Sonic 4: Episode 2 Screens & Media Topic

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

Better level design my ass. Looks like the same chain attack's over a death pit again. There really needs to be a playable demo beforehand before anyone rushes out and spends $15.00 on this abortion of a game.

Mehhh, they don't need to release a playable demo for Episode 2. They will still get their money. Heck, Episode 1 had a playable trial and had a major success in sales. I know you're frustrated but let's face reality, Episode 2 will sell. If Episode 1 was a major success in sales, there is no stopping Episode 2 from getting those sales. And when Transformer Prime comes out, Sonic 4 Episode 2 will be one of the "must have" games for that device.

[Solly]

I have to be one of the only people who doesn't mind death pits in Sonic, as long as you're not being randomly jettisoned into them with no warning. CRUSHERS on the other hand...

Really don't see how this has shocked anyone. We KNEW there would be bottomless pits, and we KNEW there would be Bubble chains. Bubble Chains over bottomless pits seems natural, and honestly it's not really any worse when they're combined. Hit A until it's over. Is it stupid and boring? Yeah, but they're really just short and inconsequential segments that offer NOTHING rather than something really horrible. Not going to discredit the ENTIRE GAME's level design over something I knew would be in, but then again I thought Episode 1 was decent in that regard, so whatever.

Though it would be better if Tails could fly for more than half a second.

My understanding of the flight in this game is basically this:

When you press the button, Tails lifts Sonic up, then he visibly starts sweating and gets fatigued faster. The people in the demo are mashing the buttons when flying which forces him to use all his stamina at once, tiring him out. That would explain why he seems to be going for so much longer in the trailers.

Better level design my ass. Looks like the same chain attack's over a death pit again. There really needs to be a playable demo beforehand before anyone rushes out and spends $15.00 on this abortion of a game.

1: We don't know the price point.

2: Abortion of a game? Really?

3: XBLA and PSN games all have trial versions the day the game is released. Don't expect one beforehand.

Edited February 29, 2012 by Solly

[sonfan1984]

Mehhh, they don't need to release a playable demo for Episode 2.

Why not? They released a demo for episode 1 and I want to play the game before I spend money on it,

[Solly]

guys there's GOING TO BE A DEMO.

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

Why not? They released a demo for episode 1 and I want to play the game before I spend money on it,

That wasn't a demo. That was a "trial". Meaning you are downloading the whole game, but only can play the first level until you purchase the unlock key.

[KrazyBean]

Every single XBLA and PSN game comes with a Trial when it's released! You'll get to play it for free, OK...well, you'll get to play the first Act for free anyway.

Edited February 29, 2012 by KrazyBean14

[Solly]

That wasn't a demo. That was a "trial". Meaning you are downloading the whole game, but only can play the first level until you purchase the unlock key.

The only difference is that a demo comes out earlier and doesn't have the rest of the game attatched to it, but that doesn't matter. They're still functionally the same. You can play a portion of the game without paying for it to help confirm whether or not you want to purchase.

Giving a demo before a trial would just be WEIRD.

[Barry the Nomad]

*video lolz*

am i doin it rite

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

Anyways, I don't think there will be a playable demo, but there will be a trial just like Episode 1. That means we cannot have a taste on how the game really plays until the same day of the release of Episode 2.

@Solly - Exactly.

EDIT 2: The reason why I said "Mehhh, they don't need to release a playable demo for Episode 2." because I personally think it's true, they don't need to release a demo/trial to win those sales. Even though every PSN/XBLA game must have a trial.

Edited February 29, 2012 by Spice on the Starlight

[Chaos Warp]

So, the level design looks good, but scarred by too much automation. It's still good, but it could be so much better.........

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

They might as well add Boost to this game, because as far as I'm concerned, from Episode 1 and the looks of Episode 2, this game is nowhere near touching the classics.

The way I see it, the only similarities from the classics is it's in 2D, has the old badniks and if you want to push it, Tails (he's not even playable lol) and Super Sonic.

Even the BGM is terrible and unmemorable.

[Indigo Rush]

Aw well. Hey, White Park still looks pretty nice.

[Blue Blood]

Aw well. Hey, White Park still looks pretty nice.

The entire game looks nice so to say.

Though really. Why have they not learnt anything from E1 level design complaints? Even Gens3DS had many of the same issues.

[TheOcelot]

Ep1 lacked replay value, so its hard to justify paying that price ($15) for Ep2. Especially with Sonic CD which is a far superior game being so much cheaper. I wonder how well Sonic CD 2011 is selling compared to Ep1?

[Sami]

Anyways, I don't think there will be a playable demo, but there will be a trial just like Episode 1. That means we cannot have a taste on how the game really plays until the same day of the release of Episode 2.

Of course; their expert marketing campaign wouldn't work if they released a demo:

*1 year until release; no footage yet*

"IT'LL BE AWESOME GUYS"

*6 months until release; massive backlash from footage*

"DON'T WORRY THERE'S A NEW BUILD! IT'S GREAT!"

*2 months until release; new build nowhere to be seen*

"WE'RE LISTENING! DON'T WORRY IT ISN'T SHIT! DON'T WORRY IT ISN'T SHIT! DON'T WORRY IT ISN'T SHIT! DON'T WORRY IT ISN'T SHIT! DON'T WORRY IT ISN'T SHIT! DON'T WORRY IT ISN'T SHIT!"

*Release date; new build barely changed anything*

"We can't change it, sorry."

