Sonic 4 Episode 2 Reviews

[Sami]

I suppose I'll post my own review now that it's actually allowed:

Not a terrible game, but one that isn't even slightly deserving of its name. On its own, "meh". Compared to Sonic 1-3&K or Generations, which from a gameplay standpoint it should be able to match, it's terrible.

Yeah, I still hate Sonic 4.

[pppp]

I suppose I'll post my own review now that it's actually allowed:

Yeah, I still hate Sonic 4.

Guess what buddy i confirmed that you won't need to add annotations xD

BTW what would you say is more depressing? 5cm per sec or the ruination of the classic Sonic series?

[Barry the Nomad]

The word "meh" needs to stop. It's a really lazy method of describing something.

[Carbo]

Mediocre. Inoffensive. Run-of-the-mill. Unexceptional. Second-rate. Shoddy. Boilerplate. Routine.

Meh.

[Barry the Nomad]

Is that in defense of it? I'm just saying when I read impressions of something, and all I read is "meh", I find it to be a really f-ing lazy method of giving an opinion on something.

Anyway, wanted to give EXshad kudos for the incredibly long review. "Meh", it was not.

[Komodin]

The word "meh" needs to stop. It's a really lazy method of describing something.

... I didn't even do anything this time...

[AlphaRuby]

Given that Europe has always been more loving of Sonic than anywhere else, it's not even surprising, let alone sad.

Maybe that's because Europe was always on Sega's side even before the Mega Drive came out.

[EXshad]

^ I normally don't read massive walls of text, but that was a great review

Is that in defense of it? I'm just saying when I read impressions of something, and all I read is "meh", I find it to be a really f-ing lazy method of giving an opinion on something.

Anyway, wanted to give EXshad kudos for the incredibly long review. "Meh", it was not.

lol, thanks a ton for that, I appreciate it I haven't been around in a while, thought I might as well contribute something useful Plus, if certain members of Sonic Team or Sega happen to frequent this forum, maybe they'll see that the game is deserving of at least one more installment, rather than cutting it off now when things are looking up and there's actually a tale to tell.

Edited May 15, 2012 by EXshad

[Indigo Rush]

So I was playing Sylvania Castle Act 2 and rolled down that big hill at the very start. So I tried to walk back up (since the walls respawn) to keep testing the rolling physics... and I couldn't get passed them without spindashing through them. Turns out you either have to be at top speed or spinning to break them.

Not sure if that was in the Beta. Besides that, Sonic's rolling kinda feels like it carries more speed, which is great.

[Blue Blood]

So I was playing Sylvania Castle Act 2 and rolled down that big hill at the very start. So I tried to walk back up (since the walls respawn) to keep testing the rolling physics... and I couldn't get passed them without spindashing through them. Turns out you either have to be at top speed or spinning to break them.

Not sure if that was in the Beta. Besides that, Sonic's rolling kinda feels like it carries more speed, which is great.

In the beta, the walls were unchanged from E1- you don't have to be running at full speed at all, it's likely that you just cant get enough speed while while running up the hill. I'd test but E2 doesn't run on this machine. Also, what's the point of those walls when you can just run through them anyway? Cause they're always placed after speedbooster/hills, they're not even obstacles.

Do you mean Sonic's rolling carries more speed than in E1 or the Beta? Cause I doubt the latter is true. It still makes a difference depending on which direction you hold (if any) in the Beta even if it is better than E1. In WP2 you can make use of a U-ramp if you start off high enough to slowly gain more and more height. Nowhere near as fast or easy as the Classics, but it can be made to work.

[Indigo Rush]

Oh, I mean that the spinball roll is faster in the final build. I'm not totally sure, though. I'll need to test it side-by-side.

[Blue Blood]

Oh, I mean that the spinball roll is faster in the final build. I'm not totally sure, though. I'll need to test it side-by-side.

Spinball? Do you mean the somewhat weak spindash got improved or the overpowered super sex got even faster?

(I'mma gonna keep questioning e'rrythang u say)

[Indigo Rush]

Spinball? Do you mean the somewhat weak spindash got improved or the overpowered super sex got even faster?

(I'mma gonna keep questioning e'rrythang u say)

The spindash, yes. Well, when you roll while in motion, at least.

(and I'mma keep answering e'rrythang u say)

[Totally]

The game has already released and we have like only 4 or 5 critic reviews and on metacritic they only included the lowest scores <.<

[Sami]

The word "meh" needs to stop. It's a really lazy method of describing something.

My apologies.

I found Episode II, by its own merits, to be a mediocre, unexceptional, lazily made, characterless, colorless, common, conventional, decent, dull, fair, humdrum, indifferent, inferior, insignificant, intermediate, middling, second-rate game. It does a poor job of following up on the classics, Generations, or even Colors.

