The physics are also more of a return to form, with Sonic properly maintaining his momentum during jumps and spins, as well as gaining momentum on hills without player interference. While on the ground, the pair will roll together to do massive damage, necessary to eliminate some larger enemies. This includes Tails’ signature flight ability, which allows him to grab Sonic in mid-air and carry him a short distance in any direction. He can pair up with Sonic to perform special moves together. Tails brings a few new abilities to the game as well. As Sega described it to me, levels are being designed which takes this mechanic into account for the purpose of cooperative speed-running, whereby two players can work together to collect all secrets in a level while constantly moving forward to the end of the stage for a fast time. The screen will zoom out to some degree when they are apart, then rubber-band the player lagging behind forward to the player in front. Players still won’t have total freedom to explore the game as Tails this time either, but some allowances are being made to make playing with the pair a little easier. Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 (Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade) But an inability to play him solo and the design which limits the viewable area of the level to what’s around Sonic meant I’d never get quite what I wanted, even if I had a second person to hold controller one.
![sonic 4 episode 2 sonic 4 episode 2](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81CZBud33bL._RI_.jpg)
Tails was my favorite part of Sonic 2 (which I wholly admit may affect my judgment here) and I always wished I could have approached stages in that game using only the little freak of nature. But playing Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 at GDC, I didn’t feel as if I’d missed much of anything, particularly as our demo had a focus on Sonic’s sidekick, Miles “Tails” Prower.