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

Ep1 lacked replay value, so its hard to justify paying that price ($15) for Ep2. Especially with Sonic CD which is a far superior game being so much cheaper. I wonder how well Sonic CD 2011 is selling compared to Ep1?

Well maybe for you, but not for the thousands who will probably get this game from $9.99 to $14.99. Despite the anger from classic Sonic fans, it was a major success.

For Sonic CD 2011, it's too early to say because Episode 1 has been out for over a year. But yeah as it stands I'm pretty sure that CD 2011 isn't even close in terms of sales.

EDIT: Looked at the wrong info for Generations, yikes. Removed what I said out for now.

Edited March 1, 2012 by Spice on the Starlight

[Balding Spider]

You know what? With the HA bridge in episode 2 returning, any remaining optimism I've held out for this game has been abandonded. Which really sucks since it has much more going for it than episode 1. The new Badniks, the graphics, the level tropes, all good. If it only wasn't for the Dimps grade level design. I didn't like it previously and I don't like it now.

[Meow]

I am never overly negative when it comes to Sonic games generally, I am pretty open most of the time and can set aside some personal frustrations I have with the series and still find enjoyment.

But I really have to bring this up.

We all rail on these players for absolutely sucking at Sonic games, yet when we were all kids for the most part we could pick up any of the classic titles and play them through without a whole lot of trouble right? Obviously some people aren't really gamers and so I can't really expect them to just 'get it'. However in this case I am almost beginning to wonder if the jump itself is not natural enough for people to understand and perhaps the level design is becoming a little convoluted for the type of game it is supposed to be - which is a momentum based platformer.

The jump looks like it doesn't give you a lot of time in the air. With my own experience I've always found Sonic's jump in the classics to be a little floaty, giving you a decent amount of time in the air, but not enough for it to feel off. I'm no physics expert so perhaps I am probably describing things wrong. But in these videos to me it appears as though Sonic is quick to accelerate up into the air and just as quick to come crashing back down. Unfortunately this doesn't leave a lot of room to change your direction in mid-air, as it seems like a ton of people are having issues on the segments where you launch of a spring, have to turn around and hit another spring. It seems spaced to the point that you have to homing attack to get it.

Not only that but the level design even encourages these types of problems from the videos. You and I might get a bit of a frustration when playing through it, but we can still play it because we're kind of used to this by now. But to a casual player they keep on dying. To me this isn't good game design, and IN MY OPINION - the jump should feel the most natural and be the easiest thing to use. To me the jump button can either make or break a game for me. I'm really quite concerned when watching this about that fact more than anything else.

Hell it even seems to extend to Tails' flight, since it looked like you can stop and use him to fly you up into the air...only for him to get tired extremely quickly. Not to mention it almost looked jarring when it happened and seemed to disrupt the flow of the game.

To me this is a bigger issue than whether or not Sonic accelerates the way he should going down slopes, or even if the roll is correct, because I can look past those to a certain extent. But when your primary method of getting around and destroying enemies is a jump and it feels really off, then I get a bit worried.

Overall I am still looking forward to this game, but I'm really cautious about it. I didn't mind Episode I at first when I began playing it, but that was due to a lot of personal hype and wishing for it to be amazing rather than genuine enjoyment. Once that initial period wore off I realized it was really mediocre and I definitely don't want to fall into that trap again this time. I'm going to cautiously look forward to this one but so far I'm not entirely sure what to really think of it all yet. I guess I'll have to have some hands on time with it down the road to see for sure.

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

Anyway it always bothers me when people mash the jump button and air dash or whatever. Waaaaay too many people are doing it. It's almost a design flaw.

Saw this late but I need to say this. Maybe these *ahem* "gamers" are confused with the double jump that was used in Sonic Colors.

[Blue Blood]

Saw this late but I need to say this. Maybe these *ahem* "gamers" are confused with the double jump that was used in Sonic Colors.

I sincerely doubt it. People have been forever mashing the jump button in Sonic games.

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

I sincerely doubt it. People have been forever mashing the jump button in Sonic games.

So they must be confused with Sonic over Mario games.

[Tiller]

So they must be confused with Sonic over Mario games.

?

The base Mario doesn't have a double jump either...and had similar jumping mechanics to Sonic. Both used jumps as the primary attack to dispatch enemies and the longer to press the higher the jump. Mashing A to jump a whole lot in Mario wouldn't get you far either.

Edited March 1, 2012 by Tiller

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

?

The base Mario doesn't have a double jump either...and had similar jumping mechanics to Sonic. Both used jumps as the primary attack to dispatch enemies and the longer to press the higher the jump. Mashing A to jump a whole lot in Mario wouldn't get you far either.

I know Mario couldn't double jump. I just moved on to a new reason.

Also I know mashing A to jump in Mario wouldn't get you far, but you can go much farther mashing A with Mario then Sonic. And in Mario (Super Mario Bros.) you will have to jump a lot of times in that game. Maybe that's where they got their habit from. But maybe I forgot to tell you guys that I'm kinda messing around here.

Still don't know how these guys call themselves gamers when they play like a 5 year old that just got their hands on a controller.

[Sami]

Still don't know how these guys call themselves gamers when they play like a 5 year old that just got their hands on a controller.

Five year old is still a bit much, actually. My four year old niece made it past Emerald Hill Zone almost as efficiently as they would.

...

And she was holding the controller with her feet.

Yeah, I know I said it before. It's worth repeating.

[Nix]

>Homing Attack Chain over a bottomless pit.

They didn't fix a single goddamn thing. Fuck it, I'm out.