Overview
That speedy blue hedgehog known as Sonic is back again, and this time it’s in Sega of America’s Sonic 4 Episode 1. The game takes place after Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and if you’re a fan of the Sonic games Sonic 4 Episode 1 is a game you won’t want to miss.
Gameplay
I’m not really going to go into the control scheme much except to say that there is a jump button and a virtual d-pad; if you’ve ever played a Sonic game you know how go from there. The attacks you love are all there including the Spin Dash and Homing Attack. You might think Sonic would be hard to control on a small touchscreen device, but Sega did a great job with porting this over and everything runs great on my aging Captivate.
Features
Sonic 4 Episode 1 gives gamers 4 zones with 4 acts each along with 7 special stages, and two of the levels were designed specifically for smartphones and their use of accelerometers. The special stages were especially nice to see as they let you collect the Chaos Emeralds and unlock Super Sonic. Needless to say, the Boss Battles were awesome and it was great to beat up on Dr. Eggman.
Verdict
I grew up on the Sonic games, and was pumped to see Sonic 4 Episode one out but a little leery after the troubles they had with Sonic CD. I’m happy to say that so far I’ve had no issues with the download or with running the game on ICS. The controls didn’t seem quite as responsive as Sonic CD, but it didn’t hinder my gameplay and it could of just been my device. Sonic 4 Episode 1 is a must have for any Sonic fan or Retro gamer and I can’t wait until Episode 2 comes out. You can get Sega’s Sonic 4 Episode 1 from the Android Market for $3.99.