Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1

[Sean Valjean]

I'm a big Sonic fan, and after waiting years for a proper Sonic sequel, Sonic 4 finally dropped today. With my PS3 in the ER, I had to download it on my newly acquired Wii.

I've been playing it for a long time now and while it's not the greatest Sonic game ever ( Sonic 2 being that, IMO) it's still very good and worthy of being called Sonic 4. The visuals are crisp and vibrant, the music is good, and while the some gameplay and level design have their faults it's all a surging hot load of Sonic goodness.

Has anyone else played this yet and if so, what do you think?

 

[Leeds Guy]

Not yet hoping to get it when it drops on xbox live today. Can't wait though. It's well overdue

 

[Lee]

4 Zones for £15. Worth it?

 

[Kip The Fury]

So fucking disappointed with this on the ps3, its unreal how bad it is. I quite like the new look and the music but sonic himself is pathetically badly animated, and the controls are so sluggish and un responsive. The fastest hedgehog in the world and i have trouble actually getting him to move. Have the developers heard of an area of science called physics, specifically momentum. Let go of the d pad mid jump and you dont carry on on the same trajectory... you drop vertically, no more forward movement just straight down.

I loved the Original sonic games, the first sonic game was the first video game i ever played. They seemed to flow and when sonic was running at his fastest it seemed fucking fast. Sonic 4 is nothing like that, such a major let down

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

They'll never surpass the epicness of Sonic 3 combined with Sonic and Knuckles. That's got to be one of Sega's greatest ideas. Buy this one game and essentially have the means to modify 3 more.

Sonic + Knuckles stand alone = a typically great Sonic game now featuring Knuckles as a playable character and not just the Red Echidna who laughs at you every now and then.

Sonic + Knuckles combined with Sonic 2 = Play Sonic 2 AS Knuckles, allowing you to explore Sonic 2 to much greater depth with Knuckles' wall climbing abilities.

S+K combined with Sonic 1 = a selection of the Chaos Emerald stages from S+K to play through

And S+K combined with Sonic 3, was basically both games extended, with the ability to unlock Hyper Sonic and Hyper Knuckles........ oh, and for some reason, only Super Tails(?)

Sonic 4 a decade later....... no thanks.

 

[byrnside]

Thought about trying to demo via XBOX live. Sonic 2 was epic Sean.

 

[Lee]

So fucking disappointed with this on the ps3, its unreal how bad it is. I quite like the new look and the music but sonic himself is pathetically badly animated, and the controls are so sluggish and un responsive. The fastest hedgehog in the world and i have trouble actually getting him to move. Have the developers heard of an area of science called physics, specifically momentum. Let go of the d pad mid jump and you dont carry on on the same trajectory... you drop vertically, no more forward movement just straight down.
I loved the Original sonic games, the first sonic game was the first video game i ever played. They seemed to flow and when sonic was running at his fastest it seemed fucking fast. Sonic 4 is nothing like that, such a major let down

First impressions I agree with this 100%

However I've only completed the first zone.

 

[Muffin Top Merkley]

Fury's quick review (and now backed up by Lee) makes me hesitant to purchase it for $15


I think I'll wait.

 

[DirtyJosé]

I'll kind agree with Lee and Fury; the jump dash is particularly sluggish. I think it has more to do with the fact I'm used to the maneuver being an air dash, while here it's more of an air somersault unless you have a target. Sonic feels slow to start, but I appreciate the "work for speed" aspect, as opposed to recent games which just let watch Sonic zoom with little input needed. That said, I do think the physics need some tweaking.

I'm through the 2nd level on the Wii version, and if I had to decide now, I'd say that I'm happy with the game. It's not the breakthrough hit I was hoping for, but it is certainly miles beyond any recent console Sonic game.