|
Well Boomers, it doesn’t seem so long ago that we all dug out the Master Systems and Mega Drives for the first time…but Sonic is approaching his 15th Anniversary next year! Among congratulations to the legendary blue blur, we have the fantastic news from Sega of Japan that a confirmed Next Generation Sonic game has been in production for release in 2006!
What is extra special about this new game? For a start it utilises the massive power of two next generation consoles to make the game – no pun intended – run faster than ever (I’ll be having words with this Hume! ~ Megadroid), namely Microsoft’s powerhouse Xbox 360 and Sony’s upcoming beast, the Playstation 3.These two have graphical and processing power beyond any console so far by a large amount, and all of this is going to be poured into our favourite hero’s game to give us the fastest, most beautiful looking and (hopefully) most epic adventure yet!
News that sparked a large wave of celebration in Sega World related to ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ (as this new game has been titled simply) came primarily from a statement from Sega producer, Yuji Naka.
“We are proud to re-create our famous friend, Sonic, for a new generation of gamers on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. With Sonic the Hedgehog, we have gone back to our starting point, more than 15-years ago, to reinvent the attitude and speed that made our hero a legend. The 'rebirth of Sonic' will offer an unparalleled sense of speed that is only possible using the processing power afforded by the new systems."
Thus essentially confirming that we shall be given the Hedgehog of the past…refreshed for today’s games! And with the confirmed use of the “Havoc” physics engine, for the first time ever we shall witness the effects of our play, see robots smash through brick walls and rocks tumble according to realistic laws of the world. (For any PC or Xbox Gamer Boomers out there, this is the same engine used for Half Life 2 and Halo 2’s physics.) This combined with incredible real time lighting and day to night engine shall ensure that we are in for one of the most incredible visual experiences ever seen in the Sonic game series.
From this Hume’s perspective (who has seen first hand all the available videos at time of writing), it can be assured that it’s like no other. Seeing Sonic hurtle along at speeds never seen before in games, to leap into a temple and smash two robots before escaping and blasting across a field to be surrounded by a literal army of machines…before the videos climax taking place of our hero roaring through them in his powered up form – Super Sonic! All the while the visuals are stunning, and from the demo reel gameplay footage shown recently, it has been confirmed that many of Sonic’s trademark abilities are being used, along with his newer innovations. So expect to see the ubiquitous Homing Attack and the ever noticeable grinding making a return to allow more and more level possibilities!
Such things as leaping between vines, and firing over ground boosters has been noticed, along with the rather impressive looking attacks onto mech. style robots and smashing them through brick walls to see each individual brick go its own path to the ground. Finally, the in-game showing is ended by a demonstration of the lighting effects to time of day, with a sped-up day to night cycle, through sundown and sunrise, and the effects it has on the gaming world. In all, the graphics are going to astound all you Boomers who decide to have a look into this title. Even Sonic himself has been updated. Humes within STC-Online currently speculate if Amy will agree with us that he looks better than ever
Theories are abound as to the possibilities put forward to this game, from thoughts of a free roaming environment, or perhaps the return of Adventure areas as seen in Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast. Nothing is certain at this point in time as to the exact game layout, or indeed if there are any characters but Sonic and some robots within. But appearances from other major characters like Tails, Knuckles and especially our good Dr. “Eggman” Robotnik are very likely.
As a final large piece of good news…there have been appearances from a lot of the original Sonic designers and game team at many of the showings of ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’. Such appearances include Masato Nakamura (the original music composer for the first two Sonic games) who played the tech demo for the gameplay footage. It has also been rumoured that Naoto Oshima has been in contact over this title. For Boomers who may not know…Oshima was the original designer on the Sonic games way back in 1991. This is very promising news if Mr. Naka’s idea of taking Sonic back to his roots is being realised.
‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ is due for release on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 in 2006 to coincide with the 15th Anniversary of Sonic. Until then, here are a few pictures from the demo reels to keep all you Boomers happy until then. |
