Alright, hey guys. So, it looks like I am back with more reviews for Sonic 2 hacks. This time, we may start entering some Sonic 2 hacks that doesn't have that much modifications or changes from the original game, however, it's still something of decent quality to review, basically like this sonic 2 hack that I'm about to review now. Anyways, let's get started right onto the review! 

Intro:

So, to basically explain this Sonic 2 hack, as you can probably guess, it allows you to play as metal Sonic in all of the original Sonic 2 zones. Sadly, there isn't really anything that interesting here, but, a decent hack doesn't always need to have something very interesting. If you are one of those people who likes metal Sonic, then I'm pretty sure you'll like this game since it allows you to play as metal Sonic. If you also like playing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and other classic Sonic games, then you'll probably like this Sonic hack. There isn't really anything that is really unique about this Sonic 2 hack since I have seen a bunch of other Sonic hacks with similar abilities, features... etc. Anyways, lets dive in more to the review.

Gameplay: 9

Well, pretty decent gameplay. There is actually 2 gameplay modes for this Sonic 2 hack that you can choose in the options menu under "controls". There isn't really a lot of differences or special things about those 2 modes but I think they are still pretty cool. Especially since you are enabled to choose between both modes. So, I'll go ahead and compare them.

Normal/Original mode:

Ok, so this is really self-explanatory. Basically in this gameplay mode, it is exactly the same like the original Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The physics are not modified, has the same jump-height and speed like original, and the original spin-dash (by holding down while on the ground tapping the jump key). There is no other special abilities and no unoriginal thing in this mode. So, basically, if you want to play as Metal Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 without any other changes in the gameplay at all, then you can simply select this mode. It's kind of boring and uninteresting but it is cool to always have that "original" or "classic" choice in the options menu of games, I guess. Nothing much left to talk about for this mode of gameplay.

HyperDrive mode:

Some of you may or may not recognize this mode, depends on whether you played Metal sonic hyperdrive or seen my previous reviews. But I know most of you probably wouldn't recognize it. Anyways, this mode is mostly similar to another Sonic hack called "Metal Sonic hyperdrive". In this mode, you got one fairly cool special move and an original move that seems similar to another original game. So, that "fairly cool special move" is the air dash. To do it, simply press the jump button while you are on the mid-air. It's kind of similar to the homing attack, except it is not really "homing". As in, you don't automatically go towards a badnik or monitor with this move, however, if you do manually hit a badnik or monitor with this move, you will slightly pause in the air and kind of do a small jump which basically gives you time to do the air-dash move once more. You can repetitively keep doing it while in the air if you keep hitting a badnik or monitor. This is also a very cool move since it allows you do easily give yourself a speed boost at anytime, immediately. Now, as for the "original move that seems similar to another original game", as you can guess, that move is the spin dash, however, it is not Sonic 2's spin dash style, it is more of Sonic CD's spin-dash style. Other than that, the physics looks about the same as the original Sonic 2 and about everything else seems to be pretty original to me. But I guess those special moves are cool. That is about it for the gameplay section of my review!

Graphics: 8

Well, there isn't really that much to talk about there. But anyways, the graphics are mostly original. About almost everything was unchanged but that wasn't the purpose of this Sonic 2 hack anyways. Of course, the only difference there is that the Sonic sprites were replaced with some metal Sonic sprites. I'm not 100% sure whether this was made or if it was taken from other Sonic games. Regardless, the sprites are well done indeed. They look almost exactly like how metal Sonic is supposed to actually look like and they are pretty much accurate (not fuzzy) and good colors... etc. As for everything else that is original, the original of course looks great. It is very colorful and stunning, very vivid, eye catching, somewhat contrasting, and decent quality. To basically explain it, it is indeed something that retro gamers would definitely want to see while they are playing this favorite game. I wouldn't say that this is the best graphics in the world, but it is still pretty impressive for such an old system, the sega genesis. The graphics are not fuzzy, color-less, plain, ugly... etc It may even be better than some of the modern graphics we see today (or at least just a bit newer than the sega genesis). (Well, possibly). Yea, thats pretty much it for the graphics portion of my review. 

