It's been a busy year for Sonic in 2005, but it doesn't look like he's about to hang up his sneakers yet. The past 12 months have brought us developments on Shadow the Hedgehog (a traditional 3D platformer from the clone himself), Sonic Rush (the DS exclusive starring the Blue Blur, plus 'Blaze the Cat') and Sonic Riders/Sonic eXtreme Airboarding (a fast-paced racing game starring the usual suspects, plus a 'flock' of new characters), while talk has also been focused on the rumours of a mobile Sonic 1 and a massive Sonic MMORPG. However, there's been mixed reactions to each game. Fortunately, Sonic Team and SEGA seem to have struck the right chord when it comes to the next generation of gaming...

 

E3 2005, this year's most prestigious gaming event, saw playable demos of Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Rush. In the meantime, a neat little video was produced, showing off the XBox 360's processing power, handily displayed by our favourite superhero. The video showed Sonic racing through a jungle setting, before being gunned down by a mass of robots. Fortunately, the clichéd (yet dazzling) Super Sonic was summoned and kicked some shiny, metallic hide. The video can still be found on the Net (it's a low quality, home video, recorded amateurly from a member of the audience), but that's irrelevant now.

 

 

After the above, beautiful images were revealed, Sonic fans were in a frenzy over the new game, originally proposed for the PS3 and XBox 360. Possibly surprising was the speculation was focused on the characters, and not how the game would play. Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Robotnik were firm definates to stay by Sonic's side, but many felt that the absence of Chaotix, Rouge and Metal Sonic, among others, would be tragic. Finally, talk moved on to the style of levels concerned and then...the video...

 

Played on what looked like a PS3 prototype (or at least, random hardware with a PS2 controller), the first official demo showed great prospects for Sonic's future. Realistic physics (using the same engine as the Halo series), beautiful graphics and a day-night transition system. That's all we've seen so far, but Sonic Team extraordinare, Yuji Naka, has boasted much dedication and high hopes for Sonic's first appearance of the next generation.

 

Now, gameplay has been thoroughly considered. Friend of The Mobian, Sin Scorpion, gave a highly detailed insight into his hopes for a MMORPG/Free-Roaming game where Sonic (and Sonic alone) is free to tear through grassy plains and bustling cities to tackle danger wherever he pleases. Others agree, throwing the Tornado and Adventure Fields, but the general consensus is quite similar.

 

And now we wait. Popular online media distributors, Amazon, shocked us briefly with a 'December 2nd' release date, but may have gotten Sonic the Hedgehog confused with a launch title. For the moment, we're happy with a late 2006 release, with Sonic Riders probably getting the first Sonic slot of the year. What is true, is that this game has pulled the fans together far more than Shadow and Blaze have managed.

 

Article by Scott Pockley