Sega has officially confirmed that an all-new Sonic title is on its way to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and PlayStation 2. Just in case you didn't see the leaked screenshots from last week.
Built on a new 'Hedgehog Engine', Sonic Unleashed apparently introduces seamless 3D to classic 2D camera transitions, with multiple paths through a familiar Sonic world. According to Sega, the title has been under development for three years.
"By combining rich and vibrant scenery with dynamic viewpoints Sonic Unleashed will provide an immersive 3D experience whilst keeping alive the 2D gameplay elements and fantastic worlds that Sonic fans know and love" beams Gary Knight from Sega.
"In addition to this classic Sonic gaming experience, when darkness sets in Sonic Unleashed players will be able to experience a completely new way to play as Sonic."
By this, Sega appears to be referencing the night and day mechanics that are completely new to the franchise. We have no idea what this means, but presume the powers granted by the Chaos Emeralds will change as the sun goes down.
It all sounds good, aside from the mention of combat fighting being possible alongside high speed classic Sonic. None of that please, Sega. Just jump and spin attack, cheers.
sonic really does belong in the mega driver era, if they brought out the originals form the mega driver and master system (only had sonic 2 on there) on PSN then i buy it. my last sonic game was the mega collection, but i only played like half of them, mainly sonic 1 and 2. i was getting sonic heroes but i thought i give it a miss, sonic rivals i missed once i heared it was actually a racing game than a proper platformer, but i might now, not sure. this new one i might consider, but depends.
If they match the gameplay from the original Mega Drive games then this will be brilliant. Not though, and it'll only be another slice of pseudo-3D disappointment.
Being stuck in hospital, I spent most of last week playing either Sonic Jump on my mobile or Sonic Rush on the DS. It was the first time I'd played either and they both rule in their own way.
Sonic Rush amazed me. It's more fun than Sonic 2 and has more fresh ideas than the entire 16-bit Sonic era put together.
It's been stated a lot how the original Sonic Team founders are no longer working on the Sonic titles but if the DS game is anything to go by, Sega still know how to make a fantastic 2-D game.
If Sonic Unleashed is fast, fun and still has the precision jumping that you need in 2-D to pull off tricks / multiple kills then you're on a winner. I really liked Wii's Secret Rings game but it was still a bit fidgety and the controls were not as intuitive as they could have been.
Sega - the entire world is singing from the same hymn sheet: we want an amazing Sonic game, don't screw it up.
If they pull this off it could be interesting. My main concern though, having seen the leaked video footage, is that it still does that horrible SA style pan away whenever Sonic runs round loops and up walls. I'd rather Sega left the camera largely alone, they have a tendancy to do silly things with it.
Also, combat moves? Wonder if they're thinking of using Sonic's kicks and punches which make up his A moves in Brawl.
I'm really looking forward to this. The fact that it has been in development in 3 years makes me even more excited. The trailer makes me really nostalgic and I really, really hope SEGA pull this one off..
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