Dacvak said:
I played Sonic 4 on 360/Wii a great deal at PAX, and I can safely say, after playing the iPhone version, that they are the same game. Entirely.
That's because you were playing the old, E3 build. So in that case, you are correct.
My impressions.
Cons (Start with the bad, end with the good.)
The Virtual D-Pad, while a bit better than the Sonic 2 version, still isn't precise enough for solid platforming. I'm still stuck on LL Act 3 due to the wall coming fast and the virtual D-Pad not working well enough for me to get a quick spindash where I need it. Most of the problems I'm having with the game are due to this.
This is obviously the old build with no improvements made. This version was probably ready to go months ago. Sonic barely ever gets into full speed mode while the final build on the console shows him going into full speed much sooner.
The tilt during the special stages feels delayed and is not 1:1
Why are they giving me all the stages at once instead of letting me progress naturally?
Carnival Street Zone Act 2 is completely pointless and stupid. I mean, okay. I can understand them wanting to make one level like a pinball game, but it's so short and small and you can get the points so fast just by keeping Sonic near the upper left of the stage. Why not make an actual pinball table level? The new Act 2 looks MUCH better.
Not that big on CSZ Act 3 and the stupid cannons either.
There are some spots where the double jump that can thrust you forward is necessary to get by some platforms. When it's not an HA, it's a boost jump.
There are some parts where tilt implementation would make sense, but are not included. Like in LL when the Water drains, or tilting the cannons in CSZ Act 3
No Leaderboards ruins re-playability. (Although, I did beat Rubyeclipse's time on Splash Hill Act 1)
Pros
While I'm not big on the boost jump, I like HA just fine. It's not so instant win. You do have to time it a little or you can get killed.
While the other two acts didn't impress me much. Carnival Street Zone act 1 Was great and had much better pinball physics than I was expecting. With the exception of slowing down a lot when you touch the flippers. Other than that, it was like classic Sonic.
The games not a cakewalk. Mad Gear is tough and the special stages can be quite challenging. Not only are you rotating the maze to get to the chaos emerald, but you have a time limit and have to collect enough rings to open gates. It's a challenge, but not one that feels unfair.
Still dig Lost Labyrinth and Mad Gear as much as when I first saw them.
I thought the Mine Cart level was kinda fun. Not the best level in the game by far, but not a disaster either.
There's an option for total touch control. No tilt. Works okay for the special stages. Not so well for the Mine Cart.
OVERALL: I would be enjoying this game a lot more with a standard D-Pad. There's no real feeling of progression in this version (Something they fixed in the console ones) because all the levels except boss fights and special zones are open to you from the start. That said, there's still some fun to be had here and there. Especially in the later stages.
By iTunes grading, I give it 3 out of 5 stars. I'd wait until there's a sale on it for at least $4.99 before picking it up. If you only get one Sonic 4, pass this version up. The console versions will control much better and have some improvements.
