Sonic 4 Episode 2, Day 2.

If I haven't said it before, I'll say it again.  Although I'm not a fan of Episode 2, I am paying close attention to it through the people who've played it as much as I can.  Why?  Because I want to know how this will affect the future of 2D Sonic games.  The future of the episodic 4 games seems to depend solely on sales, yet Sega has claimed they will de-list Sonic games with a less than positive metacritic score by "professional" reviewers.  If I'm not mistaken, basically the result will just state whether Sega will give us more of what they want and a bit more of what fans want.

Right now, Ep2 on metacritic is looking less than positive from receiving a predominant amount of mixed reviews, however the score itself is climbing slowly closer to positive (going from 64% to 66%.)  The user score (which doesn't matter to Sega) has went from positive (high 7s) down to mixed (5.5) from receiving a few negative reviews overnight.

For those of you who may not know, a positive in Metacritic is a game that receives an overall score of 75% or more.  The world has only had access to the game for a mere 48 hours now, so whether this game will hit the "de-listed" list is still up in the air... if Sega's actually still doing that.  I'm hearing that not many people are online playing the co-op on Steam or PSN.  I'm sure it has absolutely nothing to do with Blizzard.

Out of all the official reviews listed on metacritic, I actually found most of them decent, although it's not free from reviews that are simply not reviews at all, there was one that I found rather interesting.  Is it Jim Sterling's from Destructoid?  Actually, I'll say this - his review of Ep2 is not bad.  Most people just figure he's full of shit because he enjoyed Episode 1 and swept Sonic Colors further beneath the rug than he did with Episode 2, but he actually sums up what the game is lacking quite well by saying,

"A solid applause for the effort, but it would be a real shame if Sonic 4 ended on this note, because I want Sonic Team to try once more with feeling."

(Not to mention, he does make a lot of solid points in his review.)


As for the review I enjoyed the most, it was by metro.co.uk's Roger Hargreaves which is shorter, but... sweeter simultaneously.  The irony he points out in the Sonic franchise somewhat opened my eyes to how fans are reacting to game now.  When Sonic Adventure 1 was released, a lot of fans were saying that the 3D games sucked and Sega should just stick to 2D games, but now the 3D games are good and the 2D games are the ones that are bad.

If Sega is trying to destroy 2D "classic" Sonic gameplay, then they're... seemingly doing a really good job.  Back then, the classic fanbase at least had the classic fundamentals within the Advance series.  The chemistry between Dimps and Yuji Naka was something that hopefully gets revived one way or another.  A lot of people dismissed the series because they were handheld titles, but... they were definitely worth the effort put into them IMO.

Another thing I wanted to point out was a post of a post (yeah, weird) that I ran into on the Sega.com forums which I found interesting regarding why Yuji Naka left Sega as I... really don't know!  I assume it's off of Taxman's site in regards of the Sonic CD DLC that was announced by Sir Whitehead:

This is why SEGA fails. They NEVER accept what fans want. Even if it is one that they hired for a project. It is what they want and nothing more, nothing less. No extra levels in Sonic CD, no changes in the amount of springs and dash pannels in Sonic 4 Episode 2. No change in the music or the worker composing them. 

This is the exact proof that they do not care what anybody but themselves want. And a very likely reason Yuji Naka among so many others have quit. They are sick of the guy’s up top ruining the series and denying any idea’s and plans they make. 

Remember, in the interview included in Sonic Generation’s, they clearly said how upset Yuji Naka got when they tried to do what they wanted with his work instead of what he wanted. 

So SEGA is just a piece of… Many thing’s you could say. No… Not SEGA. The poeple higher up and in control who are the one’s ignorant as an Ostridge with it’s head stuck in the ground. But they don’t even use the ground. They just stick there head’s up there own… Unmentionables… 

Ken Balough even said it himself in an interview proving what I say to be true. 

“Wait… What?! Fans don’t like the bumpers?!” 

His words. Our proof. That’s all there is to it.

Strong words from user "Chris K".  This interview, though... I'd like to see it.