New Sonic game "Sonic Unleashed" (first pics/video)

[Snapple]

Hoping to avoid this cycle!
http://i30.tinypic.com/2ymwrro.jpg

BUT, the video looks fantastic. I love how it mixes in some semi-2D side-scrolling side-view action in with the 3rd person behind the back. It seems like a great marriage, and it looks badass. None of this has been announced or released by Sega yet. Hope they don't screw it up.

Gameplay video that might be pulled:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjxnhXs7Mqs

Lots of screenshots:
http://forums.exophase.com/showthread.php?t=6266

[Amnion-Chorion]

Wow, that cycle is painfully accurate. But, this does look really good, especially since it reminds me of the excellent Sonic Rush games on DS. Hopefully this one won't turn out to be another atrocity like Sonic 2006.

[PDorr3]

I was just about to make this topic :)
The gameplay video is EPIC! Why? its freaking a next gen sonic game using onrails in 2.5D...which is damn awsome. The weird part is that sonic will supposedly turn into a werewolf...yeah strange. Atleast with a new (awsome) Sonic game revealed my site will have plenty of news to cover :) cant wait for this game!

[BHvrd]

Looks promising.

As long as the platforming is kept challenging the need for exploration should be able to be kept to a minimal or possibly non-existent if good enough, don't know why this seems to be so hard to obtain, but the only Sonic that has truly been able to capture the true platforming excellence was Sonic 2 imo and Sonice Adventure 1 to a lighter extent.

I liked some of the exploration in the first Sonic Adventure, like fishing with Bigs the cat, but if it's pure platforming bliss i'm all for it.

I really started disliking it since Sonic Adventure 2, way too much Knuckles and Dr.Eggman bull crap "most boring levels".

The formula isn't that hard to pan out yet Sega seems to always like to mess with it and somehow screw it up. Pure platforming challenging Sonic levels with very light exploration/other character play is the perfect formula too me. If it's gonna be pure platformer though it better be hella tight.

[Push Upstairs]

Here is hoping they ditch all 10,000 friends/enemies Sonic has acquired since "Sonic Adventure" and just focus on Sonic. I really didn't like SA much, but the pure Sonic running around stuff wasn't half bad.

[otoko]

Here is hoping they ditch all 10,000 friends/enemies Sonic has acquired since "Sonic Adventure" and just focus on Sonic. I really didn't like SA much, but the pure Sonic running around stuff wasn't half bad.

I liked SA but after that... Bleh.. I agree with Push.. Please bring me back to the years of Genesis. I know it's pretty impossible though.

Back to my genesis...

[G-Boobie]

This is not an attack or a flame... Can someone please explain to me the love of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, post genesis? Is it just nostalgia? It has to be nostalgia.

[Snapple]

This is not an attack or a flame... Can someone please explain to me the love of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, post genesis? Is it just nostalgia? It has to be nostalgia.

Well, the problem is that most of the Sonic games post-Genesis HAVE sucked. Sonic fans know this. The concept is still there though. If Mario can go from 2D to 3D no problem, then Sonic can, too. They just keep bogging the games down with things like bad controls, or stupid exploration, or forcing you to play as these horrible non-Sonic characters in boring/crappy levels.

I'll stand by the first Sonic Adventure. It did a lot of good stuff, and many of the Sonic levels did maintain the Sonic "feel." It was great speed, great hopping around and beautiful graphics. Fun levels. Good soundtrack. There were a few things that weren't so great (the Knuckles levels, wandering around the town area), but I think a lot of us know that the potential for an awesome Sonic game is there. They just keep missing the mark.

The video in the first post represents a lot of stuff that could potentially make a good, next-gen Sonic game. The return to a lot of 2D side action mixed with the 3D parts. The fact that there are no friendly characters there except for Sonic. It looks good. If you don't think so, then I don't know how to express it.

People want a good Sonic game because it was an outstanding franchise, and nothing has taken its place. Nothing else has really filled that "speed platforming" void other than the Sonic franchise, and so it would be great to see Sonic make a triumphant return, to fill that void again. They've taken a beloved franchise and practically ruined it completely, but you can't make people stop being Sonic fans. It doesn't mean they like every entry in the series, but they'll keep looking forward to the next one, hoping it will finally redeem the franchise.

And how can people not be interested in what Sonic does next, even if you've abandoned the series? He's one of the most important characters in video game history, for better and for worse. That's the best I can do at answering your question. I hope I made sense, because it's 5 am, and I'm not totally "with it."

[G-Boobie]

Good answer, and thank you.

[HYB]

I have been waiting for a good Sonic game since SA2. I have no idea why people put SA2 down so much, it's a great game, and it's so much more polished than SA (in my opinion, I've played the hell out of those games).

This game honestly does look promising, even though it has that Sonic heroesy feel in the level designs. I don't really love Sonic's model in this, the ears look way off to me and such but that's nitpicking about graphics. I love how they seemed to go back to using the old Eggman model though, the new design he had in StH06 blowed. Now if they just based the models on SA2, ditched the characters post SA2 and made the games from sonic heroes and so on non-canonical, we'd have an epic game.

[Overbite]

thsi is going to suck all kinds of nuts and you know it

[Push Upstairs]

I have been waiting for a good Sonic game since SA2. I have no idea why people put SA2 down so much, it's a great game, and it's so much more polished than SA (in my opinion, I've played the hell out of those games).

I owned SA2 and I just got bored with it. I blame the Knuckles levels, I also blame having to play as a bunch of different characters to "finish" the game.

