Sonic Unleashed

From Sonic - NeoWiki

Sonic Unleashed is an upcoming video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The name was trademarked by SEGA on March 12th 2008. Screenshots of cut scenes and gameplay were posted by the Sonic fansite SoniC CulT, merely days later. The title was then officially confirmed on April 3, with a small selection of screenshots and an updated video.

The gameplay style is markedly different when compared to recent games. It will focus on side-scrolling platforming levels, as well as behind-the-back, third-person stages. Gameplay will seamlessly transition between these two styles.

Story

Dr. Eggman is the primary antagonist for Sonic Unleashed. In this installment, he has called forth a slumbering beast from the center of the Earth which causes such devastating tremors that the planet shatters into pieces; it is up to Sonic to return the seven broken continents back to normal by retrieving the Chaos Emeralds and activating their power. The official press release alludes to a new twist to Sonic's abilities; unofficial screenshots, together with the official teaser trailer, indicate that Sonic's progress will be made even more difficult when an Sonic undergoes a drastic transformation into a werewolf.

Gameplay

Gameplay will primarily consist of two modes: a 3D sidescroller, with second-person gameplay (as found in the Sonic Rush and Sonic Rivals games), with seamless shifts to third-person. Concepts returning from past games include Sonic's trademark high-speed gameplay, as well as improved lock-on for automatically targeting and hitting enemies. Sliding across the ground also returns, but players will be able to perform new "side-step maneuvers", allowing Sonic to dodge obstacles to the left or right at high speed. Another new control mechanic, whose final implementation is still being decided upon by Sega, is "drift turns", whereby Sonic can slide around a corner.

An on-screen energy meter can be filled by collecting rings, which is used to activate a temporary speed increase known as Sonic Boost, during which time the camera uses a fish-eye effect and motion blur; hitting enemies and obstacles will reduce the meter. The boost could be used to gain access to different routes through the levels.

The game will also have Town Stages, and players will be able to walk around the environment freely and speak to townspeople. In Sonic Unleashed there are areas that can be called towns that act as hubs for the action stages. The story is advanced by speaking with the townspeople in the towns. Along with the Town Stages are side quests you could take.

Development

The development of Sonic Unleashed was announced in April 2008. The game runs on SEGA "Hedgehog Engine", which has been in production for three years. Unleashed was originally intended to be the third installment of the Sonic Adventure series and subsequently, at an early development stage, had the working title Sonic World Adventure, complete with work-in-progress logo, before the Unleashed name was decided upon. The game is currently being developed internally by Sonic Team.

The Wii version of the game will be developed specifically to take advantage of its controller's capabilities, with notable differences in gameplay, and with different levels created specifically for this version. The gameplay will be changed, tuned, and balanced specifically for the Wii," says Patrick Riley, the game's producer at Sega of America. "Secondly, the levels will be different, designed specifically for the Wii version. Dimps will be involved with designing the daytime stages for this and the PS2 version. The game will use the Wii Remote and/or Nunchuk option, will support the GameCube controller, and also the option of using the Classic Controller.

Major portions of this page were written by: Ub3r Shadow