Sonic 4 Episode 2 Reviews

[Carbo]

Problem is, it's more difficult than it should be to do this because sites like Destructoid are proud of the fact that they rates games differently because they rate games differently.

You still haven't once told me what it is that they rate differently apart from giving a few odd games low scores, which is something every single publication out there has done in the past and something Destructoid isn't alone in doing. A reviewer considering a 5/10 an average has no bearing on what you, as a person, will perceive it as. If "average" isn't worth your time, then that's wonderful.

I've seen people here say "Ah well destructoids 5 is really a 7 compared to other sites...." Well give the game a fucking 7 then or take them off Meta-critic!

Shit. 7 is average now. Let's turn the entire scale into how many shades of brown a game is.

It's rather funny to go by this mindset if you'd like to give people enough credit to believe the same masses will bother reading full reviews without a grade, because no matter what there will still be mindless assumptions if everything isn't peaches and gravy. It's the reason Yahtzee has so much notoriety.

[Badnik Mechanic]

Shit. 7 is average now. Let's turn the entire scale into how many shades of brown a game is.

Oh for goodness sake...

Would you explain what the sense in calling a game a 5 when according to the site it's on, it's actually a 7? Then explain the sense in putting that 5 onto a system which is designed under a basis that every review is grading for the same criteria?

You can't, because in itself that notion of 'our system is stricter' completely negates it right away, so why even bother including it onto the collection of averages when it's not starting from a neutral standpoint?

That system only works if every review or score you are collecting from is starting from the same as everything else and going through the same standards of testing. But we know this doesn't happen. Destructoid & Gameinformer have openly admitted that their standards are not the norm. So why even include them onto it when the whole point of a meta score is to try and get an average reading when you're using material which by it's own admission isn't being judged along the same guidelines?

Even on Meta-Critics own website there is an image made by Meta-Critic which practically advises people contributing to the site to rate things a 6 if they don't think it was good.

[Jeffhog]

I think Video Game Review Standards can have its own topic, seeing that we're going off on a tangent here... Aren't we just here to discuss reviews for Sonic 4: Episode II? ^^;

[Carbo]

Would you explain what the sense in calling a game a 5 when according to the site it's on, it's actually a 7? Then explain the sense in putting that 5 onto a system which is designed under a basis that every review is grading for the same criteria?

I wasn't particularly aware that a jab at modern gamer perception means that they're "any different", nor do I even get why a line as "basically a 7 at your grandfather's blog" is supposed to be taken seriously.

Oh right, and then there's the whole "we are different" horsepoopery. If I had a nickel every time someone said that. Reviews and grades aren't considered different from the norm just because people like to say so. It's an excuse pulled for writers who act like they need to defend the fact that they didn't like games as much as others when conversing with mindless people who can't even face the fact that not every game needs to be an 8/10. It was heard from sites like Gamereactor when reviews like Uncharted 2 weren't perfect scores - or just about every review EDGE ever made. I'm surprised people even buy into those excuses anymore, since what apparently "goes against the norm" is what becomes the norm.

Even on Meta-Critics own website there is an image made by Meta-Critic which practically advises them to rate things a 6 if they don't think it was good.

And as I stated pages back, it doesn't make it any less moronically run when they themselves are in dire need to explain aggregates, mostly because Metacritic aren't even run by reviewers.

I think Video Game Review Standards can have its own topic, seeing that we're going off on a tangent here... Aren't we just here to discuss reviews for Sonic 4: Episode II? ^^;

Quite. My apologies.

[Neon]

GamesTrust Review:

http://www.gamestrus...en,id837,0.html

[frokenok3]

PROS:

+ Retro Flair

+ Interesting levels with nice features

+ Fun multiplayer

+ High score hunting

+ Challenging boss battles

+ Worthy successor

+ Team Skills

Cons:

- No story

- Short-lived pleasure

- No Tutorial Stage

- Acts simple

[Marcello]

Seriously? A tutorial stage?

[Komodin]

No tutorial stage? I thought Sylvania Castle Act 1 is basically the tutorial stage.

[frokenok3]

^^Yeah, pretty much that is what i think too.

[Blue Blood]

Seriously? A tutorial stage?

^^Yeah, pretty much that is what i think too.

No tutorial stage? I thought Sylvania Castle Act 1 is basically the tutorial stage.

The method used in game is that you can't use use any of the combo moves until youve reach their respective sign for the first time. so you can't fly until you first get to the sign in SC1, can't swim until SC2 and cant Super Sex until SC3. It's like all of SC is a forced tutorial first time you play it.

Honestly, I agree with them that this game needs a tutorial stage. People are morons, and it need only be a short act. There were plenty of people getting confused by the idea of combo moves and even the bloody wheels in the first act at demos.

