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Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

*sigh* All the games I want to play are either on WiiWare or the Xbox Arcade. I can't justify buying either system just for those though.

Episode 1?

Hopefully this will play more like the DS games than the Genesis ones....so I won't feel as bad about not playing it.

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teuthida (Post 262916)

Hopefully this will play more like the DS games than the Genesis ones....so I won't feel as bad about not playing it.

Haha. :D

Anyway, I've never been a Sonic gamer. What I've tried didn't excite me (and that includes the original Sonics). I'm an explorer, I can't stand racing past all those environments!

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Retro gaming FTW!:)

Keep these games coming. The 8-bit and 16-bit eras were seriously my glory days of gaming.

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

It appears to be a side scroller with 3D graphics...and it looks like its coming to Playstation Network as well. I will definatley have to keep this one on my radar.

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Instead of wanting to playing Sonic 4, this makes me want to play a new Sonic game that is actually good.

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Finally they're realizing how a Sonic game should be.

I'm insanely excited.

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

We'll see. You know, that werewolf Sonic one was pretty good... when it was just him running around in that 2D world with 3D elements. When it went night, I could care less.

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Sega is lamer than those guys who were supposed to make a new Duke Nukem game.

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Quote:

Originally Posted by KillerGremlin (Post 263008)

Sega is lamer than those guys who were supposed to make a new Duke Nukem game.

In all fairness, you can't compare their games to something that never got released. It'd be interesting if they had released it and we could compare, though. XD

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

New Sonic 4 Screens

Quote:

Game Informer interviewed Izuka who gave some new info on the game. Highlights include..

What about Tails and Knuckles you ask? “Fans will be very pleased with the cast in episode 2.”

Episode 1 is a prologue.

Moves include: Spin Dash, Rolling Attack, homing attack and a new move yet unknown.

About homing attack: “I wanted the user to enjoy an easy-to-play feeling by the attack sequence that this [homing attack] allows, and find the fun routes in the air.”

Classic special stages make a return.

Hornet Badnik. (Forget his name. Not Buzzbomber) Shown in screen shots.

Other screenshot shows Sonic smash though a wall that becomes a bunch of checkered bricks.

Another screenshot shows Sonic grabbing a handrail which goes across a wire. (Very Advance)XP

No floaty LBP physics. Classic Sonic Gameplay, classic Sonic speed. Says Izuka.

Not 3-D, but all CG pre-render.

Gamers will get classic “try again” ending if not successful at getting all emeralds. If you get all emeralds, you get cliffhanger ending for episode 2.

“If Sonic 4’s return to form (there they go again. ) is the Sonic experience you have been waiting 16 years for, then we strongly encourage you to try this.”

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

This is looking good. As a long time lover of Sonic, even when replayed nowadays, I am liking this. I've given up on Sonic after Sonic Adventure but this may be the first time I plunk money down for a Sonic game since 1996 or something.

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

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Originally Posted by Thespis721 (Post 264518)

Yeah it looks fun. I bought Sonic Adventure 2 twice (for GCN and DC).. but thats the only newer sonic I purchased.

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

I'm generally pretty excited about this. We'll see if Sega can get it right once again. The newest Sonic I think I've actually played was Sonic and the Secret Rings. I never went back.

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

The website has been updated with a few new screens as well as a music sample

http://www.sonicthehedgehog4.com/us/

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Looooking good so far!

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

This looks very good!

Although I fear that this will have a short play-time, like most 2D platformers in the last few generations.

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bube (Post 265321)

This looks very good!

Although I fear that this will have a short play-time, like most 2D platformers in the last few generations.

I was always under the impression that platformers had a short play-time in ANY generation? :lolz:

But yes this would be short since Sega is describing it as a "prologue" and we know its episodic.

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

I'm thinking of the best platformers of the SNES-era, SMW and the DKC series. They weren't short at all..

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Those are some exceptions. But the sonic games were always designed to try and play through in one sitting. It wasn't until Sonic and Knuckles that they offered that pretty cool idea of beating it multiple times for multiple endings and then being able to play previous Sonic games as Knuckles by plugging in old carts.

Though you had different endings if you could play through the game and get all the emeralds.

