SEGA: "Sonic Unleashed Needs to be Better Than the Genesis Titles"

Play Magazine have announced that their May 2008 issue will contain Sonic "as you've never seen him before" (before Sonic Unleashed was leaked), along with an interview with Producer for Sonic Team, Yoshihisa Hashimoto.

Hashimoto says: "The whole development team is aiming to make Sonic Unleashed the best Sonic game ever, and that includes the Genesis-era titles!" Is it possible for it to happen, after all the bad blue hedgehog games we've experienced? We hope so.

[Sega: "Sonic Unleashed Needs to be Better Than the Genesis Titles"]

Sonic Unleashed Plot Details Revealed

Well, in case anybody was absent for the whole Sonic Unleashed thing, that werewolf hand in the teaser trailer is Sonic. During the day, Sonic is the same old blue hedgehog, but during the night, Sonic turns into a werehog with claws and fangs. Yes, there is a day and night system in Sonic Unleashed.

When he is in his werehog state, he can swing around levels faster, move past obstacles quicker and hurl enemies as he chooses. Now, we also have the plot of the game.

The game begins with Super Sonic amidst a battle with Dr. Eggman and his robots. Somehow Dr. Eggman lures Super Sonic into a trap and using his latest invention misuses the power of the Chaos Emeralds to defeat Super Sonic and change something in Sonic's body. Dr Eggman appears to break the planet apart soon afterwards.

Having been broken apart by the evil Dr. Eggman, it's up to Sonic to put the pieces of the world back together again by retrieving the power of the Chaos Emeralds! In doing so, Sonic will find himself in a race against time and faced with an unusual situation that will challenge him in ways never before seen. Both day and night play different, yet important, roles in Sonic's newest quest... as the sun sets, a new adventure awakens. By completing a wide variety of action-packed stages, spanning the seven broken continents of the world, gamers will need to unleash Sonic's amazing abilities to save the world, and himself!

[Sonic Unleashed's Big Secret Revealed!]

Sonic Unleashed Began as Sonic Adventure 3

A new interview with Sonic Team's Yoshihisa Hashimoto in the latest Official Nintendo Magazine, he revealed that Sonic Unleashed is going to feel more like a Sonic Adventure game rather than the horrible Sonic the Hedgehog (PlayStation 3) or Sonic and the Secret Rings titles.

"As a development team, we originally started off this project planning to create Sonic Adventure 3", Hashimoto told the magazine. "In our minds, this game will have more in common with the older Sonic Adventure series. It has no relation to Sonic the Hedgehog or Sonic and the Secret Rings".

We should be seeing this title hit sometime around the holidays, and for the sake of Sonic, we hope it is good.

[Sonic Unleashed began as Sonic Adventure 3]

New Sonic Unleashed Teaser Shows Wolf Sonic's Hand

SEGA released a new teaser for the upcoming Sonic Unleashed today. The new teaser shows Sonic's hand messing around with a ring, and soon after, his hand turns into a wolf hand and smashes the ring. I guess Sonic the Werehedgehog is confirmed.

SEGA Officially Announces Sonic Unleashed

Well, the leaked batch of screenshots kind of made it pretty obvious. SEGA has officially announced Sonic Unleashed for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and PS2 today. You can view the official press release below. You can view the official trailer above. The announcement screenshots can be seen below. The official site can be visited here.

Sonic Is Unleashed! SEGA's newest Sonic title is set to combine amazing next gen capabilities with classic Sonic 2D gameplay!

LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO (April 3, 2008) – SEGA® of America and SEGA of Europe Ltd., today announced that everyone’s favourite hedgehog will be breaking new ground yet maintaining his roots, in the upcoming title, Sonic Unleashed™. Developed by renowned studio Sonic Team, the latest installment in the multi-million selling franchise, will take players on an unforgettable high-speed journey around the globe in a way never before experienced in the world of Sonic. The game is set for release later this year and will be available for the Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo and PLAYSTATION®2.

Sonic Unleashed is built on a powerful new “Hedgehog Engine”, which introduces seamless 3D to classic 2D camera transitions, whilst delivering a rich and expansive world with multiple paths to choose from. Under development for three years, the Hedgehog Engine produces a visually rich next generation look and feel with elements of classic Sonic gameplay mechanics. The Hedgehog engine will help re-define the gameplay experience for Sonic fans and newcomers to the franchise alike.

“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” commented Gary Knight, European Marketing Director for SEGA Europe. “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… making this his most exciting adventure yet!”

