Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 (SEGA)

Apologies for the delay in reviews to all those who read them (I have no followers as of yet) but the weekend before last I decided to take a trip from the morbid town of Hastings to the happy seaside city of Portsmouth to visit my girlfriend in university (Yes I have a girfriend). Then the weekend just gone I was dying from man flu with a throat that matched Darth Vader's. Since then I've not played any big releases but I've been counting down to STAR WARS The Force Unleashed 2. Being a gamer since I was about 5, I remember Sonic the Hedgehog very well and couldn't wait to play the long awaited sequel to the classic platform games of my childhood.

Story
Like the older Sonic games the story remains the same. Dr Robotnik (Who is now called Dr Eggman) is trying to take over the world of the little blue hedgehog that is Sonic. And just like the older Sonic games the story is not told with cutscenes or dialogue. It's kept simple. Good guy vs the bad guy (Or good animal vs the bad human). And that's all you need to know really.

Classic spiral path

Design
Sonic 4 uses the steps from the classic 2D predecessors but thows in some of the newer engine moves like the homing attack. Episode 1 has 4 different Zones each with 3 levels to pass then a boss fight and a final zone for the more hardcore players. The levels are fun and some even challenging but I couldn't help notice it reused some of the level and boss features from Sonic 1 and 2 like the boss fight with the wrecking ball and the casino levels. It includes the classic special stages in which the player must have aquired 50+ rings during the level in order to access it. Again in these stages Sonic must find his way to a Choas Emerald and by completing all 7 stages enabling him to become Super Sonic. And again these stages seemed to have reused the ideas from Sonic 1. However it still manages to recapture the styles of the Mega Drive and Master System games and create a sense of nostalgia.

Gameplay
There really isn't much difference from the original Sonic games when it comes to playing the 4th installment. It's essentially a platform game but with 3D graphics which surprisingly works very well in my view. Simple controls, hold right to run forward, left to run the other way, hold down and tap X or A to use a spin boost and tap the jump button again in mid air to use the homing attack on a targeted enemy. But I found the response of the controls a bit clunky. Sonic takes a little bit of time to get his blue behind in gear before he's zooming along and the homing attack could only be used when an enemy is targeted. But that said it would take the average gamer about 3 or 4 hours to complete unless you're an experienced Sonic gamer then the time would be shorter and it has a lot of replay value including special stages and time attack modes where you can upload your score to compete with the world. Some may say it's a short game and some a decent length game but don't forget that it's not a disc based game and it's only the first of a few episodes to come.

The game becomes significantly easier once you have unlocked Super Sonic.

Presentation
It's been 16 years since the release of the classic Sonic 3 and since then we've had hit and miss Sonic titles. From a 2D platform game it went to 3D action gaming with some titles more entertaining than others. I personally have enjoyed all the Sonic games in some way or other. I prefere them to the Mario titles anyway. I even found Sonic Unleashed entertaining even though 50% of the game you are infact a Werewolf (Or Werehog as he is called) and levels are replaced from high speed adrenaline into fighting waves of enemies using your fists. But I think I speak for every major Sonic fan when I say what we really wanted was a proper sequel where it's souly Sonic you play as without the interference of Tails, Knuckles or the more annoying cast: Amie, Big and Cream. And that is exactly what we got! The levels have the same kind of music the originals incorporated into the 2D classics and even have the spinning sign at the end of a level you fly past before it calculates your score. The final boss zone was epic and challenging just like the originals too. I was a bit sceptical at first on whether or not the formular would work the same and be a success or just another flop in the Sonic universe. But I was wrong and I thoroughly enjoyed the game and look foward to downloading Episode 2 for more.

I give it 8/10.