Last chance for Sonic?

Fans of Sega's most popular franchise will be pleased to hear that their favourite marsupial is going back to his roots for one more "spin".

After a few botched attempts at 3D versions, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 falls back to a more tried-and-true recipe:

Sega has announced two new Sonic games this year. The downloadable Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is a return to old-school 2-D mechanics, and the Wii game Sonic Colors continues the 3-D style. Since fans have largely given up on the 3-D games being worthwhile, they’ve pinned their hopes on Sonic 4. As the first new 2-D Sonic for home game machines since 1994, it’s what fans have been asking for. If Sega can’t get it right this time, we might as well abandon all hope.

But some are worried that it may be too little too late for our blue furry friend. The game has already been delayed "to provide additional polish" after a leaked video of the whole goddamn game was met with a round of yawns.

Let's hope that polish includes buffing out some of the problems that have plagued the series ever since the move to 3D, like poor camera control and numerous glitches. But chances are the once-mighty Sega has lost sight of what made Sonic great in the first place, and replaced compelling level design with boring cinematics and excessive speed.

R.I.P., Genesis!

Via Wired.