Sonic 4: Episode One -- All-in-One.

Sonic 4: Episode One marks the return to the Genesis style of Sonic the Hedgehog games. It's been sixteen long years since Sonic & Knuckles hit the Genesis in 1994. The game was developed by Dimps Corporation and published by SEGA. I should say up front that the Sonic fan-base is one of the most vocal and embarrassingly idiotic fan-bases in gaming. They don't even know what they want anymore and whatever SEGA was to do they couldn't win for even trying. Sonic 4 isn't exactly like the Sonic games on the Genesis. What sane person would actually expect it to be? Dimps has included the lock-on homing attack from Sonic Adventure and beyond. It works well enough but it does change the gameplay quite a bit. Chaning enemies together to reach alternate paths and the like. Sonic 4: Episode One might as well have been called Sonic Remix. The game consists of four zones each with three acts and a seperated boss battle. Splash Hill Zone is a remake of the original game's Green Hill Zone while Lost Labyrinth is a remake of the Labyrinth Zone. And Casino Street Zone is a remake of Sonic 2's Casino Night Zone and Mad Gear Zone is a remake of Metropolis Zone. Each zone contains the same motif, enemies, and bosses from the originals. The final zone is called the E.G.G. Station Zone and is a boss rush topped off by Sonic 2's final boss battle with a twist. The boss battles have been reworked to include some surprises. They play out the same as the originals until you've taken half their life then they reveal their new tricks and change things up on you. The game's special stages harken back to the original game's special stages. Only with a slight twist. This time you're turning the maze to guide Sonic to the Chaos Emeralds. I have to say I found these special stages to be the best and most fun in the entire series. Graphically the game looks great. The game is true HD with widescreen and 720p. The graphics are detailed and super crisp and clean. I've been reading a lot of dissatisfaction with the music. I however actually liked the music a lot. I found it fitting and entirely Sonic sounding. The physics in the game take some getting used to. Once you adjust you'll find an entirely playable and fun game. If you're going to get so caught up in how this title isn't exactly how you remember Sonic on the Genesis then you should probably just skip the game entirely. If you're able to think rationally and enjoy a game for what it is instead of bitching about what it isn't, you might find Sonic 4 well worth it. I really enjoyed the game. I do have to say how refreshing it was to only have Sonic and Robotnik. And they don't even speak. Not a single word uttered in the entire game. Hopefully Joe Average Gamer doesn't hear the din of the bitching Sonic fan-base and the title sells well enough to see the future episodes as I'd be in for more. I'm giving Sonic 4: Episode One an 8.5.