Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1
Speed has a Steep Price...
Posted October 15, 2010
It’s been a while since the iconic hedgehog has been in a side-scrolling 2D adventure, namely because Sega has made repeated attempts at bringing him into the 3D world. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 is the first in a series of new Sonic games that are rolling out on Xbox Live / Playstation 3 / Nintendo Wiiware as well as the mobile Apple platforms. Returning to his solo roots, Sonic has to take on the evil Dr. Robotnik, yet again, and recover the Chaos Emeralds as well as saving all of his friends. The presentation is classic Sonic and will immediately remind you of booting up Sonic on the Sega Genesis.
If you have played any of the previous 2D Sonic games, you will recognize the familiar level design as well as the red bumpers, golden rings, spiky traps and robot enemies. The game is broken into 4 worlds (Splash Hill, Casino Street, Lost Labyrinth and Mad Gear), which range in design from the rolling green hills to the industrial, cold metal stages. Each world has 3 levels to complete as well as the boss battle. Sadly, the boss battles are far too familiar in comparison to previous Sonic titles. There is little change in the difficulty of the battles or the patterns of the boss attacks. In fact, this is one of the easier Sonic games I’ve played though.
There are two control schemes on the iPhone / iPod Touch, a tilting system and a virtual control pad. With tilting, you turn the iPhone in the direction that you want Sonic to run and tap the screen to jump. I can see the allure of Sega trying this on the Apple platforms, but it doesn’t work very well. Sonic often flies out of control and the system lacks the quicker response of the virtual pad. The on-screen controls are much easier to handle and the majority of players will likely stick with this option. Specific to the Apple version, Sega has included a helpful homing attack that allows players to target enemies or buttons. It’s very useful and helps alleviate the problem of using an actual controller to control Sonic with increased accuracy.
While there's no multiplayer included with the game, the Special Stages are pretty entertaining. There's a time limit attached to the Special Stages, so they can be more difficult than the regular levels. Beyond the main campaign and bonus levels, there isn't much else included in the package. An online leaderboard would have been nice to compare ring totals or time spent on stages.
While it’s fantastic that the developer has returned Sonic to his rightful 2D self, the amount of content that you get for $9.99 is pretty light. You are looking at about 2 to 2.5 hours to complete all 4 stages as well as the bonus levels. Sonic diehards can go back through the levels to try and collect everything, but the casual player will likely be done in a couple hours after downloading the title. The lack of social gaming at the launch (Game Center support promised in an update) also hurts the title in terms of offering achievements for more replay value. I would recommend waiting until Episode 2 hits the App store and the price cuts roll out on Episode 1 by about 60 to 70%.
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If you have played any of the previous 2D Sonic games, you will recognize the familiar level design as well as the red bumpers, golden rings, spiky traps and robot enemies. The game is broken into 4 worlds (Splash Hill, Casino Street, Lost Labyrinth and Mad Gear), which range in design from the rolling green hills to the industrial, cold metal stages. Each world has 3 levels to complete as well as the boss battle. Sadly, the boss battles are far too familiar in comparison to previous Sonic titles. There is little change in the difficulty of the battles or the patterns of the boss attacks. In fact, this is one of the easier Sonic games I’ve played though.
There are two control schemes on the iPhone / iPod Touch, a tilting system and a virtual control pad. With tilting, you turn the iPhone in the direction that you want Sonic to run and tap the screen to jump. I can see the allure of Sega trying this on the Apple platforms, but it doesn’t work very well. Sonic often flies out of control and the system lacks the quicker response of the virtual pad. The on-screen controls are much easier to handle and the majority of players will likely stick with this option. Specific to the Apple version, Sega has included a helpful homing attack that allows players to target enemies or buttons. It’s very useful and helps alleviate the problem of using an actual controller to control Sonic with increased accuracy.
While there's no multiplayer included with the game, the Special Stages are pretty entertaining. There's a time limit attached to the Special Stages, so they can be more difficult than the regular levels. Beyond the main campaign and bonus levels, there isn't much else included in the package. An online leaderboard would have been nice to compare ring totals or time spent on stages.
Graphics
- The visuals don’t take advantage of the iPhone 4’s retina display and are reminiscent more of the original Sonic in your Sega Genesis days (if you had any). But the game is incredibly smooth and runs at a high framerate, absolutely essential for a Sonic game. Watching Sonic race through the levels is just as entertaining as it was 10 years ago; just don’t stand still and look at the low resolution textures. However, folks with the iPhone 3G or previous iPod Touches will be able to run the game just fine. The camera position is fixed on Sonic the entire time and are don’t run into any problems with the camera losing pace with the speed.
Audio
- Again similar to the Genesis days, the music and sound effects are a complete throwback to the 16-bit speeding hedgehog. Jun Senoue returns to compose the game’s soundtrack, but there’s no music in the game that’s incredibly amazing. In fact, it occasionally borders on repetitive. You can kill all the sound effects / music to play your own tunes through iTunes though.
Conclusion
While it’s fantastic that the developer has returned Sonic to his rightful 2D self, the amount of content that you get for $9.99 is pretty light. You are looking at about 2 to 2.5 hours to complete all 4 stages as well as the bonus levels. Sonic diehards can go back through the levels to try and collect everything, but the casual player will likely be done in a couple hours after downloading the title. The lack of social gaming at the launch (Game Center support promised in an update) also hurts the title in terms of offering achievements for more replay value. I would recommend waiting until Episode 2 hits the App store and the price cuts roll out on Episode 1 by about 60 to 70%.
Discuss This Game on Our Official VGT Forum