Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 video game)

Sonic the Hedgehog
Box art for Sonic the Hedgehog
Developer(s)	Sonic Team
Publisher(s)	Sega
Designer(s)	Shun Nakamura Masahiro Kumono Yuji Naka
Engine	RenderWare Havok For Physics
Platform(s)	Xbox 360 PlayStation 3
Release	November 17, 2006 (Xbox 360) December 19, 2006[5] (PS3) November 24, 2006 (Xbox 360) March 27, 2007(PS3) December 21, 2006
Genre(s)	Platformer
Mode(s)	Single player multiplayer

Sonic the Hedgehog (also called Sonic Next-Gen, SONIC The Hedgehog, Sonic 2006, or StH'06 to differentiate it from similarly titled games) is the name of a next-generation video game featuring Sonic that has been released on the Xbox 360 and and is yet to be released on the PlayStation 3. The title was originally slated to launch along side the PlayStation 3, but has since been delayed. It will also release along side Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis for the Game Boy Advance and Sonic Rivals for the PlayStation Portable. It is being developed at Sonic Team, directed by Shun Nakamura. Its release marked the 15th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog, just as Sonic Adventure 2 marked the 10th anniversary.

Among the innovations in the game are the incorporation of passing time, including the realistic movement of the sun, as well as highly detailed characters and landscapes. Yuji Naka has stated that the general theme of the game was "What if Sonic were real?". Yuji Naka stated that this game will capture the most realistic sensation of speed ever, a feature only possible on next-generation systems. This may be seen as a parallel to how NiGHTS Into Dreams was designed: capturing sensation of flight.

This game, also, marks the second Sonic game to have an ESRB rating of E10+, the first being Shadow the Hedgehog. It is also the third Sonic game to have a 12+ PEGI rating, the first being Sonic Mega Collection Plus and the second being Shadow the Hedgehog. The Japanese CERO rating is A: Suitable for all ages (Ａ全年齢対象, Ē zennenrei taishō). [6] [7]

Plot

Sonic

In Soleanna, the City of Water, lives Princess Elise. Elise is the keeper of a dark secret, the "Flames of Disaster", which involves the Chaos Emeralds. Dr. Eggman learns of the Flames of Disaster and attempts to kidnap the Princess. When the world-renowned hero Sonic the Hedgehog learns of this, he sets off to defeat Dr. Eggman once again, save Elise, and secure the Chaos Emeralds. However, Sonic's quest is soon interrupted by a strange white hedgehog called Silver the Hedgehog, who has traveled from the future to stop the "Iblis Trigger" during his journey; Iblis causes many deaths in the future from which Silver hails. Sonic must now discover what Silver wants and make sure that he does not interfere in his quest.

Shadow

Shadow was created to be the Ultimate Life-form by Professor Gerald. Undertaking to rescue Rouge at the Federal Government's request, he meets up with Rouge in the midst of accomplishing his mission of removing the "Scepter of Darkness" from Eggman's base; but he must finish his encounter with Dr. Eggman at the site that was formerly the castle of Soleanna's kings. Eggman's robots swoop down to attack, and in the heat of the battle, the Scepter of Darkness is completely shattered. When the seal is removed from the "Scepter of Darkness", Mephiles appears. Sporting a striking resemblance to Shadow, by means of a mysterious power, he sends Shadow and Rouge to a future world on the brink of collapse. When they arrive, they are first perplexed but along the way, they find some disturbing answers.

Silver

Silver lives years in the future when telekinetic powers are the norm.[8] In the future, Silver's world is destroyed by what is known as the "Flames of Disaster". He and his partner, Blaze, are battling an immortal being known as "Iblis". After getting frustrated over the fact that Iblis always revives himself, Silver gets angry, causing Mephiles to suddenly appear and, along the way, inform Silver of the time when Iblis was unleashed onto the world. He tells him that Sonic was the main cause of the "Flames of Disaster". Together, Silver and Blaze go back in time to stop Sonic from destroying the future.

Characters

Playable

File:SonicNext-GenPromotional.jpg

Promotional art depicting the game's playable characters. From left to right: Silver, Sonic, and Shadow.

