Gone live a few minutes ago, Sonic 4: Episode II is now available for purchase off the Xbox Live Marketplace. The game is priced at 1200 points and should be available worldwide.
Those who are away from their consoles at the moment can reserve a downloadable copy of the Sonic 4 saga’s second entry right off the game’s Xbox Live Marketplace product page and start the download immediately when they get home.
no demo?
Should be up in a bit.
*small children in the crowd shout “yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!”*
It’s still not on EU PSN, I’ve been at school all day waiting for it. It’s just past 7:00pm here.
I know!!! I’ve waited sooooo long for it, i even kept myself from finishing the beta 8, its now 9:30, and STILL no EU PSN Sonic 4 Ep 2!!!!!!!! COME ON SONY!!!! WAKE UP AND FEEN YOUR EAGER FANS!!!!!!!!
Yep, still waiting for it on EU PSN, getting quite fed up with waiting now! I need to learn to be more Patient! :/
In case anyone needs to know, Episode Metal doesn’t unlock immediately, at least for me it didn’t. I had to exit and go back to single player, so don’t panic like I did. .-.
lol everyone’s ignoring you
RESERVED! Awesome, I can’t wait to get home and try it out.
For those waiting for a Demo…it kinda sucks. It’s White Park (Act 1) and the demo is timed for 2 lousy minutes (according to the PS3 versions demo at least)
It’s pretty much the same as the PS3 demo, silly time limit and all. The game itself is plenty fun, though.
That’s good to hear 🙂
THIS GAME IS FRIGGIN AMAZING!!!!!!! SO MUCH THAT I CAN’T STOP TYPING IN ALL CAPITALS.
Just downloaded. Pretty damn great so far.
Noooooooooooooooo
I hate not having Xbox live.
I want this game so badly for my xbox.
Well i guess i will just have to get the iPod version.
Screw the demo I got full version:D 😆
So Luky
You guys are soooooooooooo lucky you have Xbox live
There is no luck involved…
You just need an internet connection (which you obviously have) and an Xbox 360. Claim your free 1 month membership, buy some points, download the game… boom! You’re sorted.
parents won’t let me 🙁
Dont have episode 1 and i provably never gone get it and the same for episode 2. The reson for this is I dont have internet on any of my consoles 🙁
well to bring internet to your console you need a cable to connect it to the line like you do with a phone and computer/laptop, unless you’re using wifi…
Though, you can get a cable. They don’t cost much. For me the problem was that my 360 and TV were too far away but luckily my stepdad can actually make those cables and gave me one long enough to reach. lol =)
Yes! Yes, Oh joyous day.
Well I getting both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 (I got both of them) 😆
Downloading… 😀
any clue as to how we download ep metal? (i do have both ep 1 & 2 on the same console)
This is what I want to know as well…
Episode Metal is in the Episode II World Map.
ya i just left the game and when i went back into single player it unlockec
You have to beat ep II first. It unlocks after the credits
not necessarily, I exited after White park, came back later on and it unlocked automatically.
It’s just appeared on the EU PS Store too. Downloading the full game as we speak… 😀
I find it funny that you can spend time on a web site reserving a product that isn’t exactly going to run out, in order to save the same amount of time it takes to navigate the Xbox menu 😀
It would be a little more worth it if it automatically started downloading.
The two minute demo got me hooked, I immediately shelled out the 15 bucks to get the whole game … And it wasn’t even my XBOX. It was my friend’s. I guess he got a free game out of it. Still I think it is quite good, so far I enjoy it more than part one, but I haven’t gotten very far yet.
ouch =/ I would be kicking myself if I’d had done that…
Tad expensive but I’ll pick it up in the near future.
If you love SEGA, buy it anyway. They need our money now more than ever.
Not more than homeless kids. lol
Not to mention that episode 3 depends on how well this sells.
if on xbox put both saves into hard drive and play the game that is how episode metal can be unlocked. it worked for me
iPod version HAS BEEN RELEASED! UPDATE WEBSITE
According to the Steam website the game has been available to download since yesterday. Not sure I’ll buy it, I didn’t like the twitch gameplay of the first episode, and the second looks to carry on that style of gameplay.
It was available since yesterday but not on all consoles. It came out, as the title suggests, on Xbox Live Arcade today.
What do you mean twitch gameplay? You mean Classic gameplay? Or do you mean the physics? Because the physics are different and supposedly improved.