Better?

[Blue Blood]

My apologies.

I found Episode II, by its own merits, to be a mediocre, unexceptional, lazily made, characterless, colorless, common, conventional, decent, dull, fair, humdrum, indifferent, inferior, insignificant, intermediate, middling, second-rate game. It does a poor job of following up on the classics, Generations, or even Colors.

Better?

See, this is why "meh" is better in this case. It's as lazy as Sonic 4 is.

[Barry the Nomad]

Even though it now reads like a thesaurus, it is a little bit better. I am having a hard time with "colorless" though.

[Komodin]

Even though it now reads like a thesaurus, it is a little bit better. I am having a hard time with "colorless" though.

Gameplay-wise, it is about as "vibrant" as a Game Boy game?

[Sami]

Even though it now reads like a thesaurus, it is a little bit better. I am having a hard time with "colorless" though.

Color:

vivid or distinctive quality, as of a literary work: Melville's description of a whaling voyage is full of color.

Sonic 4 has no distinctive qualities. Therefore, it is "colorless".

Oh, and I also coupled the statement with a full video review that details all of my complaints and my reasons for stating them, but it's cool if you just want to ignore that and say I'm being lazy. Don't worry about it, brah.

Edited May 15, 2012 by Dissident

[Barry the Nomad]

Chillax, I'm not ignoring it nor am I calling the video lazy. My initial "meh" statement was from your initial videoless post.

But hooray for the dictionary! I get you on "colorless" now, I read that as more of a comment on the colors within the game. Colorless applied to a game's qualities is quite poetic! I'd love to see some poem reviews, perhaps IGN can give us a haiku?

[Sami]

Chillax, I'm not ignoring it nor am I calling the video lazy. My initial "meh" statement was from your initial videoless post.

But hooray for the dictionary! I get you on "colorless" now, I read that as more of a comment on the colors within the game. Colorless applied to a game's qualities is quite poetic! I'd love to see some poem reviews, perhaps IGN can give us a haiku?

... I had the video in from the beginning.

[Indigo Rush]

Sonic 4 Haiku, by Indigo Rush

Sonic 4 is meh

It's not that bad but not great

I hate Bubble chains

Edited May 15, 2012 by Indigo Rush

[Komodin]

I hate Bubble chains

Eh, who doesn't? Speaking of which, to those who've completed this game, how bad are they this time around?

Edited May 15, 2012 by Komodin

[Indigo Rush]

Eh, who doesn't? Speaking of which, to those who've completed this game, how bad are they this time around?

Actually, they're pretty inoffensive this time around. They're very underplayed. It's as if Episode I overdid it on purpose to showcase the fact that you had a homing attack. Now they're just kinda... phoned in. There's no more than two or three per Zone, and to be honest, that's the perfect balance.

Edited May 15, 2012 by Indigo Rush

[azoo]

Azukara's S4E2 Review

Pros:

- gameplay mechanics are much better, easier to control and feel much more accurate (even if they're still imperfect)

- the tag-flight and double spin moves are pretty fun to use and sometimes give creative level design

- the graphics are pretty nice and the stages are pretty neat concepts (although none all too amazingly original)

- introduction of cutscenes and their usage, even if they should've been there from the beginning, still give a sense of excitement to the later stages

- just about all the bosses are great and innovative, minus the first

- unlike the first episode, it feels like there was much more love put into this title

Cons:

- dash panels and spring chains are still sprinkled across every single zone for very little reason

- the music is hit-or-miss. Some tracks are nice and some tracks are bleh, but almost all are not too memorable

- while now underplayed, there's really no reason for Bubbles chains anymore when it comes to taking higher paths since we now have the flying tag-move. So.. why are they still around?

- those Spindash and rolling sound effects which are still reversed... (plus many other minor nitpicky moments)

- the special stages have an incredibly high difficulty curve after the first one or two

This game blows Episode 1 out of the water in every way imaginable. However, it still has it's flaws that stick out like a sore thumb, and purely depend on the player for if they really degrade from your experience or not. Episode 2 is easily one of the most "Your Mileage May Vary" level games in the franchise, because its one of those games that has a very clear dividing line between who thinks it was good and who thinks it was bad. And even then, some people think of it as plainly "meh".

I myself gotta say that I personally thought it was a pretty good game and it definitely was worth my time. Much more replayability to it than the last episode, and overall an enjoyable romp. I had fun with the story while it lasted, and replaying the levels has been decent fun as well. On my rating scale, I'd have to give it a....

Take This Here Money > Incredible > Awesome > Great > Good > OK > Meh > Bad > Horrible > Terrible