Currently, there are three known fully playable characters in this game:

• Sonic the Hedgehog - The hero of the story. When controlling Sonic, the player will get to experience high-speed, Sonic Adventure-style gameplay. He appears to have retained most of his abilities from Sonic Adventure 2. He also gains speed with each ring he collects. Sonic will have special areas within levels called Super-Speed stages which are straight paths of high speed running. Sonic has "Custom actions", that enables him to purchase and customize his abilities for separate situations - some of which include Sonic doing a swipe in a 360 degree formation and sliding to attack his foes. The abilities Sonic is equipped with in the Xbox Live Marketplace demo are Homing Attack, Light Dash, a bounce attack, grinding, a sliding kick, and a breakdance kick similar to the one seen in Sonic Battle. The Spin Dash also returns in this game, however it can only be used when unlocked and applied to the characters 'Special Move' trigger. Sonic also has a whole new design for his afterimage. It looks like a blue flame now and when he attacks , the after image explodes into a rainbow like color.

• Shadow the Hedgehog - A black hedgehog rival of Sonic's. Shadow is able to drive vehicles. Confirmed ones include a "bike" (armed motorcycle), a "glider" (armed jet propelled machine similar to a hanglider), a "hover vehicle" (armed and capable of riding over potentially hazardous surfaces), and a "buggy" (armed four-wheeled vehicle). While in an action stage, if Shadow comes under heavy fire, homing missles will become available for each of the vehicles. He is also seen attacking with what appears to be 'Chaos Blast' and 'Chaos Spear.' It has been confirmed by the Tokyo Game Show demo that Shadow will not use firearms in this game. It currently isn't known how Shadow is affected by rings. It has been comfirmed on the japanese website that Shadow also has "Custom Actions" and works the same as Sonic's. According to the TGS demo, Shadow can use his Chaos Spear attack and attack enemies with rapid fire kicks . He can also use Homing Attack, grind and also do a sliding kick.

• Silver the Hedgehog - Silver is a time-traveling hedgehog who has returned to the past in order to stop Sonic from becoming the "Iblis Trigger". Silver has psychokinetic powers, which are the main feature of his gameplay. Using his psychokinetic powers, Silver is able to pick up objects around the playing field and throw them at enemies, including cars and missiles. He also possesses the ability to levitate in the air for differing amounts of time (using up his energy bar), he also gains more abilities the more rings he collects. His energy bar depletes faster the heavier the object he is lifting is and slower the more damaged it is. In addition, the more rings he has, the less taxing his psychokinetic powers are on his energy bar. Also notable, too, is the fact that open crossing a checkpoint, Silver is able to fully replenish his telekinesis bar. [9]

To unlock each character's story in the game, you start out as Sonic and then meet the others, very similar to Sonic Adventure.

Notable, too, is the fact that the three main characters' superforms will be playable in the game when facing the final boss, "Solaris" [10]. Confirmed by the official strategy guide for the game, Super Shadow will fight it in the past, Super Sonic in the present, and Super Silver in the future. They can be activated for in level play by purchasing the "Super Emerald" from the shops.

Amigos

File:Tails 2006.png

Tails as he appears in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 game)

Amigos are companions of the main three characters (Sonic, Shadow, and Silver) who can help out from time to time in specific levels. When you meet them, you can switch to them and do things with their unique abilities that the main character cannot. They are later unlocked for play in "Free Mode".

Sonic's Amigos

• Miles "Tails" Prower - Sonic's best friend, and an inventor nearly on par with Dr. Eggman. Tails can use his two tails to fly and reach things that Sonic cannot--such as hitting a switch to open a door. Tails can also fly through Dash Rings that appear in some stages (as was the case in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Riders) . He can also throw a "dummy ring bomb" that can destroys an enemy.[11] Unlocked by completing all of the Town Stage Missions with any rank.

• Knuckles the Echidna - Though shy around girls, Knuckles is a tough guy with a mean temper, and he's quick to use his fists to solve any problem. Usually found guarding the Master Emerald on Angel Island, he's always willing to help Sonic thwart Dr. Eggman's latest scheme. . Unlocked by completing all of the Town Stage Missions with a "S" ranking.

Shadow's Amigos

• Rouge the Bat - An elusive jewel thief who also happens to be a valued government spy. It has been claimed that Rouge journeyed to Dr. Eggman's base, White Acropolis, in search of the "Scepter of Darkness", but never returned. After receiving an brief from the government, Shadow is introduced into the storyline as he sets out to find and rescue her . On the Japanese site, it shows her kicking a round bomb-like object at enemies, somewhat resembling the Bat Cracker ability from Sonic Battle. Unlocked by completing all of the Missions given by the agent (GUN Commander) with any rank.