Twitch gameplay is a playing style that requires you to make decisions or perform precise actions within a split-second. Here’s what Wikipedia had to say:
“Twitch gameplay is a type of video gameplay scenario that tests a player’s reaction time. Action games such as first-person shooters often contain elements of twitch gameplay. For example, Quake III Arena requires quick reaction times for the players to shoot enemies. Other video game genres may also involve twitch gameplay. Twitch refers to the motion the player makes, a sudden movement or reaction to an event on the screen. Originally, most computer, arcade, and early console games were “twitch games.” They mostly involved “see and react” situations. For instance, Kaboom! had players rapidly catching bombs that a mad bomber threw from a rooftop. Most classic arcade games such as Space Invaders and Pac-Man were also twitch-based.”
I take back what I said earlier, I liked episode 1 better.
How come?
This one feels a little irritating, I find the homing attack less reliable which becomes fatal at times. Also spinning into badniks does not seem to work all the time for some reason. There is also a lot of reliance on Tails’ flight ability which makes Sonic seem less cool. That’s all.
You’re on crack.
Ep. 2 >> Ep. 1
Updated physics, better level design, actual 3D art, beautiful looking levels, Metal Sonic, same basic gameplay and basic storyline, what more can you ask for?
The cinematics, graphics and design are quite excellent. I just find the gameplay to be irritating at times.
I just bought the game. So. Fucking. Awesome.
I just finished Ep II, gotta say, a massive improvement, it was great to fight Metal more than once. the physics were finally fix, and team attack was really useful, Good job Sega…….. Now…Make a Ep III and make Knux and Tails playable, have a solo mode, give us more than 5-7 levels, For some odd fandom reason, give us Shadow for a Rival fight,Give us a super final battle, and give us access to hyper sonic so we can wreck ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING!
$24.90 NZ is pretty steep for a DLC game the same size as Epiosde 1. Especially considering the iPhone version is $9.99 NZ. Am i paying $15 extra for HD? Being able to play on a bigger screen? Not using touch controls? Because besides the few extra touches in the effects department the game is the same on both platforms >.<
Nope. It’s a little bigger, and the stages are longer I think or at least bigger in some form, plus it has co-op.
And you’re paying about 6 dollars extra, but it cost more because of the card or whatever… but hopefully you’ll save those up and be able to get another DLC game with the left overs. lol
But if you have the choice and are okay with playing it on iPhone, I’d suggest getting it on iPhone.
Just finished. Absolutely amazing: major improvements on an already enoyable first episode. The good got better, the bad fizzled out. Definately worth the money, and I’ve yet to even see half of what this download has to offer!
Only got to play 1 stage before leaving today, now it’s too late ._.
I enjoyed what I got to play thou, music needed to be changed up thou
All I can say is that Sylvania Castle Act 3 is the new Guile Theme!
Got 200/200 Gamerscore on this on launch day. Woohoo!
Solid game. The Combo Move mechanic is both a gift and a curse. It offers some nice variety and the moves handle well, but they often break up the action. The fact that it interferes with Super Sonic also diminishes the usefulness of Super Sonic. If they’d have made Combo Moves instantaneous rather than having time stop for a second whenever you trigger them, and made Sonic stay in his Super form when performing a Combo Move, it would’ve helped quite a bit.
What makes this miles above Sonic 4: Episode I is the physics. You can see just how much better Episode II plays by playing through Episode Metal, if you purchases both episodes. I actually enjoy playing through those four Episode I levels now. Amazing.
Then you would lose rings while using it, it saves Super Sonic and lets you re-transform. What exactly would it help you do to stay Super might I ask? Maybe you’re thinking of something that hasn’t crossed my mind.
Two problems:
1. Transforming into Super Sonic causes Sonic to pause for about a second. Constantly changing back to normal Sonic means that you have to constantly change back to Super Sonic, which means constantly coming to a dead stop to power up. This REALLY breaks up the pacing of the game, and I found myself constantly choosing to stay as normal Sonic because it’s just not worth all of the time required to go Super over and over.
