Preview: Sonic Unleashed
Sega's blue-furred speed demon returns to his roots in one of the most promising Sonic games in years, Sonic Unleashed.
While Sonic the Hedgehog's last few adventures certainly fell short of expectations, Sega aims to correct the blunders of newer Sonic titles by focusing on what their iconic mascot knows best: speed.
Faster, Simpler, Better
From the two complete levels we've seen from Sonic Unleashed, Sonic almost never stops or slows down as he blasts through both 2D and 3D platforms at blindingly fast speeds in order to hunt down the Chaos Emeralds and vanquish his arch nemesis Dr. Eggman who has managed to blow the planet up into several chunks.
Eggman didn't make an appearance during our demo, but Sega promises that there will be boss battles in the game which will be revealed at a later time as the game gets closer to releasing.
Sonic Unleashed ditches many of the drawbacks that have plagued recent Sonic games such as aggravating camera angles and uninspired characters for a next-gen outing that's very much in the vein of the mascot's Sega Genesis glory days.
The two levels shown from Sonic Unleashed were a level with a Greek setting and another European level where Sonic is able to race around a giant clock, both of which were noted by Sega as being "daytime" levels of the game-the nighttime levels have yet to be revealed but are confirmed to be in the game. Rumor is that Sonic may be able to transform into a werewolf during nocturnal levels, and while Sega didn't comment on this, they did say that while the player will be controlling Sonic throughout the majority of the game, there will be other characters to play as at certain points.
In addition to rapidly switching back and forth between 2D to 3D planes, the player will also be able to choose from multiple paths as levels in the game split up into different directions-the first level alone has 15 different points where various paths can be taken. Though this isn't done in a Gears of War-like way as you only have a second to make your decision.
Sonic also has some new abilities which allow him to maneuver through levels at high speeds such as the "quick step" which enables you to move around obstacles quickly and the "drift" which permits you to slide around sharp turns like a rally car. The trademark gold rings can be collected in Sonic Unleashed in order to perform a Sonic boost which grants Sonic a short surge of speed, firing him through levels like a blue-haired torpedo.
Sonic Unleashed is headed for all next-gen consoles, including Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii, and will also be coming to the PS2. Check back here at GamePro.com for more updates as we get closer to its Holiday 2008 release.
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