Sonic 4!

I’m a Sonic fan from way back. During the 16-bit revolution, I took sides and picked Sega. The Genesis is still my favorite console system of all time and let’s face it, one of the things that made the Genesis so cool was Sonic.

Sonic games have had a mystique comparable to the Mario games. They are a genre all of their own. But just like the Mario games, not every sonic game is all that good. Even on the Genesis, by the time we hit Sonic 3d, I was largely uninterested.I’ve tried a couple of these games for the Nintendo DS, but they get way to complex for me and somehow, just don’t feel like Sonic.

This new game for Tablets and Smart Phones takes me right back to the glory days of the mid 90′s. This feels very much like Sonic 1 or 2 to me. It’s a familiar side scroller with the comfortable checker board lego-like imagery I remember so well. By those graphics have been definitely kicked up a couple of notches. First glance it looks like any other Sonic game, but the detail and depth in these graphics becomes apparent as you really watch the game go on. Indeed, that was one of my reactions to the classic Genesis game – it was just so fun to watch. We had never seen game graphics like that before. This is perhaps not as revolutionary, but definitely just as pretty.

The gameplay is straight forward, you have a virtual D-Pad one the left corner of the screen and a couple of virtual buttons on the right side to jump, spin and cooperate with Tails. Occasionally you’ll run into an obstacle that needs a specific solution. If it’s the first time you’ve encountered this object, there will be a TV screen near by showing you what to do. It’s a great way of familiarizing your with the controls without having to resort to a tedious tutorial, the way so many games do.

I recommend giving this a try, especially if you are a fan of Sonic. there’s a free version available at the Amazon app store for you smart phone or tablet. And after you get tiered of it, go check out the new Violent Blue!

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