Edited May 13, 2012 by Blue Blood

[frokenok3]

The method used in game is that you can't use use any of the combo moves until youve reach their respective sign for the first time. so you can't fly until you first get to the sign in SC1, can't swim until SC2 and cant Super Sex until SC3. It's like all of SC is a forced tutorial first time you play it.

Honestly, I agree with them that this game needs a tutorial stage. People are morons, and it need only be a short act. There were plenty of people getting confused by the idea of combo moves and even the bloody wheels in the first act at demos.

Wait. When you say you can't use the move, you mean i can't 69 until i reach Act 3? cause i could do that right away when i started the game. Same with the other moves.

[Blue Blood]

Wait. When you say you can't use the move, you mean i can't 69 until i reach Act 3? cause i could do that right away when i started the game. Same with the other moves.

Start a new file and see for yourself- you can't use any of the combo moves until you reach the first sign displaying it. After that it's unlocked for you to use whenever you like, but until then they're unusable.

[frokenok3]

Start a new file and see for yourself- you can't use any of the combo moves until you reach the first sign displaying it. After that it's unlocked for you to use whenever you like, but until then they're unusable.

Ah, i see...got it. Yeah you're right. Just tested it. Well for me the first act goes under the tutorial and i guess you could say the other 2 acts too since you get one move in each act but i can see BB's point after seeing some players. >_>

[TheOcelot]

An explanation of the co-op moves should be in the options menu, end of. Why the need for a tutorial level? It's a Sonic game for fuck sake. Should be piss easy to get use to the new moves very quickly. At least it was back in the 90's.

Edited May 13, 2012 by MilesKnightwing

[Indigo Rush]

An explanation of the co-op moves should be in the options menu, end of. Why the need for a tutorial level? It's a Sonic game for fuck sake. Should be piss easy to get use to the new moves very quickly. At least it was back in the 90's.

Hah, I beg your pardon? When I was a little kid playing Sonic for the very first time, I got stuck in Mushroom Hill's vine traps and had to have a friend help me out of it every time because I didn't know how to operate the spin-dash. Yeah, tell a 5 year old kid to open up the menu and read it. A good game introduces gameplay concepts (basic as they may be) as the player goes along instead of being lazy and tossing a long description of how the game works in one go. You'd be surprised how slow people actually are to figuring out how to play a platformer, let alone Sonic. Sonic was never as simple as "run-and-jump," not even from day one. EVERYTHING has a learning curve, and should be treated as such. You don't have a written tutorial for math, you solve the problems and practice them in school. Same with games, you learn better in these given situations by doing.

If I recall correctly, in an interview, Yuji Naka himself said that he wanted the levels to be designed in a way that were easy to approach at first, and then become more complex as you went along, creating a different kind of progression from Mario at the time. Makes sense, right? Well, you'd be surprised with how little this happens nowadays. It is possible, however, to do this in one dedicated level without the player even knowing it. If you want a good example of this in action, take a look at Egoraptor's review of the Megaman X tutorial level. It isn't a tutorial level in the obvious sense, but as the character continues on in this one area, they are forced into positions where they either observe the mechanics of how the game will play out, or have to experiment to find out how to progress. It's never anything too complicated that even an ADD 10 year old should give up on, and I don't see why Sonic has to be limited to a cruddy series of pages with bits of text, when I'm certain the player would much rather be experimenting things on their own. Sonic Colors did things progressively, I don't see why Sonic 4 doing it is a bad thing.

[media=]

6:00 and on is where he talks about the Megaman X tutorial level, but really the entire video is dedicated to tutorials.

Edited May 13, 2012 by Indigo Rush

[Barry the Nomad]

An explanation of the co-op moves should be in the options menu, end of. Why the need for a tutorial level? It's a Sonic game for fuck sake. Should be piss easy to get use to the new moves very quickly. At least it was back in the 90's.

[Blue Blood]

I remember with Sonic 1, first time I played it Christmas '91, I was just tossed into the game. I died a ton my first time through Act 1, but I learned from my mistakes and picked up the moves as they came. Discovering I could roll down a hill and through a wall was infinitely more satisfying, and surprising, than just being told I could do it.

[JezMM]

I think Ep2's "tutorials" were fine, they just needed to display the actual buttons on screen for stuff like the spin dash wheels.

[TheOcelot]

@Indigo Rush - fair point.

I do appreciate that most games these days (at least on PS3) have some kind of tutorial to start with, which is perfectly okay with me. Games like Fallout 3, Batman Arham City for example do a tutorial in such a subtle way, that it doesn't slow down or hurt the feel of the game. Of course there are some games where a 'tutorial level' is blatantly forced upon you straight away-very in your face. This can end up feeling like stop and start, stop and start, which can be very annoying, and put you off the game (in my my opinion). The little tutorial 'screens' for Sonic 4 Ep2 and the gradual introduction to the co-op moves in the first zone are a good idea. Allowing you pick up the moves, get the hang of them and at the same time not disrupting the flow of the gameplay.

