All-new 2D Sonic rolling out in 2010

[Ngangbius]

Have fun being the only sane man.

There is no pride in being a delusional Sonic fan, especially one who defends that mine-cart BS. Also, I can't remember the time when a mine cart level in a plat-former was ever fun.

This doesn't look like a "Sonic-comback/return to roots" game unless you think Sonic debut was on the GBA.

[K2J]

A "Sonic-comback/return to roots"? Not by a long shot. "Truly awful"? No. Sonic 2006 is truly awful. This game is at the very least playable and even looks to provide enjoyment. Much like Sonic Advance.

[Rob-Bert]

Call me crazy, but I, like Esrever, love mine cart levels no matter what game they're in. The one in Sonic 4 is no different, and the whole "rotate the screen" thing actually looks intriguing to me.

So yeah. I'm a crazed loon. More at 11.

[Ngangbius]

A "Sonic-comback/return to roots"? Not by a long shot. "Truly awful"? No. Sonic 2006 is truly awful. This game is at the very least playable and even looks to provide enjoyment. Much like Sonic Advance.

And like the Sonic Advance series, pretty much forgettable?

...well, maybe it won't be forgettable for the wrong reasons.

[Kogen]

Since when was Neogaf a creditable source? Obviously Sonic hit that monitor at the start of a spin attack. You have to be fairly 'slow' not to notice that Sonic both stopped and ducked while running.

[(...)]

Levels that are designed specifically to make using the character's abilities annoying doesn't sound like a good thing to me.

If you just hold right and run really fast, you'll eventually run into something and die. That's how side-scrolling games are supposed to work.

[Xyton]

[MESSAGE REDACTED]

[Crowbar]

Levels that are designed specifically to make using the character's abilities annoying doesn't sound like a good thing to me.

If you just hold right and run really fast, you'll eventually run into something and die. That's how side-scrolling games are supposed to work.

"Eventually", definitely. That is a good word in this context.

"Immediately", "repeatedly", "constantly": these are not good words. Unfortunately, they are also the ones that that sort of level design tends to bring up alot.

[j-man]

I think it looks pretty cool!

OH SHIT I MUST BE DELUSIONAL CALL THE BRAIN DOCTOR

[Crisis]

I hate the graphics with a passion. Thy physics clearly need work. The minecart I am more ambivalent towards. Every Sonic game has had its own level gimmicks that didn't really work (the barrel, anyone?).

The clear betrayal here was the "momentum-based gameplay" claim. The homing attack/jump dash kills all chance of that happening. It would be possible to have momentum-based gameplay with a homing attack if the homing attack was completely ignored by the level designers, but it's obviously been integrated pretty heavily into the gameplay. While far from a death sentence, it does mean that the best we can expect is Rush quality.

[Rob-Bert]

Must I mention that the jump dash is (not-so-clearly) not giving Sonic a burst of speed in the videos we've seen? The homing attack in this game actually more resembles the one from Sonic 3D Blast (Gold Shield, remember?) than any other game in the series.

[Kogen]

Must I mention that the jump dash is (not-so-clearly) not giving Sonic a burst of speed in the videos we've seen? The homing attack in this game actually more resembles the one from Sonic 3D Blast (Gold Shield, remember?) than any other game in the series.

So it is like always having a power up that you can never lose.

I guess next why not let us have both invincibility and speed shoes at the same time? More power = more fun !

Oh, right, the boost.

[Blank]

Man that music just drives me up the wall. Its so repetitive, not even tolerable at times. Seriously even if the quality is terrible in that vid, my temples kind of ache...

Anyways it just looks really boring, sometimes even annoying to play. Nothing we haven't already seen on the GBA. Its really terrible for SEGA or any other news source to even think about comparing this to the original trilogy.

I will say some of the background elements are nice, but I always hate it when the backgrounds look prettier then the actual level. Its like, why aren't we running over there? As nice as it looks sometimes (Specially as Sonic gains height) all the level themes feel really uninspired and generic. Its running off its specific formula and nothing else.

The music alone completely turns me off though. Like eugh, I don't ever remember a Sonic game having such annoying music. Call me a snob, but it is just not pleasant to me.

