Ok, it's time for me to step in and to kick up my review. Just to warn some in advance I don't give a Flying Fudge of what you think of my opinions. This is my honest opinion which contains greats & cons. So here we go:
The Looks: the graphics are incredible. Running through Splash Hill Zone and looking at the waterfalls take me back to the old school times. The level design is very good, though there are a few annoying deaths pits here & there and there is lots to do in the level instead of following 1 path all the time.
Soundtrack: I love it personally. Splash Hill Act 1 takes me back to my childhood and Mad Gear Act 3 is kick ass which makes you think the tough challenge is here, let’s do it. Though I didn’t like Special Stages, that was the only bit of ear rape music, otherwise the rest of it was good.
Physics: Apart from the special stages, I seriously don't have many problems with the physics, though the spin dash could be a bit more powerful just to get up the slope and also it is a bit annoying that you can spin dash off a cliff and not continue like in the classics, but otherwise ok, though jumping in a special stage tends to bugger up your progess a lot which is why I prefer to "Free Fall" through the stages and actually succeed nearly every time I do the special stage.
Gameplay: It’s fast, challenging, and I can finally do some platforming in a Sonic game for a change. I like some of the gimmicks such as the road of cards and the rolling ball thing in Lost Labyrinth Zone. The Bosses are alright, some are easy, but boy, there were some twists. God damn Lost Labyrinth Boss. The Special Stages were average. It was quite annoying on several occasions due to cheap bumper placement which sent me to every frickin ! sphere I saw & the physics as I said above, but it was pretty challenging for a change.
Overall: I can’t believe the wait is finally over, because I enjoyed almost every minute of it. So this is my Greats & Cons
Greats
+Level Design
+Music
+Graphics
+A lot of replay value
+Just like the old days, it's just Sonic & Robotnik and no other useless characters. Though I hope Tails & Knuckles come in Ep 2
In Between Greats & Cons
*Physics, some of it is good, though some can easily be improved. Special Stages I'm looking at you.
*Boss Difficulty Curve is a bit weird, whilst some is easy, it then switches to tricky.
*Enemy Placement
Cons
-Ridiculous Bumper placement in Special Stages.
-The Cost of the game is a bit too high
-Episode is short. I was hoping for at least 5 3 act, or 6 3 act zones. But It'll do I suppose.
Do I find it worthy of the game being a true sequel?: Can I be honest with you? Yes. I thought most of the game was enjoyable except some flaws which can be sorted out just like any other game. It was a pleasurable experience and I hope Episode 2 will be better than this one when it comes out.
Rating for first episode: 7/10