[Ritz]

Wow, really? I'm the only one who thinks this looks awful? Everyone was harping on the use of pre-rendered level graphics, and I could never figure out why, because the result was undoubtedly polished and the parallax wouldn't have added much to it. The problem was when it was polished to the point where shit started looking like plastic, and that was only really a problem for Splash Hill. Everything else looked gorgeous. Well, you've reaped what you've sown! You've traded polish for a PS2-quality uniform matte appearance and the ability to occasionally see the sides of platforms, which is apparently exciting.

Stage themes haven't gotten much more interesting either. "Oil stage" is one of my favorite Sonic tropes though, so there's that. Might be cool in motion?

[serpx]

I'm sure this game will look beautiful in motion, compared to screens, but let's take another moment to gander at that Death Egg/Little Planet mix in the sky. Okay ... so ... why aren't the current 3D games giving us stories like that? This is back to the basics, harping back to the Genesis days, where games like Sonic CD or Sonic 3 & Knuckles actually had a fun and EPIC story.

I missed this. This is on a good track so far, IMO. Story had a place in Sonic games, and I feel Sonic isn't Sonic without a well-written story. Not trying to go off topic much, but Unleashed/Generations was a bit too basic. Epic stories FTW.

[Ell678]

Unless the physics are fixed (yes, fixed) no matter how impressive it looks in screenshots, I won't be buying this game. We got fooled once, nobody should forget that.

If SEGA do amaze us and fix them, then, hell, SEGA made the comeback of the century.

[Naean]

Ritz, on 14 February 2012 - 04:27 PM, said:

Wow, really? I'm the only one who thinks this looks awful?

I really am not personally seeing how this looks "awful".

I agree that there are certainly anti-aliasing issues in several of the screens, but it still looks like a massive improvement over Episode I. And that's not just because we can see the sides of platforms now, either. The overall art style just looks better to me, and it seems like a substantial amount of more effort was put into the production of the graphics. Even Lost Labyrinth Zone, which I thought had some of the best visuals in Episode I, looks rather bland now in comparison to Episode II's visuals.

Each to their own, though.

This post has been edited by Naean: 14 February 2012 - 04:37 PM

[Machenstein]

Am I the only one hoping this game will have skins for classic Sonic/Tails/Eggman/Metal Sonic?

[Sploit]

Liking what I see from the screenshots.

Have to say I am getting a heroes feel from the screens showing the Sonic&Tails Combo moves, especially from the shot that shows a screen type thing too, perhaps suggesting a team move must be done at that point to carry on? similar to heroes' "you must switch to certain character type to progress" thing (Though most of - if not all of - the time, there was a way around that).

[RGX]

I'm pretty confident in this game but come on... 4 zones only again? This game will be over quickly. I just can't stand short games... I hope there's a versus mode to compliment co-op at least.

Also this Aquatic Ruins homage looks great. Fuck all the "rehash" comments.

[serpx]

RGX, on 14 February 2012 - 04:38 PM, said:

I'm pretty confident in this game but come on... 4 zones only again?

I agree. What I am hoping for is, after these episodes are over for Sonic 4, and they have the formula nailed down, perhaps they can create a new 2D/2.5D story arc where it's an actual full-fledged DLC game, rather than just these small episodes.

[Rockman Zero]

I hope they pull us for a loop and introduce 4 more levels once we get the Chaos Emeralds.

I'm impressed with the graphics, but not so much with the number of levels.

[RGamer2009]

This..THIS...

This is what I wanted from Sonic 4 to BEGIN WITH.

It looks amazing, especially when compared to Episode 1's bland style. The Co-Op is BACK and looks as awesome as ever. The zones look very unique compared to the previous game, and now as long as the physics are up to snuff...this WILL be worth the $15.

As with everyone else...I also wanted more zones, but to be fair...they did STEP IT UP with all our complaints with the graphics.

I am now very interested to seeing where this will go. That nod back to Little Planet was AWESOME.

[Scripten]

Okay, well, at least the art style doesn't look like total ass this time. Also, I propose we call the special Sonic-Tails move the "69" maneuver.

The levels actually look really, really cool. I mean, they're actually using a few new level tropes with distinct graphics that actually stick in the mind.

[Arique]

Something I just noticed. Methinks that Sonic's running sprites/renders might have been changed since Episode 1...

Spoiler

Am I the only one who's noticing this change?

[JaxTH]

Looks like Sonic 2 Beta running.

[JakeyBoy]

Arique, on 14 February 2012 - 04:54 PM, said:

Something I just noticed. Methinks that Sonic's running sprites/renders might have been changed since Episode 1...
Am I the only one who's noticing this change?

I doubt they are renders anymore, seeing as everything else is 3D.
Yeah, it looks pretty, and the levels are more inspired. And online bro-op is cool, shame no one will play it after a week.

[Rika Chou]

They are only showing three levels, aren't they?

Aquatic Marble Garden
Snow Carnival
Oil Ocean


Anyway, these look sooooo much better than ep1. I'm just slightly sad not to see any classic.