Sega has revealed the future of Sonic the Hedgehog, and it looks like the speedy blue tornado is returning to his roots after several mediocre releases. "Sonic the Hedgehog 4" is a direct sequel to "Sonic 3" and "Sonic & Knuckles" and will bring the franchise back into 2D. The game will be released episodically, with the first episode coming to PSN, Xbox Live Arcade and WiiWare this summer. A trailer is available on GameSpot.
To editorialize a bit, this is a brilliant move by Sega. As much as people love the classic gameplay of Sonic, there's no way that sort of gameplay could sustain a full $60 release. By putting it out episodically, Sega can charge $10-$15 for each pack and not feel the need to stick in random character filler. Looks like it'll just be Sonic running really, really fast, and that sounds perfect.
Just imagine the sort of insane time trials that'll come out of online leaderboards for a 2D Sonic game. I have a feeling that the online community is going to take to this title in a big, big way.