Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode II Review: A Really Great Game - If You Have A Controller... And Some Patience

If you were a child of the 80's or early 90's (and weren't some Nintendo fanboy, pft), the name Sonic probably has some deeper, almost religious meaning to you. I remember worshipping at the Genesis 16-bit altar for hours on end as a kid, and my deity of choice was the hedgehog in blue. Sonic. Sonic 2. Sonic 3. Sonic and Knuckles. Sonic CD (oh yeah). Screw Sonic 3D Blast, though. That game was bogus.

There have been 30 Sonic video games to date. Sonic 4 Episode II is number thirty-one. In recent years, Sonic has failed to generate much in the way of... anything good. Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 were two bright spots in an otherwise really dark 15 years for the franchise. Makes you feel old, right?

The precursor to Sonic 4 E2 is, of course, Sonic 4 Episode I. That game was the first widely positively-received Sonic game since Sonic Adventure 2, 10 years ago. And how was that success achieved? By going back to Sonic's roots - 2D sidescrolling action in fun environments. Because of the increasing popularity of tablets, and cheaper downloadable games on consoles, titles like Sonic are experience something of a rebirth.

So, does Episode II continue the comeback kid story? In a word, yes. In fact, on something like Xbox 360, PS3, or a PC, I imagine this game would be hugely fun. On an Android tablet, though? I'd say it's closer to "really fun" (that's to say, still really good), but there still seem to be a few kinks to work out.

Sonic 4 Episode II is a massive visual leap forward from Episode I. And I do mean massive - we've gone from a quasi-3D-sometimes but mostly 2D flatland game to something that is really quite pretty. Let me just have the screenshots do the talking here:

 

As you can see, everything has been 3Dified. The characters and environments are all now much, much better looking than they were in Episode I. You get realistic water, blowing snow and sand, and character models that don't harken back to 1994. It's Sonic, evolved. Of course, to get this experience on Android, you'll have to be playing the Tegra 3 version of the game (the non-Tegra 3 version won't be out for another month), which means using a tablet or an HTC One X, at this point.

Want to see how much better the Tegra 3 version looks? Just take a moment and gawk at these comparison pictures - it really is a night and day difference. I won't even have to tell you which is which:

There's a hitch, though. On my Transformer Prime, frame rates weren't stellar. I averaged (eyeball estimate) what felt like 40-45FPS, with consistent dips into the 20-30FPS range. The frame rate tended to drop during intense action or particularly complex scenes (eg, waterfalls, snow, lots of baddies). Not good, especially for a fast-moving sidescroller title like Sonic. Occasionally, this would actually cause input lag, and that... sucks. But hey, it all looks really pretty, so there's that. I've heard from Cameron that on an Acer Iconia A510 the game ran smoother, so maybe it's an isolated issue. Then again, he also had the game crash twice, including once where it actually hard-froze his tablet, requiring a soft reset - and that was after only 15 minutes of playing the game.

The mediocre frame rate isn't a deal breaker - let me be clear on that point. It just isn't as high as I'd like it to be. But given the visuals at play here, I can deal.

To change gears, let's talk about the story. Sonic 4 Episode II takes place after Sonic CD, meaning Metal Sonic is back. Personally, I always thought Metal Sonic was the best Sonic villain, so I was stoked when I heard this was the direction the game was going. Suffice to say, the simple but compelling storylines that made the original Sonic games popular are in full force here, and you'll be having nostalgia-fests left and right.

Tablets aren't very good for games that require really rapid and precise control inputs. While Sonic is pretty much a 2-dimensional 8-direction movement layout, I just don't like playing it very much with touch controls. Don't get me wrong - the game is totally doable with touch controls alone, but it's just not as fun as it would be with a controller. If you have a tablet, but don't have a wireless gaming controller for it, go buy one. Titles like this make it worth the investment. The touch controls are finicky, cumbersome, and I don't like them. Maybe on a smaller screen they'd be more manageable, but on a 10.1" tablet, they aren't. I don't know that there's a way to fix them, either - it's kind of an unavoidable downfall of large tablet gaming.

 

Beyond the control issues, Sonic 4 EII takes classic Sonic gameplay's simplicity and adds a few flourishes. You can use Tails for special combo moves (flying, super spinball, swimming, etc.) that add new facets to Sonic's decidedly old-school feel. Boss fights were typical Sonic, though involved more movement and less predictable challenges than titles of years past. Instead of forcing you to be lucky or have superhuman reflexes, Sonic 4 EII makes you learn more complex fight mechanics and adapt. Still, the game has kept a lot of the things that made the originals difficult - objects squishing you, drowning (god I hate underwater levels), and bottomless pits. It's enough to keep you from breezing through the game, but not so much as to discourage you from persevering.

You get all of the old "extras," too - Chaos Gems, time challenges, and bonus levels.