• E-123 Omega - Omega is the pinnacle of the E-Series robots; he seeks revenge on Dr. Eggman for imprisoning him inside of his base and has aided Shadow and Rouge before. Like in Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog, he is, once again, an ally of Shadow, helping him confront the mysterious Mephiles. . Unbeknownst to him, Omega has a pivotal role in Shadow's story and the events that unfold in the future. Unlocked by completing all of the Missions given by the agent (GUN Commander) with a "S" rank.

Silver's Amigos

• Blaze the Cat - Blaze is a character who previously appeared in the game Sonic Rush for the Nintendo DS. She is a queen from another world who has the power to control fire. She is very calm and introspective, a personality befitting of her rank. However, she keeps her anger bottled up inside of her, and can be very stubborn at times. She is described as a combination of Sonic and Knuckles. Her homeworld is the same as Silver's and the two share a brother-sister relationship . Both she and Silver have tried to defeat Iblis in the future but have never succeeded. She can be seen in the Crisis City level, claimed to be the first stage of Silver's Story as it takes place in the future. Unlocked by completing all of the missions to the mystery of Soleana with any rank.

• Amy Rose - The self-proclaimed girlfriend of Sonic. She has a keen sense of intuition, and a fearless personality. The first time Amy meets Silver, she mistakes him for Sonic, similar to an event in Sonic Adventure 2 when she mistook Shadow for Sonic. The two end up teaming up to go on a search for the people they are looking for, unaware they're both looking for Sonic. She is seen in the Dusty Desert level on the Japanese site [12]. Amy also has an apparent connection with the princess throughout the game. Unlocked by completing all of the missions to the mystery of Soleana with a "S" rank.

Other

Other characters may also be playable, but not in story mode. Co-Op gameplay is currently shown as a feature on SEGA Europe's official Sonic the Hedgehog Page under "Features" and under the "Features" of SEGA America's official web site for the game - these characters may be playable in this mode.

• Dr. Eggman - A scientist with legions of robotic weapons and who is bent on conquering the world, Dr. Eggman is the main villain in the Sonic series and presumably this game. He appears to be seeking knowledge of the secret "Flames of Disaster", of which apparently only Princess Elise knows about. His appearance has noticeably changed from the style established in Sonic Adventure.

• Princess Elise - Princess of Soleanna, where the Sun God is worshipped. Ten years ago, the demon Force-Iblis was sealed away in her body. The key to this seal is her own despair. Her father, in order to protect her, has urged her to be strong and to never let herself cry, no matter what, and now, she is a noble young princess of 17. On one side, she is a prim and proper princess, but on the other, she is a typical confused and anxious 17-year-old girl. She tries to make light of her fate, but her encounter with Sonic is what shall truly set her soul free. She is now Dr. Eggman's captive. Having stopped the destructive "Flames of Disaster" ten years prior to the start of the game's storyline, only she knows the secret of the "Flames of Disaster" and its relation to the Chaos Emeralds. It is Elise's tears and despair that actually are key to unleashing the monster Iblis. She tells Sonic, after she is rescued, that he needs to find the Iblis Trigger. Interestingly, the Chaos Emerald in her possession was originally green, but in recent trailers and screenshots [13] it has been changed to blue.

File:4thhedgehog.jpg

Shadow battling Mephiles in his crystalline form.

• Mephiles the Dark - A creature of the mind, the will of Solaris. In order to join together with Iblis, to "return" to Solaris, his goal is to break Elise's seal and to gather the Chaos Emeralds. He makes up Shadow's dark side, and is fuel for his burning desire as the ultimate life-form. He is known to be the one who informs Silver that Sonic is the "Iblis Trigger", referring to him as the "Disaster Ringleader". He appears to have two forms: the first form, as shown at the right, whereby he has brighter fur; the second form being, as shown here [14], whereby he sports darker fur - the specific differences between both forms is currently unknown. He is also bent on destroying Shadow. [15] It is also seen in the Tokyo Game Show trailer that Mephiles seems to have the ability to hide in the ground as a shadow.

• Iblis - The "power" of the Flame of Solaris, an energy-based being. He has been sealed away inside of Elise's body by her father. Iblis is a gigantic monster of mass destruction; he is made of lava, and is practically immortal. Iblis spreads the Flames of Disaster throughout the world, bringing about the ruination of the planet. He was supposedly released by Sonic at some time in the near future, making it Silver's quest to find Sonic and stop him from unleashing Iblis, and destroying the world.

