I find it hugely ironic that Sega decided to take its mascot back to his roots the very year they started to make 3D Sonic games that were uncharacteristically competent. Sonic Colors and last year's Sonic Generations will be remembered as the games that proved that good 3D Sonic games can, in fact, be made. However, Sega is still on the nostalgia warpath. Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II fixes a few of the things that kept Episode I from being a must-play, but it's still hard to outright recommend.

The more I play the Sonic 4 games, the more I realize how much more I would enjoy them if Sega took the Mega Man route in terms of game engine and visuals. If they're trying to recreate the hedgehog's former glory, why not bring us there in a very literal sense? Instead, we get a modernized 2D Sonic game that unfortunately gimps the legendary sense of speed that the early games were known for. I miss the days when the screen would visibly struggle to keep up with Sonic. The sense of pace is just busted; every tag team ability begins with an unnecessary flourish that wastes a few seconds of time. On the better side of things, level design is aesthetically superior to that of Sonic 4: Ep. I. This wasn't a hard feat to accomplish; after all, the developers literally ripped themselves off for the last outing. This spark of creativity can't save the level design, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The sound design is more or less identical to that in Sonic 4: Ep. I. It's got the same comparatively charmless pseudo-16-bit soundtrack and the same sound effects. Nothing special here.

Left to right. Run fast. Get rings. Get Chaos Emeralds. Games don't get much more retro than Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II. However, it's almost the same leap forward that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was in comparison to the original game. By that, I mean the gameplay is ever so slightly tightened up and you've got a sidekick at your disposal. Yes, the polarizing Miles "Tails" Prower returns, and while I'll save his functions for later in the review, I will just say that his presence in Sonic 4: Ep. II is unfortunately of more consequence to the gameplay than it was in his debut.

As mentioned earlier, level design is better, but only from a visual standpoint. Sega and Sonic Team don't draw from their past quite so heavily and this results in a game that is more fun to look at than Sonic 4: Ep. I. However, that's the best that can be said about the level design. Good Sonic games reward players who explore and make ridiculous leaps of faith at breakneck speeds with shortcuts and secret areas. There are no such concessions in this game. You go only where the game wants you to go, even if that means you'll have to slow down every once in a while. That's not fun, and it's borderline blasphemy for a Sonic game.

The Special Stages are back, and they are much better this time around. Where Sonic 4: Ep I.'s Special Stages were loosely based on those from the original Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic 4: Ep. II's are based on those from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. You're dropped into a three-dimensional chute and must collect a certain number of rings before each checkpoint. While Tails is generally no help (unless you bring a friend along), these stages are challenging, fast, and fun.

I didn't find Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II to be as difficult as its predecessor. Of course, that game's final boss had me hurling the controller across my room. By comparison, the boss fights here are pushovers. And just like in Ep. 1, you'll be practically drowning in extra lives.

That being said, be very, very careful during the first Sky Fortress act if you're playing solo. If you jump at the wrong time and in the wrong place, Tails's plane won't be able to retrieve you.

The only difficulty you'll be wrestling with has to do with putting up with the game's general blandness and lack of excitement. If I wasn't reviewing Sonic 4: Ep II, I'm not sure how far I would have made it before calling it quits.

The sense of inertia that went missing in Sonic 4: Ep. I is more or less present in Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II. However, that doesn't mean much when you're not allowed to move as quickly as you know Sonic is capable of moving. It doesn't matter what pickups you find or what environmental boosters you run into; there is a speed limit here. And this is still a huge problem. Lots of levels require you to stop and scale series of blocks before slowly getting back to the somewhat not-slowish top speed. Leave the precision jumps to Mario -- they don't belong in a Sonic game.

Tails is more than an NPC who runs around and gets killed this time around. He and Sonic can team up for Tag Action maneuvers: context sensitive moves that can perform one of several functions. If you trigger one while in the air, Tails grabs hold of Sonic and starts flying. You only have a few vertical boosts, so you must be wise with them. Another Tag Action allows Tails and Sonic to turn into a quasi-indestructible wrecking ball. These abilities are neat, but they further cripple the already gimped sense of speed.

Unless you're a hardcore Sonic fan, you're not going to find much to love about Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode II. It has a few neat ideas and a few creative worlds, but the gameplay is a mere shell of what it once was.