Sonic has had his up and downs during these 15 years. From being on top and rivaling with Mario to releasing mediocre games over and over. Unfortunately for Sonic, he hasn't exactly been on top of his game for over 5 years. But this fall, Sonic Team says they'll be bringing back Sonic to his roots, perhaps finally making the comeback he's been waiting for with the "reinvention" of his game for the PS3 and Xbox 360, simply titled "Sonic the Hedgehog".
The story is definitely a lot different then previous Sonic games. It takes place in a human city on the water called Soleanna, and on the island is Princess Elise, who just so happens to possess a chaos emerald. When there's a chaos emerald around, you can bet there's, well, chaos waiting to happen. Eggman has found the city and kidnaps the princess, so it's up to Sonic to save Princess Peach Elise.
When you start playing as Sonic, the game feels very similar to Sonic Adventure in that you'll be walking around in the city (and several other towns) before starting a level. During that time, you'll be able to talk to several citizens and get access to sub-missions. Once you're in a real level, it's typical Sonic gameplay. Run fast, jump on enemies with homing attacks, bounce on some bumpers, etc. But there are a few twists to the game, such as the "Speed" portion of the levels, where you'll be going insanely fast. REALLY insanely fast. Like F-Zero fast. You'll have to constantly watch out for robots shooting at you and in some cases will have to constantly jump on obstacles and walls or else you'll be dying easily, and it doesn't help that the gameplay is already suffering some control problems (granted the game was only about half-done from E3). But still, these "Speed" levels really do bring back Sonic to his going fast and jumping reckless roots.
But hey, what's a new Sonic game these days without a brand new character? I should know, I did a whole column about it. But this time, the new character joining may actually be a worthy addition to the roster. Meet Silver the Hedgehog. His story revolves something around the "Iblis Trigger" he mutters about.
Already you''re probably thinking "Crap! A new character to ruin the traditional Sonic gameplay! Haven't we suffered enough from playing as Big, Knuckles' search quest, and Shadow the Hedgehog?!" But this time, Silver's change of gameplay may actually be good! What makes Silver different is that instead of going fast, he focuses more on exploration puzzle-solving and combat using his telekinetic powers. These powers are quite similar to the game "Psy-Ops". When exploring, you'll sometimes have to gather debris and form a platform bridge to get around, or activate hotspots such as a steel beam which he bends to flick himself high into the air. During combat you'll use these powers to lift crates and such to throw at robots, or stop bullets from hitting you and throw them right back. So while Silver strays away from the traditional gameplay, it's looks like a very promising stray.
As for the other characters, the only familiar face to appear is Shadow, who apparently will also be playable in the game. Details however are scarce, but from the preview videos it looks as if he's keeping the guns and cars. Let's hope this is just for side quest purposes. Eggman has also been hanging at the Trimspa because he's lost some weight and it almost doesn't seem right to call him Eggman anymore. No other faces have appeared, and details were also scarce about any kind of multiplayer mode. From a technical standpoint, the graphics are definitely looking awesome for next-gen, the controls still need some fixing, and the music still has that Sonic rock that you either love or hate.
From everything that has been seen so far, Sonic looks like he will finally come out with a great "must-get" title. Expect Sonic the Hedgehog to be released for the Xbox 360 and for the PS3 as a potential launch title.
