you let go of the analog stick or d-pad. Part 2 fixes this problem and has given Sonic inertia once more. The other mark against part 1 for me was the overabbundance of pits. I constantly had to stop and slowly advance forward so I did not run off into oblivion. I talked with a Sega representative and he assured me that the level design for this game is superior to that of its predecessor. The team has listened to feedback from part 1. Consequently they have added far less pits. In the levels I played I was able to maintain a sense of speed and forward momentum without being forced to stop to often. The representative said that the levels are going to larger than those seen in part 1.
Tails is a nice addition to this game. Playing by yourself allows you to do actions with Tails such as making a giant ball to roll through enemies and to using Tail’s power of flight to lift Sonic to new heights. The game can also be played in co-op with a second person taking control of Tails. This can be done locally or online.
Those of you who have downloaded part 1 will be able to access special levels where you can play as Metal Sonic. These levels will show his story and continue from the end of Sonic CD where he was destroyed. This is a great addition to those who have played through the last game and available for free if you own the past title.
The two levels I had access to where Sylvania Castle Zone and White Park Zone. The Sylvania Castle Zone is the standard level found in every Sonic game with green grass and easy enemies. The level was a breeze to play through and I made good time on it. The level also features the return of the spin bumpers from the Marble Garden Zone in Sonic 3. These are one of the few times in the level I had to stop and do something before I could proceed. The other level was White Park Zone. This was a nice looking park area with carousels under a layer of snow. This level was significantly longer than Sylvania Castle Zone. Not shown where the special stages. According to the representative they will be similar to the half pipe stages found in Sonic 2. He also said that Tails will be better in these stages than the hindrance he was in Sonic 2’s. The special stages in the second game are among the series hardest in my opinion requiring a lot of practice and memorization. Hopefully they will be more forgiving in this title.
These game looks gorgeous in motion. It is at the upper limit of space allowed by XBLA games. Due to the size and the graphics it will unfortunately not be available on Wii. It will be coming to PSN, XBLA, iOS, Android, and WM7 around May 15th-16th.
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