• Duke Soleanna - Elise's father, the ruler of Soleanna. When the Solaris Project failed, the world-destroying power of Iblis and Mephiles was released. Despite being gravely wounded, he was able to bind Iblis into his daughter Elise's body. And so, he was able to save the world, even as he drew his last breath. He was a brilliant scientist. He also had a strong sense of patriotic and kingly duty, and loved and trusted his daughter dearly and before he died he begged Elise never to cry as unlocking Iblis is in Elise's tears and despair, then he died.

Solaris: It is unknown what this charactar's role is unknown. But the character will be the final boss.

Cast

This game features the 4Kids Entertainment cast from Sonic X, as confirmed by a Sega rep (as seen on the Sonic X page), this may be one of the final games (the others being Sonic and the Secret Rings and Sonic Rivals) that will feature the 4Kids Cast. The rep stated that Sega had no reason to use the 4Kids VAs in any Sonic video games after Sonic and the Secret Rings, as the Sonic X Television show's run has ended.

The following voice actors will appear in this game:

Voice Actor	Role
Jason Griffith	Sonic the Hedgehog / Shadow the Hedgehog [[16]]
Pete "The Sniper" Capella	Silver the Hedgehog
Mike Pollock	Dr. Eggman
Lacey Chabert	Princess Elise
Bella Hudson	Blaze the Cat
Amy Palant	Miles "Tails" Prower
Lisa Ortiz	Amy Rose
Maddie Blaustein	E-123 Omega
Kathleen Delaney	Rouge the Bat
Jay Snyder	Knuckles the Echidna / Mephiles the Dark

Key Features

• The detail level and draw distance have been upped considerably. High resolution textures are utilized, in combination with effects like bump and normal mapping.
• The Havok Physics Engine has been implemented, giving robots and debris realistic physics as objects crumble, fall and bounce around the playing field.
• A Day/Night cycle has been implemented. As the player progresses through the game, time passes by from dawn, noon, dusk, night time, and back to dawn again in real-time. Everything in the game casts lighting and shadows based on the position of the sun or moon.
• The basic features of previous Sonic games return; classic objects like springs and dash plates, as well as newer features like rail-grinding, sliding and the homing attack, were all shown in the demo, while adding new elements such as Sonic catching a ride with an eagle, grinding on a jet stream of water, and using spring ropes to proceed to the next area.
• In previous Sonic titles, character models were constructed with about 1,500 polygons. While there is still debate over the validity of the claim, a recent issue of GamePro said that player models in this game will be composed of over 1 million polygons each.
• By default, the camera is closer to Sonic, and lower to the ground than the previous Sonic games, to help emphasize the sensation of speed.
• Rings have expanded functionality. Rather than simply being a measure of life, they can now be used to purchase items and abilities in the Town Stages. In addition, the more rings Sonic carries, the faster his top speed is - similar to the Sonic Advance titles. The more rings Silver carries, the more powerful his abilities become. The rings also help replenish his telekinesis bar. It is currently unknown what effect rings have on Shadow. Sonic doesn't always lose all of his rings in one go either. Depending on how he is attacked, he loses amounts varying from 1 ring to all rings. Also, in the Demo, the higher rank you get, the more rings you earn.
• On September 4th, 2006, Sega announced they would be working with Kynogon, to license their Kynapse Artificial Intelligence Middleware.
• As noted in the XBOX Live demo title screen, the game uses the Lua programming language

Gameplay

Although each character plays the same levels, each character's unique abilities allow them to get to different areas of each stage, and deny them from accessing certain items. Levels are far less linear than previous 3D Sonic titles, offering up many alternate pathways through each stage. Certain areas in each of the levels, dubbed "mach speed areas", allow Sonic to reach speeds that would be unattainable elsewhere.

Gameplay is broken up into two gameplay styles, similar to the original Sonic Adventure: Action Stage and Town Stage. Action Stages are primarily where the bulk of the gameplay takes place, whereas Town Stages are free-roaming locations where the player can talk to non-player characters and explore, similar to Sonic Adventure's Adventure Fields.

According to the information disclosed on the American game site, there are a total of eleven stages, meaning there is still one unknown, unannounced stage.

The ranking system in the game for each of the levels (and even the town missions) is similiar to Sonic Rush, providing score ranks with the highest rank revealed to be S Rank, but, the lowest to be D Rank, unlike previous Sonic games where the worst rank was E Rank and A was the highest. [17]

The Japanese game site [18] has an About section, containing level names for ten of the eleven stages. Most of them are blurred out, but their names are still mostly legible.

