Sonic more than any other character in this industry has faced an incredible amount of bad games in the past decade. Sega promises to bring back everything that we loved about Sonic in Sonic 4, does the game deliver? Or should we run away as fast as possible?
Sonic 4 is for the hard core Sonic fans, from the moment you turn the game on you will see references that will bring tears to the eyes of old school Sonic fans. The first stage is an incredible remake of Green Hills Zone that looks incredibly fresh and old at same time (is that possible?). Graphics are incredibly polished, showing that Team Sonic put a lot of effort on this one. Also making a remake is the Casino Zone from Sonic 2, the stage not only looks even better, but also has some really cool card effects that looks very original.
Unlike older Sonic games where you had to go through the entire game to play your favorite level, Sonic 4 allows you to select what world and stage you want to play, if don’t want to go through a level just play another one and come back later, definitely an improvement.
The controls feel just right, the game is as fast as ever and everything you loved about Sonic is here and more. The homing attack allows you to easily kill your enemies while adding new elements of difficulty to the game, it balances out pretty well in the end. Of course there are some issues with the game, first one being trying to build up momentum feels quite slow, it will take between three or four seconds before you actually feel like your running, while this is minor it definitely took away from the nostalgia.
While the sound scores didn’t quite feel Sonicsh, they were quite catchy and were pretty fun to listen to. The real kicker though in the sound FX, old school players will definitely remember some sounds from their childhoods. From the familiar sound of collecting a power ring, to the dreaded sound of falling on those spikes, your old school ears will be in paradise.
The big question however was whether or not the game was worth the $15 dollar price tag. This one is definitely a tough call, the game is great but it will only last you three hours to play through your first time. You can go back and try to collect all Chaos Emeralds and transform into Super Sonic, which will add another two hours to the game but its still not enough to justify the price. If you are a hardcore Sonic fan this is a no brainier, buy this game and let your nostalgia sink you into three hours of greatness. If you are not a Sonic fan however, I would suggest you wait until the price dropped a little bit. Not because the game is bad, but because I believe that only Sonic fans will get their money’s worth with this game.
Sonic 4 was made for the hard core fan, no doubts about that. If you are boycotting this game shame on you, this game was made for you. And by boycotting it you are only hurting yourself (you are truly missing out.) Hard core fans will definitely get their money’s worth with this game, even with the five hour play through. If you are not a fan of the series I suggest you wait for price drop. The game is fun, but the nostalgia factor plays an important role in the entertainment. Either way, this is the game I have been waiting to play ever since Sonic Adventure DX left sour taste in my mouth. If things keep going the way it is, Sonic might make a come back into our hearts. Now if we can only make Sega release Sonic CD for download we will be set.
