Sonic the Hedgehog 4:  Episode 1 was released yesterday on the PSN and available for $14.99. To say I’ve been excited for this game is an understatement.  Sonic 1, 2 and 3 for Sega Genesis were among the first video games I’ve ever played, period.  I loved the series and it became the base for my love of video games today.  Episode 1 has four main zones; Splash Hill, Casino Street, Lost Labyrinth, and Mad Gear.  Each of these has three acts followed by a boss battle, which is the same formula as the previous classic games.  Of course Sonic upgraded to 1080p graphics but has the classic side scrolling game play we all know and love.

While playing the game last night, I noticed there have been quite a few changes in the game.  You start out playing Act 1 of Splash Hill but after you beat that, you are brought to the main menu where you can choose between all four stages (as shown below).  When you click on a stage, a menu pops up, giving you the option to play Act 1, 2, 3 and the boss stage, of course you have to beat the acts within a stage in order. I really like this new feature for the game and having the option to switch between Stages and going back for a higher score or finding a new path to beat the Act.  As far as the gameplay,  I think this new Sonic is a bit easier to play.  They added a locking-on/homing feature to all enemies and item boxes, making it super easy to destroy them.  When there is a string of enemies, just press X a few times and Sonic jumps from one to the next in one continuous move.  If you touch an enemy, you lose your rings (like in the originals) and  you don’t have to take them out using the lock on feature.  To stick with the original game play and a little challenge, I only use the locking-on feature when it is really needed.

Lastly, the Special Stages in the game are almost identical to the ones in Sonic 1; a rotating maze filled with rings to get to an emerald and you have to continually make your way through, a dead end means level over.  The only changes are, it’s now a timed level where you control where the maze turns, this makes it easier to get the emerald which is great because I was never able to collect all of them in the previous games!  The graphics in the game are awesome.  The backgrounds and textures on all the stages are impressive and it’s cool playing as a 3D Sonic with the 2.5D environment.

It’s been 16 years since Sonic 3 was released which was the last of the ‘classic’ Sonic games I’ve grown up to and loved.  Since then there have been many Sonic games released; all of which were pretty terrible. Sega finally got it right by going back to it’s original roots with a 2D side scrolling game.  I’m so very glad Sonic is back in dashing action.  I know I’ll have a great time beating this game and replaying levels to find new path ways.  I would rate this game a solid 8/10.   From what I’ve played, I can’t wait until Episodes 1.5 and 2 to be released!  I’ll always be a fan of Sonic and happy that the classic gameplay with a modern HD twist is now available for enjoyment.