[Ritz]

Me venting about 40 pages back must have been just what I needed, because looking at the project now, there are certain things I've been able to come to terms with. I'll always hate the Green Hill motif, but Splash Hill looks pretty decent in motion, I guess. The parallax in the bushes is a total cop-out, but it goes a long way towards making the level a bit more attractive. On the other hand, Lost Labyrinth looks flat-out gorgeous. And call me a heretic on this, but the mine cart looks pretty cool. Ridiculous, yes, and totally inappropriate for a Sonic game, but I'm a whore for rotating stages and I can't fault them for trying to flex some creative muscle here. Look, I'm not saying it's going to be good, okay? I'm just willing to give it a shot. That's all.

And those are the only nice things I'm likely to say about this project from here on out. The music is shitty, Lost Labyrinth act 1 being the only track that strikes me as listenable. The physics? Wholly unconvincing. This is going to be a mediocre game, there's no way around it. Looks better than either of the Rush games for sure, though.

[Neo]

Look, I'm not saying it's going to be good, okay? I'm just willing to give it a shot. That's all.

this is how sega keeps making money

[Blount]

Hey guys, someone posted these videos of Casino Night Zone from Sonic 2. But they all have different music! How crazy is that?

Act 1: http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/2885/4042.mp4
Act 2 (LOL): http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/955/25547673.mp4
Act 3: http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/5511/1111.mp4
Boss: http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/58/622.mp4

[Kogen]

I am pretty sure Casino Night had a proper second act!

[Crisis]

Act 2 (LOL): http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/955/25547673.mp4

Jesus.

At first I thought it was a cool idea, nothing interesting has ever really been done with the point system (at least not in the 2D games), and I just wanted the player to get out of that damned corner. And then it dawned on me.

This can't be incompetence. No developer could look at that and think it was acceptable. The ugly graphics, the broken physics, the one dimensional level design. This has the SEGA marketing team's fingerprints all over it.

[Crowbar]

Those pinball physics look pretty bad!

Possibly even worse than those in Heroes. I'm pretty sure I even saw him go clean through a bumper at least once (not mention his behaviour on the flippers, or rather, inside the flippers).

[Rob-Bert]

They look exactly the same as those in Sonic 2. The parts where he goes through the bumper and the flipper look like a minor graphical glitch, and the Original Trilogy™ were definitely not without those.

That second act with the 100,000 points is basically a repeat performance of Sonic's Casinopolis stage in SA1, which although I enjoyed playing, pissed me off at the lack of an actual stage and the sheer amount of time it took to complete on average. This new one looks a little easier/less time-consuming but also more monotonous due to how friggin' small the pinball machine is.

So it is like always having a power up that you can never lose.

I guess next why not let us have both invincibility and speed shoes at the same time? More power = more fun !

Oh, right, the boost.

1. Sonic had the bounce attack as a permanent upgrade is SA2.

2. There's no boost in this game you insidious pissant.

[Kogen]

I was comparing the boost to the homing attack, as both ruin the gameplay.

As for the pinball thing, it is just stupid. If they must do this, then why not make a big one with lots of interesting things to do?

[Delphine]

Hey guys, someone posted these videos of Casino Night Zone from Sonic 2. But they all have different music! How crazy is that?

Act 1: http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/2885/4042.mp4
Act 2 (LOL): http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/955/25547673.mp4
Act 3: http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/5511/1111.mp4
Boss: http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/58/622.mp4

Well, that's special.

Hey, did anyone else have the shittiest time trying to get past Eggman in the original version of this? I remember being so damn proud of myself when I finally did it. Granted, I was nine, but still.

[Neo]

Act 2 (LOL): http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/955/25547673.mp4

So why is this called Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and not Sonic: Journey of Dreams?

[Rob-Bert]

Because it's only ONE stage.

I was comparing the boost to the homing attack, as both ruin the gameplay.

Nothing's been ruined. You're in over your head.

[Blount]

That second act with the 100,000 points is basically a repeat performance of Sonic's Casinopolis stage in SA1, which although I enjoyed playing, pissed me off at the lack of an actual stage and the sheer amount of time it took to complete on average. This new one looks a little easier/less time-consuming but also more monotonous due to how friggin' small the pinball machine is.

That and if you didn't like Casinopolis, you could always just drop down to the sewers and collect the required 400 rings there, which was much easier and quicker. They were kind enough to give you an alternative, at least.