All-new 2D Sonic rolling out in 2010

[j-man]

Give it a rest. The guy's already got a hard enough job as it is.

[Malchik]

Give it a rest. The guy's already got a hard enough job as it is.

I guess it would be hard making statements, only to be falsified by speedy booster-balls himself Iizuka.

I sleep a little better thinking the fan's pleading lead to the re-tooling of the mine carts. Sad thing is, they were probably too broken to function off the iPhone.

[Segaholic2]

Interestingly, all levels in a zone are available for play upon unlocking the zone. Balough insists this will eliminate the arbitrary difficulty curve that has marred previous instalments by allowing you to select the levels you want to play, perhaps even avoiding ones that you have trouble completing.

hahaha fucking hell

[j-man]

Hold the phone; there's a world map.

Poor old Ken. He's basically an inelegant dustpan and brush, and the dev team just keep smashing crockery. I'd hate to have to come up with reasoning, probably on the spot, for the off-the-wall shit they keep pulling.

[Kogen]

A world map resulting in getting deeper into a section of a zone? I guess we are playing Mario 3 with unlimited clouds.

But really, how will this work at connected points? Such as Scrap Brain Zone in Sonic 1. Or how about story progression (I assume we have none now )? By this I mean the short animations between zones in Sonic 3/K that I fully expect in the sequel in order for it to be called a sequel.

[Arcade]

You mean Mario Bross 3 with the chest trick, right?

[j-man]

I like map screens. I like maps! Choosing stages from a world map gives them context, much like level transitions. I'd say they're roughly analogous.

Some good news about level progression; the map screen is optional. At the end of a stage you can choose to go back to the map, or you can continue on your adventure in the linear zone-to-zone fashion we all know and love. I think that's a nice little addition, and it can please everyone without detracting from the overall experience. Shame old Ken didn't know about that one, eh?

[Malchik]

I don't really see a point in having a map screen for a game no longer then thirty minutes. Mario needed this element because each world consisted of many, many maps.

[j-man]

Just a bit of visual fluff, I suppose. Like I said, I have a boner for world maps so I'm far too happy about this news.

[(No Imagination)]

Interestingly, all levels in a zone are available for play upon unlocking the zone. Balough insists this will eliminate the arbitrary difficulty curve that has marred previous instalments by allowing you to select the levels you want to play, perhaps even avoiding ones that you have trouble completing.

hahaha fucking hell

...marred?

fucking hell indeed

[G.Silver]

Is marred the new flawed?

[(No Imagination)]

I suspect he'd never want to call the 16-bit games "flawed" at risk of fan uproar ("Asshole! Seven of 9 used that word; we know what it means!"), though he'd probably get away by calling those games "marred" in a sophisticated attempt to water down their impact and significance, yet providing excuse for S4's poor design choices at the same time. Besides, his chosen word sounds much better PR than saying any of the following:

Balough insists this will eliminate the arbitrary difficulty curve that has inflicted disfiguring damage to previous instalments

or

Balough insists this will eliminate the arbitrary difficulty curve that has impaired the perfection of previous instalments

or

Balough insists this will eliminate the arbitrary difficulty curve that had spoiled previous instalments

LOL Balough sucks @ 2D Sonic

[K2J]

I love justifying bad choices by showing how you could make even worse choices.

[gr4yJ4Y]

"Why did you shove the puppy in front of a moving car?"
"It could have been worse. I could have jumped in front of a moving car."
"I'm not sure if that's worse or not..."

[Malchik]

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9675277

The latest build was used for this publicity stunt, or so I hear. Uncurling and homing are mandatory if true.

[Malchik]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkocJI1K ... r_embedded#

Boy-toy Aaron (aka RubyEclipse) playing the final demo of Sonic 4.

[P.P.A.]

Who are these people and why are the applauding and cheering to the most mundane of things, like the breaking of a monitor? ಠ_ರೃ

[Alexrd]

Who cares? They are having a good time, that's all that matters...

[gr4yJ4Y]

...which means we'll have a good time when we get our hands on it.

[FlashTHD]

...which means we'll have a good time when we get our hands on it.

So...then, the game comes with a shipment of weed?

[j-man]

I sure hope so!

Casino Street(s) Zone trailer. Looks pretty chill.

[M.C.Dillinger]

I think I've seen this place before...
In 1992 maybe?

[(No Imagination)]

... it sent chills down my spine, it did.

Can't wait for an official office run of this - the aahs and oohs of the audience are bound to make that screen burst.

[Kogen]

I think I've seen this place before...
In 1992 maybe?

Back in May, I think! You know, when we saw the entire game already.

[Blount]

The actual game music sounds much worse than in that trailer, which is kind of sad.