Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II: The Gameranx Preview

We’ve all heard the promises from Sega before, that this Sonic would be the return to form; this one would be like how you remembered. Sonic 4 Episode I was supposed to accomplish this by returning to 2D. Well it was received lukewarm shall we say.

I sat down with the Sonic 4 brand manager Ken Balaough. In his words Episode II is a thank you to the fans that have supported them. For those fans who have been with the from the beginning, Episode II offers additional content. For those who purchased both Episode I and Episode II for their platform of choice a whole new episode will be unlocked. Episode Metal tells the story in cutscenes and extra exclusive levels of Metal Sonic and how he ended up where was. Episode Metal will unlock from the Episode II download if it detects Episode I on the same platform.

Extras are all well and good, but it doesn’t matter if the main game continues the franchise’s trend of failing to deliver in the modern era. With Episode I it seemed like everything lined up in Sonic’s favor. Taking Sonic out of the hands of Team Sonic and returning him to his 2D roots. Unfortunately it didn’t work out. For Episode II, however, they listened to the fans dissected the complaints and worked with the game to make it work.

The biggest problem with Episode I were the physics. During a jump if you stopped pressing forward you dropped out of the air, momentum wouldn’t carry on and Sonic would come out of spins on the slightest of inclines. In short the physics were borked. You can feel the change for the better in Episode II. Now momentum stays with Sonic regardless of whether you are holding down the D-pad or not, and if you aren’t he will slow down naturally instead of coming to an immediate halt. The gravity and its effect on Sonic’s momentum has likewise been fixed. Sonic will slow going up hills, but if going fast enough will overcome them with ease and will not come out of a spin on an incline until he has come to a complete stop. Alternately going down hill will actually matter and increase Sonic’s speed. Basically the physics work more like they should work.

That isn’t to say that fixing the physics is all the new episode has. Co-op has also been introduced for Episode II.

Ken Balough said they went down the list of things fans complained about and altered them to work more like they did in Sonic’s Genesis heyday. That’s not to say they went all they way back. Sonic still has his new midair tricks and improved design philosophy 20 years affords. Episode II if more fluid than it’s predecessor and no longer has the stop and start nature of Episode I.

That isn’t to say that fixing the physics is all the new episode has. Co-op has also been introduced for Episode II. You and a friend can now play as Sonic and Tail and there is more to it than Tails just being the flying wingman and carrying the blue hedgehog. They have new combined abilities that function within the levels like using Tails’ tails to propel them while underwater or grabbing each other’s arms to combine their spins to get through heavily snow packed areas. These were shown off in the two demo levels.

Additionally, new level specific features that add more flair and dynamics to play have been added like in the Arabian oil plant inspired area with oil slicks catching on fire and sandstorms that push against Sonic and obscure vision. While there are still the same number of Zones and Stages as the previous episodes they are larger and offer more content.

The game looks good. They’ve upped the budget to what Ken Balough said was probably the biggest development budget for a downloadable title yet. They are pushing what they can do with a downloadable game and it shows. The game no longer has pre-rendered 2D background, but instead is rendered in full 3D environments. They also worked on so many of the smaller details to get the stages looking as alive as possible. All the little things come together to make this a very beautiful game. I asked but there is no word on what the bosses would be like.

Episode II seems like everything is going its way, but I don’t think fans can rejoice at Sonic’s return. Don’t get me wrong Episode II looks to be a great release, but I don’t think Episode II will bring back those old times fans are hoping for. I’m not sure anything could bring back the Sonic of old and make him the powerhouse he once was. But it looks to be a solid, fun experience that taken on its own can be something to make new memories with. It looks good, feels good and is on the right track to being good.

Sonic 4 Episode II is being released tomorrow for pretty much everything. Xbox 360, PS3, iOS, graphing calculator, microwave etc. For June it is coming out for Tegra 3 chip Android devices and it is gorgeous. And finally it comes out for Windows 7 phones in July.