The sequel to the utterly abominable Sonic 4: Episode 1 is a significant step up from it's predecessor to the point of being somewhat fun and playable, but it's biggest pitfalls still remain.
Firstly, while the physics are improved, a lot still feels very off compared to the Genesis games; then again, it feels like that whenever they do 2D in the modern games too, so points for consistency? The other major flaw is the continues emphasis on using the homing attack every 5 seconds to progress further or take a shortcut - half the time, the targeting reticle disappears as soon as I hit A, instantly resulting in damage and/or death. Crappy design still plagues the levels, but it's not nearly as bad as it was before.
The graphics are way nicer, and the stages are definitely a step above the boring rehashes of Episode 1...for the most part, that is. The biggest addition that Episode 2 makes is Tails, adding in the functionality for Co-Op, which is certainly nice (though, it's not like I could really test it). It also adds a bunch of these "buddy moves" or whatever - basically you do this overly long high-five animation and either Tails helps Sonic fly, swim, or do a combined spindash of destruction - all 3 of which kinda make most of the game way easier than it should be, as you can trigger them anytime you're not taking damage.
Overall it's honestly worth a shot if you find it cheap, but it's also hardly a must-play. Just settles for average, which is still better than a lot of the Blue Blurs escapades since 1998...
Firstly, while the physics are improved, a lot still feels very off compared to the Genesis games; then again, it feels like that whenever they do 2D in the modern games too, so points for consistency? The other major flaw is the continues emphasis on using the homing attack every 5 seconds to progress further or take a shortcut - half the time, the targeting reticle disappears as soon as I hit A, instantly resulting in damage and/or death. Crappy design still plagues the levels, but it's not nearly as bad as it was before.
The graphics are way nicer, and the stages are definitely a step above the boring rehashes of Episode 1...for the most part, that is. The biggest addition that Episode 2 makes is Tails, adding in the functionality for Co-Op, which is certainly nice (though, it's not like I could really test it). It also adds a bunch of these "buddy moves" or whatever - basically you do this overly long high-five animation and either Tails helps Sonic fly, swim, or do a combined spindash of destruction - all 3 of which kinda make most of the game way easier than it should be, as you can trigger them anytime you're not taking damage.
Overall it's honestly worth a shot if you find it cheap, but it's also hardly a must-play. Just settles for average, which is still better than a lot of the Blue Blurs escapades since 1998...