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Sonic 4 Ep 2 Screenshots - Features Sonic On Tails Action

Saw these over at Sonic Retro forums, apparently they were leaked on the XBL Marketplace.

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petue.jpg


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Have to admit, its nowhere near as repulsive as Episode One was. The most important thing is of course, to see it in motion, as we don't want another this:

notBORKEN.gif
 
This looks better but I don't have faith.

Sonic 4 is such an offensively bad game that this has a lot of ground to make up before I can become interested.
 
The visuals have definitely improved from episode 1. Both technically and artistically.

But the real question remains, how are physics this time around?
 

Sciz

Member
Gameplay footage will tell all (hello, Bubbles chain), but at least it looks nice. And they're mixing up the level tropes a bit. Aquatic castle, Christmas rollercoaster, desert drilling, I can dig it.

Note that the Death Egg is in the background in a couple of screenshots

Given that this is somehow tied into Sonic CD, it's almost certainly Little Planet. With a Death Egg-esque shell being built around it, anyway.
 
Wow, good on Sega for not shitting out Episode 2 and actually trying to fix whats broke. Hopefully it runs at 60FPS and uses the Generations or Sonic CD physics.

Also, hoping that Episode 1 gets remade in this engine but I doubt it will happen.
 

Teknoman

Member

DEVELOPER: SEGA
PUBLISHER: SEGA
GENRE: Action & Adventure, Platformer
FEATURES

Offline co-op 1 - 2
Dolby Digital
ONLINE FEATURES

Online co-op 2
Leaderboards

Episode II features an all new game engine, bringing you updated physics and an original graphical style as you race through four unique Zones and a new Special Stage.
 

shaowebb

Member
Sega has come a long way since Ep 1. Colors and Generations found the balancing point for Sonic and brought him back. If they try to emulate their 2d portions in ep 2 then this will be a far shot different than ep 1 was. Good thing too because ep 1 was slow, glitchy, had awkward physics and bad level design.
 

Berordn

Member
Wow, good on Sega for not shitting out Episode 2 and actually trying to fix whats broke. Hopefully it runs at 60FPS and uses the Generations or Sonic CD physics.

Also, hoping that Episode 1 gets remade in this engine but I doubt it will happen.

More importantly, how about not including stage gimmicks that kill you for not holding right?
 
Yeah, that is curious.

Hedgehog Engine looks downright gorgeous. Maybe it can't be scaled down to every portable, iDevice, and PS2, and Dimps would be confused by it.

I guess iOS probably forces them to use a different engine. I'd put money on this being a scaled down version of the Colours engine.

edit: Yeah, and XBLA size restrictions.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
They seem to be using some 3D now, however, which is a cause for concern. Hopefully they maintain 60 fps. The lower framerate of Generations on consoles was a real downer.
 

TimmiT

Member
Xbox Live description. the game has online co-op:
The Sonic 4 Saga continues as Sonic reunites with Tails for all new collaborative play! Following the events of Episode I, Metal Sonic has returned to form a formidable alliance with Dr. Eggman! To face this new threat, Sonic will have to call upon an old friend to help him save the day! Joined by Tails, utilise ingenious combination moves and race across four brand new Zones, in order to put an end to their evil plans! Play alone, or with a friend locally (and online), in an evolution of Sonic 2's collaborative gameplay! Unleash Sonic and Tails’ devastating joint attacks and combination moves to fight the united force of Metal Sonic and Dr. Eggman. Episode II features an all new game engine, bringing you updated physics and an original graphical style as you race through four unique Zones and a new Special Stage.
 

Thores

Member
Hey yeah, that's way more visually appealing than Ep 1 was. No wonder this episode isn't coming out for WiiWare.
 
It actually looks like it's running on the Hedgehog Engine, or some variation of it. Don't see any reason why they can't share it with Dimps, considering the resources it would save.

And yeah, 69ing mode looks awkward. Still a step up from the "yay me" pose.
 
69 is the only dinner for two

Aww, you got to it before I did.

Well, regardless of the unfortunate timing of that picture, it looks alright. I still have no idea why Sega couldn't have just released these games all at once, other than milking the franchise dry. If that were even possible at this point.
 

SovanJedi

provides useful feedback
That looks really nice! Though the dodgy 69er action threw me for a loop. :0 Let's hope they fix the mechanics and level design though.
 

zulux21

Member
Xbox Live description. the game has online co-op:

Between the last image showing an updated version of the Sonic 2 Chaos Emerald collection minigame (my favorite of the collection minigames) and the online co-op you just mentioned... Sonic 4 episode 2 just went from a "I will buy it when it's on a good sale" to a "I must keep an eye on this" game.

The screenshots look great, hopefully when they are in motion they still look great.
 

BiggNife

Member
It's definitely a visual step up from Episode 1, but until I see video footage that proves they fixed the physics and shows off better level design, I can't really get excited for it.

Episode 1 felt like it was a Sonic game designed by a robot.
 
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