2. There is no longer any risk to changing to Super Sonic. It used to be a double edged sword. Yeah, you’re invulnerable to most damage and you’re physically augmented, but you run the risk of running out of Rings, and then you’re completely vulnerable. Now you can transform and stay Super until you’ve got three Rings left, then use a Combo Move just to stop the Ring-draining. Now the only repercussion of transforming into Super Sonic is running the risk of hitting a dead end and having to use a Combo Move, then having to transform again. Which is so annoying…
It doesn’t take that long. It’s like a split second. It’s a little longer than in the Classics but it’s not that long. I’m kinda odd that way. For me, if it’s for something like that, then the pause doesn’t really ruin the pacing to me, it just builds up for the next thing coming up. I kinda see it as freezing time for dramatic effect. Like it’s “charging” to blast off. lol
So? Most of the time I wasn’t worried about losing rings because I’d be vulnerable, but because I’d lose Super Sonic. If I turned back to normal by only 3 rings I would basically just be making the experience come to an end sooner. Sure I’d be less vulnerable but idc about that. And since we can turn it off before getting to zero, it sounds like an improvement to me so now we’re capable of saving ourselves from that little tidbit. lol
It doesn’t take that long, but it compounds over time. It’s very annoying having to transform five or six times in a level. That’s five or six seconds wasted. And unlike in the classic games, Super Sonic takes a bit of time to reach his maximum speed. So instead of transforming in about half the time and being able to immediately race through the level, you have to sit there for a second, then take about three seconds to reach full speed.
The fact that Combo Moves freeze time (for dramatic effect) just makes it that much worse. So not only do you have to waste several seconds of time in each stage transforming, but whenever you use a Combo Move that wastes another second. We’re talking about as much as 20 seconds of dead air in some of the later levels.
As for your response to my second point, it’s quite pointless, isn’t it? If all you can bring to the table is “so?” or “I don’t care” then really, what’s your business even responding?
Finished and scored all the trophies on the PS3 version. It is SO much better than Episode 1. I think the highlight for me was the Sky Fortress levels, and the Metal Sonic boss fights (tho the race was very anti-climatic).
I only had two gripes really, the first and most annoying thing in the game was the music, by far and above. The title screen music was HORRIBLE, what on earth made them pick those instruments. I prefer Episode 1’s version, and that is saying a lot right there. Is it just me or are some of the act music tracks really short and loop rather quickly?
Super Sonic’s music still doesn’t sound right, even in Episode 1 i didn’t like the tune at all, but that’s more of a personal thing. Even tho it was rather repetitive i actually liked Metal Sonic’s boss theme, i found myself whistling along to it while i was fighting him. Unlike Eggman’s boss theme.. UGH.. it repeats every 5 seconds, isn’t catchy at all and is just annoying as all hell, tho i guess it makes you wanna kill his mechs faster >..<
I can't blame it on being designed with kids in mind because technically the older games were too. So i don't know if it is catering to the casual audience (like a lot of other games out there that are getting less and less challenging and hold your hand for you) or just lacks proper level design. I think the reason i enjoyed the Sky Fortress levels was because there were actually things to navigate and a decent amount of enemies.
Anyway that's my two cents before i go to bed. Hope everyone is enjoying the new game 😀
The second and only other thing i didn’t like, and it is something they carried over from Episode 1. And that is that the game feels so easy, and so empty. There are hardly any robots in the levels, and you can just breeze through even on your first play through. I thought revisiting Sonic CD may have helped them see how empty Episode 1 was and how easy it was. The older Mega Drive games had robots and spikes and places to get crushed or fall down all over, but these two episodes you can go a whole level without seeing a set of spikes or pitfall and sometimes even enemies depending what route you take. The final zone in Episode 2 for example, for Eggmans last stand its devoid of any traps really, just run around and get dizzy from the platforms. Not a single baddie or spike trap around. Which is what brought down the Metal Sonic race, run forward, next to nothing to watch out for, smash a door or two if your slow. Not as fun as the Sonic CD race or even the Generations one and that was scripted >.<
(Sorry for double post, for some reason it missed this paragraph out when i posted the previous one)
I don’t have Xbox Live or PSN 🙁 but I really Hope you all enjoy Sonic 4 Ep 2! 🙂 *waits patiently for someone to upload gameplay to youtube*
They’re doing fine. Their just tired of being a software only company. After 11 years, SEGA is ready to change its business structure.
Read all about Sega Orbi Enterprises here:
http://tdr.uspto.gov/jsp/DocumentViewPage.jsp?85517210/OOA20120327142047/Offc%20Action%20Outgoing/2/27-Mar-2012/sn/false#p=1
It’s an actual doc from the US GOV Trademark office.
What’s the point of reserving a copy if it’s downloadable?
I liked this a lot better than Episode 1, although I don’t know how I feel about mandatory Tails.
If the physics were your only complaint about Episode 1, then you should try this, if not, then Episode 2 won’t change your mind about Sonic 4.
