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I was
ready to write off
Sonic
the Hedgehog 4:
Episode 1
as Sega’s attempt at
just pushing out a
simple update for
Xbox LIVE and
Playstation Network.
And through the
first levels on the
first zone that’s
what it pretty much
is. Then you get to
the Casino Zone… and
it feels like the
same thing for the
first few moments
until- all of a
sudden the genius
level design takes
over.
That’s what this
game’s strength is.
Sure, having the
graphics be polished
up is nice, but
everything that a
successful Sonic
game has been about
is zooming through a
level designed with
different devices
and switches. The
first zone in
Sonic
the Hedgehog 4:
Episode 1
lacks any kind of
innovativeness but
everything after
that is a huge step
and an enormous
amount of fun. There
must have been 5-6
new devices in the
Casino zone alone,
and then there are
tons of odes to the
past throughout the
zone that remind you
of Sonic the
Hedgehog 2
& 3
from the Sega
Genesis days. The
level design in this
Sonic is great and
the game itself is
just pure 2D fun
racing. The concept
of the game remains
the same; go as fast
as you can, collect
as many rings as you
can, and finish the
level with as many
rings as you can.
They’ve used
different formulas
for Sonic over the
ears, but their
initial formula has
always been the best
and it’s good to see
that Sega is taking
the Sonic franchise
back in that
direction, not just
with
Sonic
the Hedgehog 4,
but with
Sonic
Colors
too.
That
dedication warrants
a purchase through
Playstation Network
or Xbox LIVE, but if
I had plenty to play
this Christmas etc…
I would wait to
pounce on
Sonic
the Hedgehog 4:
Episode 1
until
Episode 2 was
released and the
price of Episode 1
went down slightly.
It’s great
downloadable
content- but it does
have a few things
wrong with it.
The
problems with
Sonic
the Hedgehog 4
are small and really
there are only
three. There’s
nothing in terms
presentation.
There’s no awkward
2D cut scene and I
really would have
liked an awkward 2D
cut scene. Also, it
sucks that they
divided this up into
episodes. It’s a
great idea for them,
but with music,
movies, or games-
when the distributer
busts things up into
episodes or parts
it’s not usually
beneficial to the
consumer. That is
what is going on
here as well. The
other problem with
Sonic
4
is the feel of the
game on the
controller…. It just
doesn’t feel like it
used to. They needed
to tweak the
sensitivity of the
PS3 dual-shock
controller with this
game before they put
it out.
If you look past the
slight control
problem and that
this is just the
first episode of at
least two that we’ll
see of Sonic 4 then
you’ll enjoy the
game. The level
design is brilliant
after the first zone
is complete, the
graphics are
polished up, and
you’re getting a ton
of game time with
DLC, which is always
a perk. Whether
you’re just a Sonic
fan or a game fan
this is something
you need to at least
check out the demo
of.
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