E3 Hands-On: Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 - Preview
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 16 June 2010 / 3,349 Views
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 will be realeased on iPhone/iTouch, WiiWare, XBLA, and PSN in the later half of 2009. Today, I had a chance to play the game for several minutes and walked away rather impressed.
The game is reminiscent of the original Sonic the Hedgehog and somewhat Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The vibrant colors and the large structures and geometry will immediately feel familiar. The XBLA and PSN version look spectacular rendered in gorgeous Hi-Definition. Sonic himself recieves the most fluid animation he's ever had in a 2D game. The game play is exactly as you remembered, which is exactly what we want. SEGA has experimented with many game play designs for Sonic, but as the Sonic Rush series demonstrated; old school is the best school. The new title goes as far as gutting some features and mechanics found in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic and Knuckles such as power-ups. The only new mechanic is the ability to home attack enemies, item boxes, and springs. The developer is obviously striving for a pristine franchise recreation for this project.
The SEGA representatives also offered up some juicy details regarding Sonic the Hedgehog 4. The game will be identical on all platforms with the exception of a small detail: the iPhone/iTouch will have two exclusive Acts that focus on the Accelerometer functions while the console games will have a two exclusive acts that the iPhone and iTouch will not get. When asked about the episode format, we were not given an exact number of Episodes to expect, but the number has been pre-defined. This is because the creators have created what has been described as a long and entertaining story. We were told to think of Episode 1 as Act 1 of a longer stor arc. We were told that the 7 Emeralds can be collected, that Super Sonic is unlockable.
Also, Episode 1 is supposed to end with an amazing cliffhanger...
