Sega have officially announced that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode II will be released this year after Episode I's success since its launch in 2010. SEGA aim to make Sonic 4 Episode II faster and better than the Episode I and have addressed some features the fans didn't like.

"After twenty years in action, it’s clear that Sonic hasn't slowed down one bit," said Haruki Satomi, Senior Vice President of Digital Business at SEGA of America. "The first entry in the Sonic 4 saga was a major success. We’ve listened to the fans and been hard at work making sure we recapture that same spirit of fun in Episode II. We hope the fans will enjoy it."

Of course not everyone was happy with Sonic 4 Episode I, so in order to address this SEGA listened closely to feedback and have created new character animations, reworked the physics engine. As you can see from the trailer below they're also bringing back Sonic's oldest friend Miles Prower, otherwise known as Tails. What Tails' role in the game is, is currently unknown, we wonder if it'll be a Sonic 2 style helping you out or if he'll actually be a playable character. We're sure SEGA will let all known soon and we can't wait to check out how the story continues within Sonic 4 Episode II.

Sonic 4 Episode II is set for release on Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, iOS, Android and Windows Phone 7. No date or prices have been announced as of yet but it will be released at some point this year.