[HYB]

I owned SA2 and I just got bored with it. I blame the Knuckles levels, I also blame having to play as a bunch of different characters to "finish" the game.

I used to hate the hunt levels as well but now they're my favorite type of gameplay in the game. The game has a lot of replay value, and honestly can't see how you can get bored with it if you like doing all kinds of missions, I still haven't finished all mine. I prefer the SA2B GC version of course, the chao raising is awesome in it's upgraded goodness. Of course it may be one of those sonic fan thingamajingies, my liking of the game so much.

When are we going to see some chao raising again, god I miss that.

[roxybaby]

I don't understand why they keep trying to force Sonic into a 3D experience. Why don't they just make another awesome 2D sidescroller for Sonic fans and release at as a downloadable game for all the systems?

[BHvrd]

I used to hate the hunt levels as well but now they're my favorite type of gameplay in the game. The game has a lot of replay value, and honestly can't see how you can get bored with it if you like doing all kinds of missions, I still haven't finished all mine. I prefer the SA2B GC version of course, the chao raising is awesome in it's upgraded goodness. Of course it may be one of those sonic fan thingamajingies, my liking of the game so much.

When are we going to see some chao raising again, god I miss that.

Honestly it was the "overworld" I hated the most in SA2. A map compared to a city you could roam from
the first SA just felt generic. SA had much more freedom and broke things down much better, I mean, come on, the airship stage in that game alone was some classic stuff! The final fight with Eggman was also very memorable and just hella solid and tight.

SA2 felt more rushed and thrown together where SA felt more solid and old school, the levels were very good and challenging. That's my opinion anyway. If they could take the first Sonic Adventure formula and add more good platforming like it had, I would so snatch the game up in a heartbeat, instead with SA2 Sega focused on what people hated most about SA "more sub-character levels", at least in the first one they were sparse yet entertaining in a nostalgia way in SA2 they were just a choir, imo.

I will back Chao raising though, the one redemable quality of SA2, as well as the split screen racing. Overall though the first SA had a much more classic feel.

[dcware]

I like how this game looks like a console version of Sonic Rush, because that was the first Sonic game i've genuinely liked since SA2 (which was only just average, despite it's amazing soundtrack imo)

Fingers Crossed, eh?

[Snapple]

The thing about the "other character" levels in the first Sonic Adventure was that at least they were COMPLETELY SEPARATE from Sonic's mission. Sonic's quest was still the biggest part of the game, the focus, and you played all of his levels back-to-back. In SA2, you had to play like three slow boring levels between Sonic levels. I didn't like the robot shooting missions in the first game, but at least they were separate, and it was a very short quest. In the second game, I had to play a ton of long levels using Robotnik or Tails in those stupid mechs.

But even then, while I didn't enjoy SA2 as much as SA1, at least it was playable, and had some fun levels starring Sonic and Shadow. It was still good to look at, and nothing was overly offensive. But then you get to crap like "Sonic the Hedgehog" for the 360, which was just a complete abomination. Not only do they saddle you with more levels playing as non-Sonic guys, but the camera was SO BAD, that you'd fall of the level again and again. Plus, it was ugly, and glitchy, and the town was stupid, and the story was stupid, and... there was just nothing redeeming about it.

And the Shadow game where you use guns... just, eh, don't get me started.

[otoko]

I have a question.. why are they so insistant on making Dr. Robotnik look like a monkey?

Why can't they use the one I know from the cartoons?

[carlcarlson]

Personally I'm looking forward to the Sonic RPG for the DS. I never got too into his platformers. This does look good though.

[Gamingking]

The game looks great, But I have a feeling it will turn out to be another "Sonic And The Secret Rings", type game.

[alec006]

Please say that Sonic will be on mobius ONLY for once in a 3D or 2.5 D Sonic game and have the feel of the classic Genesis games,im sick and tired of seeing random humans pop up out of noware and wanting to be friends with Sonic. Dr Robotnic or "Eggman" Should be the only "human" in the game. You can have the kickass soundtrack and Sonic with his....*shutters* 4kids voice.......in fact go back to his original voice before 4kids took over and made Sonic's voice a living nightmare,Jaleel White or Ryan Drummond. But damet do your job Sega and put Sonic back in his relm and not in ours,the department of defence would have a field day trying to catch an unknown blue hedgehog going over 700 MPH. Also I think I know whats wrong,the lead programmer of the original Sonic the Hedgehog,ISNT WORKING FOR SEGA ANYMORE,thats another reason why Sonic games suck now,cause Yuji Naka is gone! As a hardcore Sonic fan,i surely hope they get this one right......*holds out hope strangling cream*.......oops....

[Jorpho]

Didn't people like the Sonic Advance games?

[ubersaurus]

Didn't people like the Sonic Advance games?

Yeah, but I think portables have been established as being the good sonic games. Sides, I don't think any of them were made directly by Sega, were they?

I'd love another fantastic sonic console game. Sonic Adventure is nearly 10 years old. 10! That's a long time of platformers ranging from average to suck.

[otoko]

I'd love another fantastic sonic console game. Sonic Adventure is nearly 10 years old. 10! That's a long time of platformers ranging from average to suck.

You made me sad just now...

[Push Upstairs]

I have a question.. why are they so insistant on making Dr. Robotnik look like a monkey?

I wanna know why they try and force the whole "Eggman" BS on us? I know that was his name in Japan, but its a dumbass name.

[BHvrd]

New Vid:

Wii:
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41738.html

Starting to look more and more like a cross between the first Sonic Adventure and classic Sonic, me likes.


Edit:

New Xbox 360/PS3 gameplay:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41755.html

Damn, looks sharp.