Sonic Unleashed footage gives us hope

by Richard Mitchell { Jun 20th 2008 at 2:00PM }

Sonic the Hedgehog is kind of like that old friend who keeps letting you down. You just know he's going to fail again but, because you remember the good old days, you really hope he finally gets it right again. As such, it is with trepidation that we announce that the latest footage from Sonic Unleashed actually looks pretty good, at times even great. It calls up memories of Sonic games past, the old Sonic games, which is a good thing. Purists will no doubt smile at the 2D sections of gameplay and the complete lack of Sonic's cohorts.

Find the footage after break. Now, say it with us -- if we say it loud enough, maybe it will come true -- please be good!

[Via Joystiq]

Tags: sega, sonic, sonic-team, sonic-unleashed

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Lewis (GT: StoneRevolver) @ Jun 20th 2008 2:11PM

IDK, It reminds me of those horrible levels in the last Sonic The Hedgehog 360 game. The ones where Sonic doesn't stop running and when he does, he flips and dies.

But it does look nice.

c. thomas @ Jun 20th 2008 2:14PM

Nice

Rick @ Jun 20th 2008 2:14PM

Well, the action looks decent enough. But I have a huge aesthetic problem with that footage: the realistic environment. Yeah, there are tracks and jumps and stuff that make it work from a gameplay perspective, but why on earth put all that cartoony, fun action in a setting pulled from Assassin's Creed or COD4? That's just stupid. The designers couldn't develop a more appropriate setting for this game? Really? I mean, really? C'mon!

BlackFreefall @ Jun 20th 2008 2:42PM

After getting the beatdown in Brawl, I think Sonic is finally getting it into his head. Speed, speed, fun, and more speed.

Matt @ Jun 20th 2008 2:42PM

It looks like they're going the right way with this. It certainly looks more like one of the 2D Sonic games than one of the more recent ones. But I hope they go back and play some of them for a while longer. Anybody who has fond memories of Sonic 1-3 remembers that they were fast, but you didn't just blow through a level without stopping and backtracking and finding secrets and other paths. The challenge was knowing when to just blast through and when to slow down and avoid running right into an enemy. I hope this thing doesn't go 100mph the whole time. After too long it would feel like you're more riding a roller coaster than playing a game.

egotrippen @ Jun 21st 2008 1:08AM

This. Level design was always one of the hallmarks of Sonic games, and it looks like this new game is leaving it by the wayside. This game could be a step up from the other 3D games, maybe, but the gameplay doesn't look very compelling.

mikazi @ Jun 20th 2008 2:47PM

That...Looks...AWESOME!!!!
Gief it to me now!! :P

007craft @ Jun 20th 2008 2:51PM

I have mixed feelings about this. The view keeps switching from side 2d to behind 3d. Why dont they just have the game 100% 2d, always on a sidescrolling plane, so its just like the classics. the 3d part make it look lame like the other 3d sonics. They should only flip to 3d when sonic is on rails/cant move. During all parts of control, it should remain sidescrolling.

Gamertag: GOPAL892005 @ Jun 20th 2008 2:57PM

wow, i'm impressed - wonder how it will actually play

Tony @ Jun 20th 2008 3:12PM

It seems to be looking better graphically.

Otherwise, I'm just not sure. It honestly seems like just holding the stick in one direction and jumping once in a while. That just won't hold my interest for long lol.

Sean @ Jun 20th 2008 3:13PM

Although it looks good, I can't help but think a lot of that footage was just a bunch of quicktime events strung together.

Plus, if that is the game play, it looks like you would need to do a lot of memorization at the speed the game is playing at.

I'll keep a wary eye on this one.

Smitty @ Jun 20th 2008 3:32PM

i dunno, i actually like the transition from 3d to 2d, i think its very well done, and this game could be the first sonic game i've played since 3 on the genesis. If they're all like that nonstop BS though, the game's gonna bea flop

FanboyMorons @ Jun 20th 2008 4:38PM

They should stick to 100% side scrolling and ditch modern human settings.

contagiousmind @ Jun 20th 2008 4:57PM

Man - i hope it's good!! i still play 'Sonic mega collection plus'..... it's a shame it doesn't work on my 40gb PS3...... it's still the most popular game at house parties and stuff! does anyone else still love the old school sonic games!??!

Chase @ Jun 20th 2008 6:33PM

Here's hoping the camera is capable of properly following the action. The last thing we need is another camera in the suit of Ninja Gaiden 2.

Drunk Ste @ Jun 20th 2008 8:49PM

Does anyone remember back in the day when sonic was a platform game that took some skill to play instead of the constantly moving, push forward to win gameplay that we see now?

TM @ Jun 20th 2008 9:42PM

Personally, Sonic (especially the newer releases) have always come across as that really fun Uncle. The only problem is that every-so-often that fun Uncle molests you, leaving you feeling betrayed. So when a new Sonic comes out, you question yourself on a silly fundamental question - "Will he just take me fishing? Resulting in fun times? Or ... will this be another molesting me while mom and dad aren't looking time."

Maybe it's time to lock Sonic away and stop hoping we won't be molested in the closet this year.