User blog:Tmaster16/Sonic 4 Episode 1 Review

I been a fan of the Sonic series for quite some time, and I can honestly say 2005-2009 weren't exactly stellar (with the exception of Sonic Unleashed). When the announcement came of not only a 2D Sonic game, but a 2D Sonic game on a console (The last one being Sonic and Knuckles) I was pretty hyped. when the reviews came out, every one seemed to hate it. I went into the game with an open mind and hoped for the best. Lets break this up into categories. First, the visuals. I got this game on WiiWare and was amazed on how great the graphics were. Very bright, very smooth, and it just felt classic to me. Next, the music. The soundtrack is hit and miss with a lot of people. Most of the tracks are great in my opinion, but some just stick out like a sore thumb. Bringing back unused boss music from 3D Blast? It was unused for a reason. The special stage music is as basic as you can get. But the worst track is the Pinch-Mode. When you reach the E.G.G Station Zone, that's all you are going to be hearing and it never ends! Besides that, the music is pretty good in my opinion. Now to the gameplay. This game has you doing the usual stuff you do in any 2D Sonic game, run to the end of the level. Sonic's arsenal has been improved this time around. Not only does he have the spindash and regular jump, but know he can use the homing attack. It can be a bit unresponsive at times, but it didn't mess me up that much. Level progression is a bit different this time around. Instead of going to stage to stage you have an option to pick an act from any zone. This is a nice feature, but I still stick with the whole streamlined act-to-act deal. If you reach the end of a zone with 50 rings or more you can enter a HUGE ring that takes you to the special stage. The special stage itself is very similar to Sonic 1's special stage, although you control the stage rather than Sonic. You collect rings scattered across the area, opening doors, hitting bumpers, and avoiding the dreaded goal signs. (SPOILERS AHEAD) Collecting all of the chaos emeralds allows you to become Super Sonic in the any act with the exception of the boss acts. (SPOILERS END HERE) The main complaint with this game however is the control. I honestly think the game controls fine, not the way I want to, but it isn't terrible like every one says. Rolling in this game is POINTLESS! You are better off just holding right most of the time. Running is the only way to get up slopes, while in the classics it was the opposite. this didn't bug me, but MY GOD, it ticked off a lot of fans. Another complaint was the reusing of level themes and bosses. This was something I didn't mind at first, but when go right to it, this is a sequel, not a remake, so i kinda found that to be lazy. The levels themselves have their own unique gimmicks, but it would've been nice to see something a bit new. If you're a Sonic fan, you should pick this game up. It is currently 800 points ($10.00) on Xbox 360, 1500 points ($15.00) on Wii. I am not sure how much it costs on PS3 or the iPhone. This review may seem too little, too late, but since Sonic 4 Episode 2 is just around the corner, I thought I would give my thoughts on the game as a whole and anticipate the return of a certain two-tailed fox, a metal copy, a peaceful, but little planet, a laughing fat man, and Sonic, going onto his next great adventure.

Overall Score 9/10

By Tmaster16