Having been broken apart by the evil Dr Eggman, it’s down to Sonic to put the pieces of the world back together again by retrieving the power of the chaos emeralds. In doing so, Sonic will find himself in a race against time and faced with an unusual situation that will challenge him in ways never before seen. By completing a wide variety of action-packed stages, spanning the seven broken continents of the world, gamers will need to unleash Sonic’s amazing abilities to save the world, and himself!

The opportunity to engage in Sonic in different ways during the day and night time levels brings a completely original way of playing to the Sonic franchise, in addition to running at high speeds in classic Sonic style, combat fighting will become possible. Super quick Sonic’s speed skills will be highlighted by four new modes, whilst the all new combat, movement and functional abilities will offer depth and variety to the game. As the sun sets in Sonic Unleashed, a different type of adventure will awaken in Sonic’s newest quest….

Sonic Unleashed is scheduled for release worldwide in late 2008.

Sonic Unleashed: Rumors and Rumblings

A trust-worthy source seems to have leaked some more information regarding SEGA's Sonic Unleashed to Kombo. Whether it is true or not is unknown, but they state it's trust-worthy. Lets look.

• It's being said that a good chunk of this is a real leak, and SEGA isn't happy about it. Word is that ONM in the UK and Play were supposed to have exclusives, but now? No telling where that stands.
• In addition, the screens are said to have been taken from the FTP server, but the video? That came from somewhere else. And SEGA's trying to perform damage control and get it removed from YouTube wherever they find it, or so they say; we aren't having any trouble finding it, and no "this video has been removed" yet. But let's face it, this cat is well out of the bag.
• While confirmation for any system is sketchy, it seems that the PS3 and Wii are the main ones right now, with the screens and video coming from the PS3 dev kit. No Wii pics yet, but it's said to be in the works. 360? Never say never, but at the moment, it remains "unconfirmed," as different SEGA people seem to be saying different things.
  
  This makes some sense, given the presence of what appear to be Secret Rings-styled segments, and the 360's lack of motion control.
• For gameplay, it's said that the game will be using the same engine as Sonic Rush for the Nintendo DS (not graphics engine, of course). Wolf Sonic, Were-Sonic, call him what you will, he's supposed to be real. But it's said that no details have been revealed as to his gameplay, regardless of what you may have read.

Hmm, and exclusive Sonic game to the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. I wouldn't mind, but Sonic should be enjoyed by all fans, especially if this is the "good Sonic" we've all been waiting for.

[Rumor: Sonic Unleashed Rumblings]

SEGA Europe on Sonic Unleashed: "No Comment"

When asked about the validity of the recently released Sonic Unleashed screenshots (post 1 & 2) and artwork (post 1 & 2) that appeared on the net this weekend, SEGA Europe issued a "no comment". Could they be holding it back for the big announcement?

[Sega Europe on Sonic Unleashed: “No comment”]

Sonic Unleashed: 3 More Artworks

SEGA On has some new artwork on the upcoming Sonic Unleashed. They claim the game is launching with a huge production budget. The Sonic Team is developing it of course, but not just them. SEGA’s developer teams including those from Japan, the US and, apparently for the first time, even Europe. They want to prove Sonic could work in 3D environments.

[UPDATE: SONIC UNLEASHED Update Day (2) Big Budget Blockbuster, SONIC TEAM, More Art]

Sonic Unleashed: Sonic Is a Werehedgehog

Sonic Stadium was able to get the first screenshots of SEGA's upcoming Sonic Unleashed. In this game, Sonic deals with an unnatural curse, he turns into a werewolf. Weird, we know, but intriguing none the less. The game features stunning graphics and Sonic looks better than ever. It features 2.5D platforming including some Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic & the Secret Rings gameplay.

A new character should be making an appearance in the game as well. The game's title, Sonic Unleashed, is a working title, and will likely change before release. No consoles were mentioned for it's release, but judging by it's visual style, it's a PS360 candidate.

[First details on Sonic Unleashed!]

Sonic Unleashed: First 2D Gameplay

A member of the Sonic Stadium forums managed to get a video of SEGA's upcoming Sonic Unleashed. The video features the 2D gameplay of the game, although from the screenshots, it does contain 3D gameplay as well. It seems to be a mix between Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic & the Secret Rings, and Sonic Rush. Enjoy!

[Sonic Unleashed The Video]

Sonic Unleashed: 43 More New Screenshots

Thanks to Exophase, we have some new screenshots of SEGA's upcoming and unannounced Sonic Unleashed title, leaked you would say. If the ones today weren't enough for you, you will love these. Now lets hope they don't mess this one up. By the way, a lot of people are starting to think these screenshots are fake. Think about it, could they really pull something this good looking off?