I don't think things will be nearly as bad as when Ep. 1 was first coming out. We had expectations, they were far from met. I'm fairly certain most people's expectations are not astronomical this time... so hopefully green eye debates and the like will not break out. Doesn't stop me from being somewhat anxious though. I wonder when they'll be making a formal announcement/ we'll get our first glimpse.
Alan Pritchard mentioned in GameInformer that they planned to reveal the new titles in early 2011, which implies late Q4 or early Q1. I'd ask Ruby for a little more, but even he can only speak about things so much. So, we just wait and watch. However, the fact we're starting to get teasers already indicates the announcement times are closing in.
I wouldn't want the Death Egg to return, I'd rather them come up with something new to use as a basis for the rest of the episodes, something that is dedicated to more than a single stage that's simply a boss-run, aka not Egg Station.
I still stand an underwater submarine base for Robotnik has not been done in the series (Aquatic Base in Sonic 2006 is the closest, but not quite... think a flooded Flying Battery Zone) and would be a bit more interesting than Yet Another Space Base Zone. A Western Desert trope has also not been fully realized in the series either. This may just be shamelessly plugging a trope so my cactus badnik idea gets used, however. :v:
Yeah, I never did quite get this huge demand I've seen across some places for a Death Egg return. I admit, going through an underwater wreckage of the Death Egg or something would be cool as hell, but I've seen people clamoring for it to be a major plot point again. I mean...really? I think we've had enough exposure to it in that light. Of course, you know, Eggman has these budget cuts, so maybe we'll see a small Death Egg or something. Maybe they'll parody Star Trek instead, and we'll get the E.G.G. Eggerprise...okay that's just wishful thinking on my part. I'm just glad these teasers are coming in now; I've been anxious to see what they'll do with this episode.
Frontier Canyon from Rivals 2 sort of fits that theme, albeit with more focus on the 'wild west' theme I guess. But yes, agreed, I'm sick of Egyptian-themed deserts :-P
Episode 1 was nice. Just not that nice. The farther away Episode 2 gets from Rush level designs, rehashing old levels and cramming then with moar bumpers, boosters, and bubbles for you to homing attack into, orchestral masterpieces with their litters of dying Wii kitties, and "budget cuts" (looking back, that was stupid), the better off it should be. More accurate Gen physics and camera would complete the speedy Genesis magic, as would a more lively and organic visual design for each more-than-just-four-zones-so-I-can-get-my-money's-worth-for-chrissakes. Of course, Super Sonic was street, yo. Just make the invincibility theme last longer, it ended way too quickly for me to enjoy it. And make the Super Sonic and Eggman boss battle themes less derpy. EDIT: As for new zone tropes? There's always the unused ones from Sonic 2, *wink* *wink*. A good Wood Zone or Dust Hill Zone would be interesting, as long as they have enough unique feel and character to be their own and not imitate or rehash stuff from other zones. Like speed pads. Just destroy every speed dash. Replace it with less auto-acceleration devices that don't all have to look or work like freaking speed pads. Oh yeah, and do something about the homing attack. If I want to do homing attacks, I'll play one of the few decent 3D Sonic games where its existence is the least questionable.
Fix'd. In all seriousness this Berlin thing just made me realize where Tails came from. Since this book dates back to 1953, gone are my fantasies on how Sonic Team agonized over choosing a sidekick. It's too long ago to be butt hurt by this now.
I don't think Battle is even canon. All Chaos Eneralds are green, Tails lives in some place called Emerald Town rather than his main series Mystic Ruins workshop, apparently Sonic lives there too, Knuckles house (since when does Knuckles live in a house!?!?) is at some weird place called Holy Summit, Amy and Cream live in a 'frikin apartment building together, and Shadow isn't confused out of his mind like he was in Heroes and the beginning of ShTH. Also some characters that have never even seen Gamma recognize Chaos Gamma's resemblance to Gamma. And they know his name, and the only characters that should know Gamma's name would be Eggman and Amy, but for some reason everyone in Battle does. I never finished it, as I quit shortly after I began Amy's story. Holyshit the Death Egg is in this game? It was blown to pieces in 1994! btw I'm wondering what developer made Sonic Battle?
You can gorilla jump (the rapid jump to air dash button mashing) throughout some acts in this game without moving the control stick (I think this is how Iizuka wanted people to play Episode I). It's interesting to see how far you can get through a level by doing this.
I would see the Death Egg being rehashed at some point, with a full level in the last episode. Perhaps E.G.G Station might be the designated obligatory Eggman space station and would get a S3K-like style later.