I do wish Episode 2 was more difficult though, because I see the zones as being levels 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Sonic 4 rather than 1, 2, 3 and 4 of their own game. I really wish there was lock on to play both Episode 1 and 2 as one whole game.
Here’s hoping for Episode 3.
Well I got it as soon as I got home from work the other day and I have played it non stop, much better than episode 1 and I did enjoy episode 1 so that is saying something.
The physics have improved so much, I was able to roll into a ball and actually gaining speed going down a hill a one point. Also Sonic can no longer walk up walls.
I personally liked the music in the game. Granted Eggman’s boss theme is really repetative and gets old really fast. I really like Metal Sonic’s Theme and also some of the stage music for example White Park Zone act 1.
What I love most about the game is the overall story, I enjoyed seeing how Metal Sonic was brought back in to the act and how determind Eggman really is to create another Death Egg, Personally I would have liked to have seen a bit more focus on Little Planet seeing how it has returned, but still we get what Eggman is trying to do.
All in all I think this and an amazing game and well worth your money. Buy it if you get the chance so we can all help Sonic Team and Sega get the money to make Episode 3 🙂
Awesome game overall.
Haven’t gotten super sonic yet.
Positives…
Improved physics
Tails combo moves with sonic are fun
Cooler enemies
Amazing boss battles
Cool story
Negatives
Some of the music is repetitive and a bit to generic
The Sonic tails combo move where they spin is overpowered in my opinion
Just my opinions
I love the game overall.
Oh yeah, does anyone else think its awesome in the game in sylvania castle zone
when the pillars come up and u think its gonna be a rehash of the Aquatic Ruins boss and then the flower boss comes up and shreds it.
Would have done if Sega hadn’t released the artwork before hand =/
Though if I had played it without knowing, it would have been a very nice touch, kind of tongue in cheek…
I’ve figured out what’s happened now. In their efforts to try and make the physics more like the Genesis games they have made Sonic slower. It’s to the point where even Sonic has better acceleration in Episode I. I think they took that whole “speed as a reward” thing too literally. When you curl into a ball and go down a hill you don’t gain speed like you should. Instead, you stay the same speed and in some instances still slow down just like in Episode I. Also, you barely get ANY acceleration from the spin dash. The spin dash is almost useless in Sonic 4. If they could combine the speed and acceleration from episode I and the physics from episode II and fine tune it by studying the Genesis games they could easily have the gameplay perfected for episode III if they decide to make it. All this complaining about the physics and speed makes it sound like I hate the game but in actuality I do not. I actually really like the game and enjoyed playing through it. The story was great, the levels were surprisingly a good mix of old and new, and the music was very good overall besides a couple of duds. I think it is definitely an improvement over Episode I but it’s those small little things that really affect the gameplay and if they make an Episode III I really hope they get it right. I think it was just a case of not really understanding the Genesis physics and therefore, not making them correctly. Maybe someone fro the community should work on episode III similar to how Christian Whitehead did on the Sonic CD port. It needs to be someone who thoroughly understand the physics from the Genesis games. That or beg Yuji Naka to come back and program the physics himself. One can only dream!
Well, they could get Christian Whitehead back for Episode III because he PERFECTED Sonic CD… I would much like that for Episode III… in fact, I wanna take now to get ideas for Episode III because I’m sure it’ll come out with Little Planet still under a dim fate. I think they should get Christian Whitehead or Yuji Naka back for physics, make a Blue Spheres Special Stage but not totally make it rehash, perhaps give us better movement and abilities for characters in them, maybe some more colored spheres…. OH! And the biggest part… they HAVE to have Knuckles be playable like how he was from the Genesis games… what they did to him recently is EMBARRASSING! He’s been demoted from Sonic’s coolest rival (at least before Shadow came along) to completely useless and annoying, he needs this… perhaps if Episode III is the end and they’re still going with the co-op appeal, maybe we can get Amy because Little Planet is in trouble, and Knuckles because the Master Emerald is at risk, then we can have 4-Player action… eh, we can dream, but it would make for GREAT online play. I also would like some cool multi-player battle modes or something, but this is my opinion on what I want for Episode III and god damn it, will Dimps just fix the level design already?! The level design in Episode II was exactly like Episode I but with cheaper enemy placement.
Beat game.
GO GET ALL THE EMERALDS.
Get all emeralds.
ENDING IS EXACTLY THE SAME.
seeegaaaaaaaaa
Ahahaahahaha xD this made my morning…
So true tho… =\
GO GET THE RED RINGS
Get all red rings.