Action Stages

• Kingdom Valley: A large, grassy canyon containing the ruins of an old castle. The Mach Speed Zone for this level is a speedy dash including running along walls of water. Sonic and Shadow have been seen riding an eagle on this level. It is the level playable in all of the demo builds of the game so far, including the Xbox Live Marketplace demo.
  • Sonic's Story: Sonic journeys to the ancient castle in search of Dr. Eggman who has captured Princess Elise yet again and hopes to collect the Chaos Emerald hidden there. [19]
  • Shadow's Story: (2nd Stage) Shadow escorts Rouge to the castle of Soleanna in Kingdom Valley, with the Scepter of Darkness in tow.[20]
  • Silver's Story: ???

• Tropical Jungle: A large jungle that seems to have overgrown an ancient civilization. Instead of catching a ride with eagles on this stage Sonic interacts with a giant turtle who helps Sonic get farther in the stage. Sonic has been seen carrying Elise in this stage.
  • Sonic's Story: After rescuing Princess Elise from aboard the train, Sonic finds himself in a jungle with Elise. To avoid being found, Sonic tries to cut through the jungle with hopes of eluding Dr. Eggman, once again. [21]
  • Shadow's Story: (5th Stage) After getting seperated from Shadow, Rouge journeys to this jungle with the goals of finding Omega, and enlisting his help. [22]
  • Silver's Story: (2nd Stage) After being sent into the past, Silver journeys to this jungle with hopes of confronting Sonic the Hedgehog, whom he believes to be the "Iblis Trigger". [23]

• Wave Ocean: A beach-like stage, in homage to Emerald Coast from Sonic Adventure[24], even includes a segment where Sonic is chased by an orca whale along a wooden bridge, in addition to scenes where Sonic is instead riding the orca. Tails is seen in this stage on the Japanese site. Sonic is also seen chasing a massive airship, resembling the Egg Carrier. The Mach Speed zone for this area involves Sonic running at high speeds across a beach after the Egg Carrier.
  • Sonic's Story: (1st Stage) After meeting up with Tails, he and Sonic search for Dr. Eggman's ship with goals of rescuing Princess Elise. [25]Later on, Tails revisits Wave Ocean on his own as revealed by Sonic Cult and, in part, by the Japanese site [26].
  • Shadow's Story: ???
  • Silver's Story: ???

• Dusty Desert: These are the ruins of old Soleanna. On the Japanese site, there are screens of Amy in this stage. Shadow plays through the opening of the stage in a hovercraft. It seems that Sonic fights a giant mecha wolf in a colosseum in this stage. Recent footage also shows that Sonic will actually carry Elise whilst travelling through the level. Some of Iblis' minions can also be found here.
  • Sonic's Story: (2nd Stage) After rescuing Elise from the clutches of Dr. Eggman, Sonic, Tails and Elise come across some ancient ruins in hopes of eluding Eggman's forces. [27]
  • Shadow's Story: Shadow, Rouge and Omega follow Mephiles to the ruins where he is searching for the Chaos Emerald hidden there in hopes of beating him to it. [28] [29]
  • Silver's Story: (3rd Stage) After meeting up with each other, Silver and Amy search the ruins in hopes of finding who they are looking for. [30]

• Crisis City: A giant, decaying city in the future that is visibly under attack from forces both mechanical and supernatural. Will feature a streetboarding section (like City Escape from Sonic Adventure 2) but inside of a half-pipe, similar to Sonic 2's Special Stage, also the board he rides appears to be an Extreme Gear. Sonic also appears to be running across flying debris in mid-air in some gameplay footage. Shadow can use an all-terrain armored vehicle in this level, similar to the Warthog from the Halo series and the Landmaster from the Star Fox series
  • Sonic's Story: (4th Stage) When Sonic and the others are sent to the future by Dr. Eggman's new machine, they try to determine where they are and what went wrong in this new setting. [31]
  • Shadow's Story: (3rd Stage) After a quick confrontation with Mephiles at the castle of Soleanna, Shadow and Rouge are mysteriously transported to the future, unsure of what went wrong. Along the way, they find very puzzling answers. [32]
  • Silver's Story:(1st stage) Set in the future, Silver and Blaze continue their on-going fight against Iblis. [33]

