Trust Xbox.com to leak screenshots of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 before SEGA's given us more than a teaser and some concept art.
The screenshots — all embedded below for your pleasure — show Sonic and Tails engaging in some, er, co-op action, with online and offline options available.
Sonic fans will pick up on any number of references: the tubular Special Stage first seen in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 returns for about the millionth time, but on the whole the game seems to share more in common with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 than others, with stages that resemble Carnival Night and Marble Garden revealed, plus a downhill snow section that's a little reminiscent of Ice Cap. Sonic 4 will offer four zones in total, so we still have some surprises to come our way.
Feast your eyes on the screens below and prepare your PSN wallet for some spiky action later this year.
Comments 12
Awesome! I can almost feel the "Blast Processing" (tm).
It'd be nice if this supposed all new Sonic game actually contained all new Zones. Episode I was a rehash of Zones from Sonic 1 and 2. These aren't all new games, they're stripped down HD remakes and they're offensive.
And I still buy them.
Those screenshots look effing sweet! I'm so pumped up for this game!
@Mr_Reece SEGA WHY NOT MAKE A HD GAME THAT'S JUST LIKE THE OLD SONIC GAMES.
THIS IS RUBBISH, IT'S JUST LIKE THE OLD SONIC GAMES.
Hells yeah! I hope they remixed the Sonic 2 special stage music too. Loved that song. <3
Looks good! Good thing I bought a PS3.
@James lol I've no problem with how they play; they do after all play just like the old Sonic games. But what I'm saying is that it'd be nice if they weren't just rehashing the Zones and actually showed some creativity and imagination in the level design and aesthetics.
The visuals for Sonic 4: Episode 2 remind me of the Sonic Fan Remix video that was doing the rounds in 2010. The busier detail to the backgrounds, and the toning down of the bright colour palette, share a bit of a resemblance to the fan's re-imagining of different levels from classic Sonic. It would be cool if SEGA were so impressed by the work of the fan programmers that they took them on board to work with Dimps.
Obviously that is just a speculative comparison on my part, it's an unsubstantiated little observation.
In any case I have a very good feeling about this game. I like the visual style based upon these screenshots, especially the possible addition of a new Ice Cap snow lashed mountain zone, and I have enjoyed previous Sonic games by Dimps. I think that SEGA have made a lot of good decisions regarding Sonic in recent years. Online co-op, with a screen each to ourselves and bringing Tails into Sonic 4, sounds fun to me.
Mark me down as positively optimistic for Sonic 4: Episode 2.
Those screenshots look pretty impressive. I hope that they fixed the physics in this one. I'm definitely trying the demo before I buy it.
It amazes me that Sega took so long to go back to the Sonic 2 special stages. They were ground breaking at the time, and are still fun to play. Sonic 2 remains the high point of Sonic for me largely because of these stages. The only gaming experience I've found that captures that mad fun was the special stages in Rayman 3.
@Mr Reese. Sonic 4 Episode 1 played nothing like the first 3 Sonics. That was the biggest problem with the game. release d-pad to stop dead is just wrong in a game based on momentum. Generations old Sonic nailed it tho.
"It amazes me that Sega took so long to go back to the Sonic 2 special stages."
I for one was hoping they'd give it a rest for a bit longer; I'm so fed up of racing down tubes to collect rings.
I sort of see your point James, but for me the Sonic 2 special stages are pretty different to how that's been done in later 3d sonic games. Mainly I suppose the lack of platforming, dead stops and death drops. They were so straight forward and trippy.
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