NOTHING HAPPENS….
SON OF A BITCH
Anyone feel like because it’s a Download title, they really couldn’t give a shit about the quality of the game? Sure, Ken has argued that the originals were box titles and these are download-only titles but, even still, why should that be an excuse for this title that Sonic Team are failing to comprehend that the past teams could produce?
“Sonic 3 – It was developed in the United States by members of Sonic Team working at Sega Technical Institute” PERSONALLY, when they created the titles for the Mega Drive which was solely targeted to the WESTERN audience, the games did far more better than living in a shell in the EASTERN area that don’t sell as well which was proven with Sonic Generations CE being Europe/Australia only. That’s when CREATIVITY wasn’t “let’s hear what the fans are asking for and take it to a LITERAL level and not include our own thoughts” however, that goes against Jun Senoue who argued that he wanted the soundfonts for Sonic4 to be only 8 fonts and he’s basically doing non-stop kicks in every damn BGM, not to mention some god awful BGM’s in there (Oil Desert Act 2 – What the hell was that, Jun?) I don’t know….Maybe Naka needs to come back because the production and management over there are not going in the right direction other than “Mario does this; let’s do that but with Sonic” TO A LITERAL SENSE that just creates something that’s always only 50% right as opposed to the experience in the older titles’, even up to SA1/2!
I also get the feeling it was rushed title in a few months, much like how Sega pressured DIMPS to rush Sonic Gens 3DS with the limited time allocated and when it’s rushed, it gets ruined!!! This is EXACTLY what they STOPPED EP1 from becoming despite its many flaws, at least it felt like there was SOME creativity involved in 1 than 2.
The gameplay was almost like, it was still in beta due to the empty feeling the game had… :/
I agree with what you said about the quality of the SONIC 4 episodes. To me it does feel like they’re only making them “good enough” and not going any further with the quality other than let’s make it playable. I STRONGLY disgaree about the music though. Jun’s choice on the music was purely inspirational and he was doing what any good artist does – going on inspiration and they feel will fit the game the best. I do agree that there are a couple of duds, though. which is surprising given that pretty much anything Jun does is great but it happens from time to time. There are many people who won’t buy Ep. 2 because of the quality of episode I. When people saw the name Sonic 4, they were expecting it to be just that. The name Sonic The Hedgehog with a number is supposed to mean side-scrolling action with physics that are realistic and spot on to take advantage of Sonic’s biology. It also means great platforming level design and innovative graphics and music. The problem is that Sonic 4 has not managed to combine ALL of these aspects in one episode for either of the two episodes. I think that if the game had been named something other than Sonic 4 then the flaws wouldn’t be taken as heavily by the fans but because it is called Sonic The Hedgehog 4 and has the many flaws, of which the biggest is undoubtedly the flawed physics, fans are less forgiving of the mistakes being made and thus are already giving up on what could have been THE biggest comeback of a video game character EVER.
I mean referring to quality; Crapcom who managed to cancel Megaman titles over and over again, still managed to produce the same challenging and simplicity that the original games were! I know Capcom are great at rehashing a gameplay with a storylline hardly different from the predecessor i.e. MMBN and MMSF, MMZ and MMZX; same basic concept just with cruddy storylines.
Sonic Team, although they DON’T cancel their project’s, they don’t allow the actual project to follow in the right path it should be because they want to try something “new” which has always been a SEGA tradition to go with a new flare…..which we see and don’t see in Sonic 4.
The music can be OK but compared to EP1, I found EP1 to be more bearable as opposed to EP2. I personally was expecting it to have different music fonts and beats but, that just adds to the fact it seems it was a rushed title. The first stage music….my goodness, extremely pathetic piece of 10second looped music making it unbearable to listen to and only enjoyable to play muted. 😐
Now, with EP2 out of the way, I’m more highly concerned what the Winter title is going to be this year and how they’re going to keep focusing on Sonic Rush formula because as quite a few have said, what the heck was wrong with the Sonic Adventure structure for Sonic? Again, falls into the SEGA thing to try an entirely new “concept” whic h we are expecting this year “apparently.”
They may not have put in MASSIVE amounts of different things, but it still feels like old Sonic games (but overall much better really) and it adds to the game in a cool way. New Super Mario Bros, which is the easiest game ever created, did nothing really much different, yet it was loved by all and was really popular. This does more for Sonic than that did for Old mario games, yet people slam it? Oh well, can’t make all folks happy :p