Don't get me wrong, I never read a manual (paper or online) when I play a PS3 game for the first time. I like to play a new game, get a feel for it and discover the moves myself as I play the game, getting use to the moves and gimmicks. It's all part of the fun, learning as you moves progress. Trial and error. As long as the tutorial is subtle I am okay with that.

Perhaps Ep1 should have had a tutorial saying: 'the physics will play a little differently to what you are use to'.

Edited May 13, 2012 by MilesKnightwing

[BlazingTales]

New review from 1Up.

B+

[KrazyBean]

New review from 1Up.

B+

So I guess it's safe to say that apart from the 5/10 DToid gave Episode 2, Episode 2 is actually doing well in terms of reviews so far.

[Barry the Nomad]

Yeah, looking to be a 8/10, B+ game. Not too shabby! I mean, after all the love Generations got, the score makes sense. Reviewers probably still have the 2D stages in their heads, and by comparison Episode 2 looks good but not as great.

[sonfan1984]

I predict EP II to get anywhere between a 6/10 or a 7.5/10 from IGN cause the guy who've reviewed EP I doesn't work for IGN anymore unless I'm mistaken.

Edited May 15, 2012 by sonfan1984

[EXshad]

Well, I snagged the game, and beat the core story. I still got a lot of other shit to do, like find all the red rings, get the chaos emeralds, etc. But I think I've gotten through enough. I don't have the time nor patience to write a well-structured review, but hey, here's my thoughts thus far.

I genuinely... really like this game. I can't say I quite love it, for reasons I'll get into, but honestly, it comes so much closer than Episode 1 ever could have dreamed to being a true successor to the classic titles. Honestly, why Episode 1 wasn't of this quality is beyond me. This at least feels like a true attempt at being the game we've all been waiting for.

First and foremost, this game has PHYSICS, honest to fucking God PHYSICS. While not identical to those found in the classics, they give Sonic a weight and momentum which rivals even that of the Classic Sonic physics from Sonic Generations. It just feels natural, as do his movements, rather than... well, insert witty joke about Episode 1's physics (or lack thereof) here. You want examples? Sonic will continue to move forward when running even if you let go of the directional buttons. When you roll down a hill, you'll build momentum, rather than slow down. Your jumps have a defined arc. See what I'm getting at here? The improvements are massive, and I applaud Dimps for actually giving a shit.

With the physics fixed, this game already trumps Episode 1 massively. However, when you have physics like these to play around with, you need well-designed levels to compliment them. Since Episode 1 had no physics, replacing clever platforming or intuitive gimmicks were rehashes of gimmicks that were used much more cleverly in their games of origin, speed boosters, and springs so far up the ass that you could count corn. So, does Episode 2 fix this issue too? Well, sorta, but not quite. First off, if there's one way I could describe the level design philosophy of this title, it would be Sonic 2 + Sonic 3 and Knuckles, but with Sonic 4 Episode 1 sensibilities. By that, I mean that the levels (mostly) are crammed with branching paths, slopes and corkscrews to make use of the finally-functioning physics, have some genuinely challenging and well thought-out platforming segments, and some clever and unique gimmicks that really add depth to each level (a strong example being the spinning bridge in Act 3 of Sylvania Castle, in which you have to cleverly time your movements before the bridge flips over).

However, on the flipside, speed-boosters and springs annoyingly join forces on a semi-regular basis to remind you that yes, this game is still related to that molestation of sanity that is this game's prequel. And that baffles me. In Episode 1, since Sonic didn't have any functioning physics and maneuvered like a brick on wheels that just did a line of cocaine, the level design tried to mask this inequity by including many automated segments to simulate that good ol' fashioned Genesis "blast processing", since you couldn't attain it with momentum. And yet... this game has those physics. To add to that, Dimps has proven that they can do a decent job of designing retro-inspired levels, as I mentioned in the previous paragraphs. So the fact that these automated clusterfucks are back just rubs me the wrong way, and really shows that even though Dimps has the capacity to create great level designs, they still decided to cut corners. And that's kinda unacceptable.

Still, as a whole, I enjoyed the levels and could somewhat look beyond this, with one massive exception: White Park Act 2. This level filled me with the rage of a thousand Dissidents, only because it was nothing but a straight-line forward with its whole gimmick actually being nothing but an abundant amount of automated segments. Seriously, there's even a segment where you hit a spring and it takes you to a coaster in the background that fucking plays itself in its entirety. I mean, sweet buttery Bubbles, that puts even the most piss-poor levels from Episode 1 to shame. And considering that the boss fight of the level takes place on the coasters of the park, they could have done so much more with the level, featuring some other attractions perhaps.. it's just a fucking joke.