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Quote:

UK, March 25, 2010 - Blue skies, red shoes and golden rings, tied together with chequered tiles, corkscrews and springs. These are the things that great memories are made of, but it's impossible to talk about Sonic the Hedgehog without acknowledging how tarnished they've now become, with nearly every entry within the past decade marred by missteps, mishaps and plain bad design. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I promises to be entirely different; it takes those memories of long afternoons spent dashing and spinning against ever-colourful backdrops at a time when it wasn't parallax barriers but parallax scrolling that was the buzzword, and it makes its business nothing simpler than polishing them and refining them. The result, we're delighted to report, is quite dazzling.

Marking the first entry in a new episodic approach – although SEGA's yet to reveal how many episodes to expect or how frequent they'll be – Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I is so reductive in its approach to the series' formula that it makes Sonic 2 seem bloated and Sonic 3 feel like an exercise in abstract expressionism. Every bit of excess fat that the games have accumulated over the years has been stripped away (and when Sonic games have descended into delivering water-weak mimics of God of War it's fair to give a diagnosis of morbid obesity), and it's a thrilling discovery to realise that Sonic's core concept is still as brilliant as ever.

Maintaining momentum is the order of the day and it's a feat that's rewarded by some wonderful turns of speed. Sonic's always been more of a racing game than a platformer, its legacy more evident in games like Trials HD than anywhere else, and when it goes back to basics this is more apparent than ever. It's an aspect of the game that's acknowledged well in the time trial mode, with global online leaderboards logging the best times achieved throughout Sonic the Hedgehog 4's stages.

Those stages themselves are well designed and while they're firmly rooted in the foundations laid by the very first wave of Sonic games they've clearly benefitted from 20 years worth of hindsight. Splash Hill Zone is the only set of stages on display and they're near enough a remake of Sonic 2's Emerald Hill Zone, with multiple paths coursing through green hills and under a SEGA-blue sky that turns red as the sun sets in the last of its three runs.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4's structure is also steadfastly traditional, with levels coming in sets of three and climaxing with a showdown with Dr. Robotnik. Snatch 50 rings in a stage and at its end there'll be the opportunity to enter a bonus stage that's ripped from the very first Sonic the Hedgehog, with a revolving maze housing a Chaos Emerald. There's a modern twist too; both the PlayStation 3 and Wii versions get motion control support as the maze can be rotated with a flick of the pad.

Sonic himself is also a blast from the past. His look in the game may well stem from the 3D generation of games, but his moveset harks back to earlier days. The only addition to the standard set of run, jump spin and spin attack is the homing dash that Sonic Adventure introduced and it's been well worked in to a 2D space, providing an invaluable tool when trying to chain airborne enemies in order to maintain speed. Likewise the power-ups are of the old order – speed-ups, shields and the trademark glittering invincibility were the only ones we witnessed, and we doubt there are any other outlandish additions that lay in wait.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 might feel familiar, but in truth it's better than we ever remember Sonic being. Levels flow together with a little more ease than the originals, and of course the HD refit sits perfectly with Sonic's bright visuals. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I's an advancement of the approach taken by the DS's excellent Sonic Rush games, no surprise given that it's Dimps that are undertaking the bulk of the development work with Sonic Team lending a helping hand. Some familiar names return, most notably composer Jun Senoue who provides some suitably sparky and hummable background music.

We've been here before, of course, and it's not the first time that a Sonic game has wowed at first glance only to disappoint further down the line. But, truly and genuinely, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is different, being the first game in some time to acknowledge why the series was so popular in the first place. Don't be surprised if it provides some sweet memories of its own when it comes out this summer.

IGN

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

http://soundcloud.com/bigthecat/tracks?page=1

A ton of music samples have been leaked.

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Video of the first level of the game

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Fuck you, Sega Europe.

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

God dammit Sega Europe

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Whoa whoa, whoa, don't be so harsh... not until you see this video
then you can curse em

http://tinypic.com/m/9qemqd/4

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Quote:

Originally Posted by BreakABone (Post 266100)

Whoa whoa, whoa, don't be so harsh... not until you see this video
then you can curse em

http://tinypic.com/m/9qemqd/4

What... What is this?!

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

The more I see of this game, the less I like. :(

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Not sure what you don't like about that. It's almost an exact copy of Metropolis Zone from Sonic 2. Minus that blasted homing attack.

Re: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Quote:

Originally Posted by BreakABone (Post 268481)

The more I see of this game, the less I like. :(

What's your beef with it? The only thing I can see about the game that would bother me is that it looks like things are slowed down a bit.

The gear thing in this level is kinda shitty too, but there are plenty of shitty aspects to levels in past Sonic games.