Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 (Xbox Live Arcade) > Reviews (3)

History of the Blue Blur

Cast your minds back to 1991, June 1991 to be precise. It was then, that the world's fastest hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog, was born. 18 years later, and Sonic is still as popular as ever. With titles on the Mega Drive/ Genesis, Game Gear, dreamcast, PS2, Xbox, PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS and of course the Wii, Sonic has most certainly had his array of adventures. During this time though, Sonic made the transition from 2D gameplay, to the 3D gameplay expected in line with today's gaming standards. For most of the old-school sonic fans, this was a move which was disliked, as for many, Sonic was, and always will be a 2D game. 16 years after the final 2D game, Sonic and Knuckles, for the Sega Mega Drive, Sega have listened and have most definitely delievered - a brand new , sequel to that very game, and most excitingly, in glorious 2D and HD.. but the question is, does the game live up to it's reputation, and deserve to be called ' Sonic The Hedgehog 4' ?

How Sonic 4 came about

Sonic 4 Episode 1 was first announced on GameSpot on the 9th September 2009, however, at this stage, it wasn't named as Sonic 4 Episode 1, but as Project Needlemouse - making reference to the name initially given to Sonic back in 1991. Sega was teasing fans by saying this was the first step to bring Sonic back to his roots. For the few months following this announcement, all was quiet. The silence was broken in January however, when Sega launched a Character Countdown week on their blogs, daily singling out characters who wouldn't feature in the game - culminating in the fact that only Sonic would be featuring in 'Project Needlemouse'. It was on February 4th 2010 that the biggest piece of news was announced, that the game was infact Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 - taking on the form of an episodic game, similar to that of Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles, with Sonic and Knuckles really episode 2 of Sonic 3

Build up to launch

Sonic 4 Episode 1 was initially scheduled to be released in the Summer of 2010. However, beta gameplay was leaked on the Microsoft PartnerNET service, which, ultimitely led to the delay of the release, after some of the gameplay received bad feedback from fans - most noteably the act 2 of both Lost Labyrinth and Casino street ( more on these later). The launch was then delayed until Late 2010, and several changes were adapted to the game. Such changes were :

• Rather than a basic level select screen, a world map was incorporated
• The time for sonic to reach max speed was changed
• You could progress to the next level, like the old days without returning to world map
• Act 2 of Lost Labyrinth and Casino street was changed

During the launch process, several trailers showing gameplay was launched, up until the launch days.

When was it released?

Just for your convenience, here is the launch days for the game :)

iPhone/iPod - All territories- 7th October 2010

WiiWare- USA- 11th October 2010
- Japan/North America - 12th October 2010
- Europe/Australia - 15th October 2010

XBOX 360- All territories - 13th October 2010

Playstation 3 - USA- 12th October 2010
- All other territories- 13th October 2010

Levels

In Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1, there are 4 main levels, in addition to a final fight, and 7 special stages.

The levels are Splash Hill Zone, Casino Street Zone, Lost Labyrinth Zone, Mad Gear Zone, and E.G.G Station Zone, respectively.

Splash Hill Zone

Act 1- The Adventure Begins

Act 1 of Splash Hill Zone is clearly influenced by Green Hill Zone from Sonic 1, as the first section of the level mimics the beginning of Green Hill Zone perfectly.

Act 2- High Speed Athletics.

In Act 2, the gimmick is that of swining on vines to reach different areas of the stage.

Act 3- Sunset Dash

Act 3 is set in the sunset, and features several zippers, which takes you from one part of the stage to the other.

Casino Street Zone

Act 1- Neon City Adrift in the Night

This stage features classic pinball/casino gimmicks, such as the slot machines previously seen in Casino Night Zone( Sonic 2)

Act 2- Road of Cards

This was one of the stages which went under rapid change. Initially, this level was titled 100'000 Points challenge, which simply meant you had to accumulate 100'000 score, but during the leaks, this was heavily criticised, and was taken out of the console version, but remains in the iPhone version.

In road of cards, you have a card gimmick. Turing cards over reveals an icon, where matching 3 will give you what was on the icon ( e.g extra live, 10 rings)

Act 3-Casino Climax

Act 3 features some elements from the Sonic 3 level, Carnival Night. Such features are the barrels, and the cannon's in which Sonic is prepelled from.

Lost Labyrinth Zone

Act 1- Ancient Maze of Mystery
This act is simply trying to find your way to the goal. There isn;t much of a gimmick in the one

Act 2- World of Darkness

This was one of the stages which went under rapid change. Initially, this level was titled Strange Mine Cart, which simply meant you were controlling a minecart, and not sonic but during the leaks, this was heavily criticised, and was taken out of the console version, but remains in the iPhone version.

In World Of Darkness, sonic carries a fire larntern, which lighs up his surroundings. To add to this, sonic needs to light dynamite and light torches to proceed to later parts of the stage

Act 3- Underwater Maze Escape

Act 3 features some elements from the Sonic 1 level, Labyrinth. Such features are the badniks, and the use of the water.

Mad Gear Zone

Act 1 Dr Eggmans Secret Base
Act 2Esacpae the Cog Trap

These 2 acts feature no gimmicks- just simple gameplay

Act 3 Impending doom

This act is a right pain. You need to quickly proceed through the level, because an electrical wall is chasing you, which will kill you if it catches up with you.

E.G.G Station Zone

I must say, this level is a killer! You firstly need to defeat the bosses from the levels you've just played, again, before facing the final boss, which resembles that of the final boss from sonic 2. The boss has new moves, such as running towards you, shooting lasers and throwing its hands at you.

Gameplay

Gameplay is ok, it does resemble the mega drive games, but there is a few serious flaws. Firstly, the physics in this game are pretty poor - this can result in you quite easily running up vertical slopes, or standing still on vertical slopes, which obviously wouldn't be possible, right?

Secondly, the homing attack which was added to this game, doesn't particularly work all the time. There were times I found myself going to use the homing attack, to find out it didn't lock on, and thus, I go flying into the badnik, which can be a pain. Visually, the graphics are outstanding, and the colours are vibrant and powerful.

Is it worth it ?

If you're a hardcore sonic fan, who simply wants to play another 2D classic, then yes, absolutely. If you're trying sonic out for the first time, not so much. I do feel the 1200microsoft points/ 1500 wii points and whatever it is for PSN( £10 I'm sure), is a little steep.

So, in a nutshell, what do I think?

Sonic is definitely returning on the right track with this game, but there is still alot that can be done to make it fantastic. It is only episode 1, so they've alot of time to improve for Episode 2. My problem with the levels is they weren't really original - they resembled much of the classic levels, such as green hill, casino night zone, labyrinth zone and metropolis zone respectively. To give credit when credit is due, the Final boss is an absolute killer- I lost about 30 lives on that one.

Saying that, if you love your Sonic games, do give this a try... I'm sure you won't be too disappointed.