But there's still one final facet to the gameplay I neglected to discuss, and that's the combo moves that can be used in conjunction with Tails in order to traverse levels more intuitively. Once again, I think they're a mixed bag. For the record, you have 3 moves: move one is Tails can grab Sonic and fly him a short distance until the adorable little mutant gets tuckered out, which works decently enough; move two is Tails grabbing Sonic underwater to help him navigate areas much more quickly and easily by propelling him in any direction, which is incredibly useful and really makes the underwater segments a lot more enjoyable and flexable than in past games; and finally we get to the team roll, or as most people affectionately call it, the 69 attack. This move is broken, and really detracts from the experience for me. Now, first off, originally, I thought this move was a great idea: Sonic and Tails joining forces to execute a super spin attack that could break through harder objects or stronger enemies more easily? Not a bad idea. But it's not executed like a spin dash at all; rather, it's more like the fucking boost from Sonic Unleashed or Generations, but without a gauge to limit its usage. The result? By simply pressing the combo button while stationary, Sonic and Tails lovingly start having oral sex while rolling in one direction for an overly-long period of time, destroying everything in their path and disrupting any semblance of the classic Sonic experience. Just like with the automated segments, this move detracts from the experience because the classic games were based on the concept of earning speed through momentum, not by pressing a sex button. And sure, some levels have clever gimmicks built around the move, such as the segment where you're burrowing through snow in White Park Act 1 a la the drill Wisp in Sonic Colors, but that's not enough to earn my forgiveness. Oh, and Tails can't be the primary playable character. How Dimpsy.

With that out of the way, let's get to the game's other features. First off, everything in Episode 2 just looks right. In Episode 1, the look of the characters, the foreground, and the backgrounds all clashed in a strange meshing of realistic vs. cartoony, while in this game, the look of everything gels together really nicely. It gives you that Genesis feel, while updating it to modern standards with fully-rendered models, high-quality shading and lighting, etc. Still, despite more modern techniques being used in the design of the game, the game is still grounded in that classic Sonic feel thanks to both the motifs of the levels and the music. Stages like Sylavania Castle and White Park feel like welcome additions to the catalog of classic stages, with unique aesthetic designs that set them apart. The latter level, for example, is a hybrid of a traditional snow-based level and a theme park-based level! I mean, who was expecting THAT fusion? The other 2 levels, Oil Desert and Sky Fortress, seem like a clever melding of a handful of past levels, and yet the execution is tastefully done, rather than blatantly being HD do-overs of levels we've already seen. This time, each level contains its own features and surprises that set it apart from the pack. I thoroughly enjoyed the outward design of each level, and they really did give the game the feeling of being a new adventure in a new place, rather than simply returning to the best of the franchise in a really, really bad way. The bosses are also really well-done in my book, and are new and fresh while still maintaining the ingenuity that made that classic bosses so interesting. Dimps deserves a standing ovation for Oil Desert's boss.

The music is also great stuff. This time, rather than the soundtrack being comprised of decently-composed tunes that were programmed with a sound-font made up of dying cats, this soundtrack boasts very impressively-composed tracks and a sound-font that successfully emulates that Genesis sound. I really love the music to this game, and it felt right at home with my inner child. The soundtrack is just dripping with nostalgia, even though these are brand new compositions, and really captures the magic of the classic games (Sylvania Castle Act 2 and White Park Act 1 being standout examples). Hell, even Oil Duck Zone isn't that bad, simply for the fact that I can't help but laugh every time it plays. Jun Senoue is an amazing composer, and continues to remind me why I've been a fan of his work since I played Sonic Adventure when I was 8-years-old.

And finally, the game's story also moves the saga established in the original trilogy and Sonic CD forward in a way that further makes it feel like a true sequel to the classics. I really hope the tale continues for at least one more episode to wrap up the loose ends left by the game.

What's going to happen to Little Planet/Death Egg Mk.II? What's with the purple energy from Lost Labyrinth? And what does Eggman have planned with those EGG Stations? What pushed Metal Sonic to rebel against Eggman and establish his own agenda?

So yeah, that's my obligatory opinion post on the game, which came out being much longer than I thought it would. It's not super in-depth and I probably left some stuff out, but at least now you hopefully understand why I really like the game, yet can't say I truly love it. Nonetheless, I don't want Dimps to stop, because if they improved THIS much since Episode 1, then imagine just how good Episode 3 could be. Plus, I wanna see a satisfying conclusion to the interesting narrative that the game has crafted by building off of the established Sonic lore. But Mr. Iizuka, the lord of dental hygiene himself, only said that a sequel would be produced if fan response was positive, and I really hope it is, because I genuinely wanna see more... so long as the execution is even tighter next time around.

Edited May 23, 2012 by EXshad

[KrazyBean]

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