Sound: 9

Ehh... As you can probably guess, yep, that is pretty much left unchanged from the original since the purpose of this Sonic 2 hack wasn't to have any sound modifications. Well, I guess the original sound is pretty good. If you want me to describe it, it is something that retro gamers would want to hear while playing their favorite old game. The background music in all of the zones are very fitting, very catchy (as in you would love to listen to it), high quality (not scratchy, distorted... etc), and soothes your ears (Doesn't hurt your ears). The same pretty much applies to all of the sound effects. For example, you would actually like to hear that ring sounds every-time you collect rings and you would want to also hear that jump sound every-time you would jump up in the air. The background musics is probably one of the best classic musics that ever landed into my ears. (I said "one of the best"). If you want me to just point out one little flaw about it, the only possible flaw is that the background music just sometimes start getting repetitive after you hear it for quite a while, but, it's not THAT repetitive and usually, you don't really stay that long in one zone anyways. I would say that the sound is perfect but I'll have to say that it is indeed pretty good. Thats about it for the sound. 

Addictiveness: 8

I guess I'll say that this game is pretty addictive. Or at least, fairly addicting. If you want me to explain it, one of the main reason this game is addicting is because of.... pretty much a somewhat silly but cool habit. The air dash move is just something you would want to keep on doing at times while you are running. It's pretty fun to keep jumping and doing it but it does get boring after a while. However, if you love playing Sonic the hedgehog 2 and if you like metal Sonic, then you probably will find this game pretty addicting. If you like to play and play Sonic 2's zones again with metal Sonic, then you'll simply love playing this game again and again. Though, after a while, it may somewhat get a bit boring since there isn't really anything new to experience afterwards depending on if you finish all the zones and how much times you played it already. To be honest, I'm not sure what else is left to talk about here. Thats pretty much it for the addictiveness portion in my review.

Story: 6

Well, as you can guess, here comes the simple, overused, and boring part about Sonic games and hacks, once again. Very simple and overused plot, nothing exciting or interesting. There is just nothing that will make you very interested to even think about the story. If you want me to say the story, then this is pretty much what it is: "Dr. Eggman has evil plans! Will Sonic the Hedgehog Metal Sonic be able to stop him? Help Sonic the Hedgehog Metal Sonic to stop Dr. Eggman and foil his evil plans!" Though, one thing I do give some credit for is that.... Why would metal Sonic be the one to stop Dr. Eggman? Another very interesting thing is that.... Tails is also with him. Why would Tails actually be with Metal Sonic and help him throughout his journey? Those are some interesting points that can be put into mind, however, this Sonic 2 hack didn't have the story modified since it is the same story but with Metal Sonic sprites instead of Sonic sprites. And it all goes just normal as if it is a normal thing for Metal Sonic to stop Dr. Eggman every-time. (Which obviously makes no sense at all). Though, if there was some type of story behind as to why Metal Sonic is attempting to defeat Dr. Eggman and why he teamed up with Tails, then the story would indeed be VERY interesting, however, the purpose of this hack wasn't for a story change, it's to just simply allow you to play as Metal Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and the story isn't very significant in Sonic games after all since most sonic games just dive right into gameplay anyways. That is about it for the story. (Wow! I actually learned how to say more stuff in the story portion of my review this time!)

Depth: 9

Well, I guess the game does offer.... Some good things. It offers all of the good old Sonic 2 zones, allows you to play as Metal Sonic, and there are 2 gameplay modes that you can choose from in the options menu! (The HyperDrive mode with the air-dash technique and the Normal/Original mode!) Really, those are the basic necessities that are required to make this game very good. Also, it has the 2 player vs. mode like the original Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (except it's Metal Sonic vs. Tails instead of Sonic vs. Tails), and it has the options menu with the sound test options and you can enable to disable having tails as your partner in your adventure. Those aren't really that much but I guess it is kind of cool to have those kind of options. The game would feel a little bit "incomplete" in a minor way if it didn't have these extra little options, I guess. Though, whats more important is to pretty much have good and complete zones (Sonic 2's original zone in this case) and some cool special abilities for some spice in the gameplay (HyperDrive mode in this case). So, I wouldn't say that it literally has loads of depth but I would say it is good enough to be considered..... "Good" if you know what I'm talking about. That is about it for the depth. 

Difficulty: 8

Well, I wouldn't really say that it is the hardest game in the world nor would I say that it is the easiest game in the world. Also, I wouldn't say that it is "always" easy or "always" hard. Like most other Sonic games I have seen, it is mostly random depending on the zone you play. Like, when you start the game, emerald zone and chemical plant zone is very easy. Then suddenly, aquatic ruin zone is somewhat annoying at times. Then suddenly, casino night zone is easy. Then suddenly, metropolis zone is like.... insanely hard. It's random. Some zones has it's traps everywhere *cough* metropolis zone *cough* and some zones is almost a joke *cough* emerald zone. There isn't really much left to talk about. 

OVERALL: 8.7

Well, thats about it for my review. Thanks for reading!