Overall, Sonic 4 EII plays like the sequel to Sonic 3 / Sonic CD should. It keeps gameplay consistent with the series, but avoids being a simple rehash with a new story and artwork.

If you have a Tegra 3 tablet (or phone), Sonic 4 Episode II should be on your "buy" list. It's a fantastically designed title from a studio we all know and love, and even at $7, it's priced to sell. It's well thought-out, visually impressive, and clearly has been developed by people who care about making something fun and polished.

Despite the situational inadequacy of touch controls, and the occasional technical hiccup, it's a great game that continues to reinvigorate a franchise that everyone thought was long dead, and I imagine I'll be playing it for weeks to come.

Sonic 4 Episode II THD

[Review] The Zeemote Is A Fun Little Controller, But It Needs More Games, Maybe A Slightly Lower Pricepoint

By now, you should've heard about the Zeemote Bluetooth Gaming Controller. We only gave away a thousand of them a couple weeks ago, after all. We've started to receive ours here at the Android Police Station, so we thought it was an appropriate time to take a look at the device (as well as provide you with some games to cut your teeth on).

It would not be wrong to make a comparison to the Wii nunchuk attachment. The Zeemote is almost functionally identical. Held in one hand, the device has two small trigger buttons next to the index finger, an analog control stick for the thumb, and a recessed trigger button by the middle finger. And when we say recessed, we mean it. As in, if you want to press this button, you need to get the tip of your finger right up against it. Thankfully, most games don't use it, but if one does, it's obnoxious enough to make the whole thing not worth using.

  

Of course, it's not perfect to use anyway. The controller is extremely tiny. I don't have large hands, by any means, and I found that holding the controller was a little uncomfortable. Not so tiny I couldn't use it, but I can imagine that others with larger hands would be unable to use it.

There are quite a few games available for the Zeemote. Some are pretty great, some not so much. Old favorites like Running Fred and SpeedX are compatible with the controller and, in my opinion, are much easier to play with real buttons and control sticks. Then again, I come from the old days when we had buttons. Not like you kids today with your fancy magic dances.

Unfortunately, there's still a bit of a shortage of games. For starters, because the controls are significantly different on the Zeemote than a touchscreen, there's only a handful of games that can be made to work with the controller. Running Fred is great, but Angry Birds would be impractical. There also doesn't seem to be a flood of developers rushing to support the controller.

We'd like to see more of these games come out (as well as more accessories like this). If you're a game developer, you may want to get in contact with the folks behind the Zeemote. They're very willing to work with developers to get more games supported.

I actually found that the best way to use the Zeemote was with a tablet and a stand. This play style brought back unexpected and unnerving memories of playing the old Virtual Boy, only this was more fun. Sorry, Mario Tennis. The Zeemote works just as well with phones, but it seems a little odd to use a controller that fits in your hand to play a game on a phone that also fits in your hands.

While the controller works great for gameplay, you still need to be within touching distance of your device for other onscreen controls. Sure, Fred can run, jump, and die with the Zeemote, but if you want to spend those Skullies, you'll need to use the touchscreen.

It would be interesting to see some additional accessories that could add some more controls. Or even for the Zeemote to be used for more than just in-game controls. The Android OS has (or at least had?) support for trackballs so it doesn't seem like it would be difficult to use some kind of rudimentary control scheme. Obviously it wouldn't replace a touchscreen, but it might be cool to dock a tablet into a home theater and play games on it like a console. Unfortunately, the controls just aren't there yet.

Due to the unprecedented contest we ran this month, it feels necessary to review this device from two different price points. For the thousand of you who received a free Zeemote, this is going to be fun. There's a wide enough variety of games available that everyone can find something fun to play with it. There aren't a whole lot of games, but there is a nice variety.

For everyone else, though, we have to judge this device as the $30 accessory it is. Unfortunately, that's a lot harder of a decision to make. At $20 I might give this a glowing recommendation. For $30, though, it feels harder to justify. The design of the remote is good, but not great, and the selection of games that have elected to add support is similarly average. The company behind the Zeemote seems to be eager to work with devs to improve the selection of apps to support the controller, but the market is small.

This one earns an unqualified and resolute, "Maybe." Games like Running Fred are insanely fun already and the Zeemote just feels like a better control scheme. On the other hand, $30 seems just a tad high. If you scored one of our 1,000 free controllers, you're going to like it. If you're wondering if you should buy one, you might want to take a look at the games that are available now, or wait to see if more developers pick it up.

More than anything though, accessory makers, please keep making things like this. For all its flaws (seriously, this recessed trigger button just bugs me), the Zeemote is one nifty device. Things like this, or OnLive's controller, are really exciting for Android as a gaming platform. Android is the OS that can be anything, so why shouldn't it be a game console, too? So, please, accessory developers, don't stop making Zeemotes or Kinocts or Gyrates. This is the kind of stuff we like to see.