{"id":7473,"date":"2012-05-18T05:49:50","date_gmt":"2012-05-18T11:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamesanityblog.com\/?p=7473"},"modified":"2012-05-18T05:49:50","modified_gmt":"2012-05-18T11:49:50","slug":"sonic-the-hedgehog-4-episode-2-360-psn-wii-pc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2012\/05\/18\/sonic-the-hedgehog-4-episode-2-360-psn-wii-pc\/","title":{"rendered":"Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 (360, PSN, Wii, PC)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The blue blur is back in Sonic 4: Episode 2, and this time he\u2019s brought along his pal Tails for the ride! Which is good, because this time he\u2019ll need all the help he can get! Because in Episode 2, not only does Sonic have to deal with Eggman, he\u2019ll also have to face off with Metal Sonic (a much better rival than Shadow or Silver I think). Read on to find out if Sonic\u2019s next 2-D installment is worth the ride! (360 version reviewed here)<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever played a 2-D Sonic game on the Sega Genesis, you\u2019ll know what to expect here. Sonic and Tails spin, jump, and run through colorful levels filled with loops, obstacles, and Eggman\u2019s robots. Sonic has all his trademark moves, like the spin dash. Even his homing attack from the 3-D games is back, and works better than it did in Episode 1<\/a><\/strong>. I also appreciated other small improvements, like warning signs over pits that were introduced in Sonic Generations<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Tails follows Sonic around in the stages, and he\u2019s the best thing to happen in Episode 2. Press the X button and Sonic and Tails can do a team combo move. In the air, Tails picks up Sonic and flies for a short while (a flight meter would’ve been nice to let you know how much futher Tails can go). On the ground, Tails and Sonic do a super spin move to help them crash through crumbling walls and snow drifts. And Tails helps Sonic swim while underwater (just don\u2019t run out of air). The only bad thing is that a second player can\u2019t pick up a controller and move Tails around in Single Player Mode like in the old Genesis games.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s what the new multiplayer modes are for! Two players can pick Sonic or Tails and run through levels in local co-op or over Xbox LIVE. You can also upload your best level completion times to leaderboards, too. Although this kind of multiplayer doesn\u2019t suit classic Sonic gameplay well, as it\u2019s easy for one player to fall behind. Again, it\u2019s unfortunate that you can\u2019t play as just only Tails in Single Player Mode; although I guess then it would be hard to pull off combo attacks.<\/p>\n

My only other main problem with Episode 2 is that it only feels like half a game, and it took way too long for Episode 2 to come out (it\u2019s been a year and a half). Really the only company that I feel like has done episodic gameplay right is TellTale with their point and click adventures. But even though Sonic 4:Episode 2 is a short ride, it\u2019s also fun for classic 2-D Sonic fans. And there\u2019s some replay value to be had, too, with hidden red rings and Chaos Emeralds to find (they even brought back the half-pipe bonus stages for these). And if you have Episode 1 downloaded, you\u2019ll be able to play some levels from that game as Metal Sonic! Cool!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kid Factor:<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a fact. Kids love Sonic. Whether it\u2019s games, cartoons, or comics, they can\u2019t get enough of him. Kids will enjoy the simpler gameplay in Sonic 4, and reading skill isn\u2019t necessary, but younger gamers might get frustrated at the tougher levels and bosses. It\u2019s great that kids can play together in multiplayer mode, but it\u2019s too bad you can\u2019t play as both characters in single player. Back on the Genesis, a second player could control Tails without worrying about getting hurt or losing, which was perfect for younger siblings. Sonic 4: Episode 2 is rated E for Everyone with an ESRB descriptor of Comic Mischief. Sonic just spins into robots and falls off the screen when defeated, and that\u2019s as violent as it gets.<\/p>\n

In the comments section, tell me who your favorite Sonic characters are! It\u2019s pretty easy to guess mine: Tails (I also like Big the Cat). Brother Jeff\u2019s favorite is Knuckles. It would be cool if Episode 3 only starred Tails, but that\u2019s just my opinion!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The blue blur is back in Sonic 4: Episode 2, and this time he\u2019s brought along his pal Tails for the ride! Which is good, because this time he\u2019ll need all the help he can get! Because in Episode 2, not only does Sonic have to deal with Eggman, he\u2019ll also have to face off […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-game-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7473\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}