• White Acropolis: This has been confirmed on the Japanese Site to be a snowy level set outside a large base, most probably Eggman's, complete with many large buildings and searchlights. Sonic, like in Crisis City, has another snowboarding area here, which is a homage to the Icecap stage from Sonic Adventure[34].
  • Sonic's Story: (3rd Stage) After meeting up with Knuckles, and recieving a letter from Dr. Eggman, threatening him to bring the Chaos Emerald he has, Sonic and the others set off to find Dr. Eggman's secret base, the "Aquatic Base". [35]
  • Shadow's Story: (1st Stage) Shadow journeys to Eggman's base in search of Rouge, who has sent an SOS call after trying to locate and recover the Scepter of Darkness. [36]
  • Silver's Story: (4th Stage) Uncertain whether or not Sonic really is this fabled "Iblis Trigger", Silver and Blaze journey to Dr. Eggman's base in search of some answers. [37]

• Radical Train: Some recent footage has been released showing a level set in a mountainous region with a heavy presence of trains and train tracks. [38] There is a high possibility that this is the Radical Train level, but it is not confirmed.
  • Sonic's Story: After escaping from the future, Sonic and the others try to search for Princess Elise once again. [39]
  • Shadow's Story: ???
  • Silver's Story: ???

• Aquatic Base: This stage is known to be Eggman's secret base. Through some background pictures from the official english site, it was shown that Aquatic Base is a heavily armed Underwater base with windows showing water creatures swimming around. The base is made of metal and has badniks that were shown in Kingdom Valley and Crisis City guarding the area.
  • Sonic's Story: ???
  • Shadow's Story: ???
  • Silver's Story: ???

• Flame Core: On a video at IGN, Sonic is seen fighting one of Iblis's forms here. In several screenshots and video clips, Shadow is seen fighting Mephiles, presumably, somewhere in this stage.
  • Sonic's Story: (5th Stage) Teamed up with Shadow and Rouge, Sonic and the others search for a Chaos Emerald here to get back to the present but end up confronting one of Iblis' forms instead. [40]
  • Shadow's Story: (4th Stage) Also stuck in the future, Shadow and Rouge assist Sonic and the others in their search of a Chaos Emerald here to get back to the present.[41]
  • Silver's Story: ???

• End of the World: Set in an area of distorted space that looks similar to the altar rooms in Mystic Mansion from Sonic Heroes, this is said to be the final stage for the "Last Story". According to Sonic Cult, this stage entails most of the characters - Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge, Silver, Amy - going on a hunt for all the 7 Chaos Emeralds a la Sonic Adventure and Cannon's Core from Sonic Adventure 2.

• 11th Stage: It has been confirmed on the American site [42] that there is an 11th stage. No information has been made available on this stage as of yet. It is unlocked by collecting all of the Soleanna Silver Medals.

Town Stages

On the American site [43] of Sonic the Hedgehog, there is to be a shop to buy upgrades (with money you get by either getting a high rank in an action stage or finding money in a town stage) and doing tasks for the citizens helps you get to the other action stages in the game through portals located throughout town.

• Soleanna: City of Water; Seen in the extended trailer. Cobblestone streets, fountains, and a largely human population. Sonic is seen talking to an elderly man here. Its scenery look was based off of Venice, Italy. Confirmed to be Soleanna in the trailer shown at TGS. As shown in an enviroment trailer, you'll get to race a human that somewhat resembles Sonic. [44]

• New City: An area of Soleanna, that is much more industrialized. It looks similar to NYC.

• Jungle Area: At Gamereactor.se [45][46], Silver can be seen in some screenshots talking to an old man and talking to himself about gathering information about the Iblis Trigger from the inhabitants.

Town Missions

On that note, in some cases, even Amigo characters may "steal the spotlight" and be assigned Town Missions relative to the storyline. For example, in the script revealed by Sonic Cult, in Sonic's Story, one of Tails' town missions is to "Track [the] Princess". Other characters, also, have their own town missions in the other two stories.

There will also be upgrades that can be obtained in Town Missions[47], somewhat reminiscing the way upgrades were obtained in Sonic Adventure. Also, it has been revealed that collectible silver and gold medals can be found, scattered around Soleanna and the action stages. [48]

Multiplayer

According to the Sega of America site there will be a multiplayer feature that will allow 4 players to compete against each other. It is unknown what levels will be available nor do we know who else will be multiplayer characters besides Sonic, Shadow, and Silver. The site also states that there will be cooperative play.. However, the Japanese site states that the game is for 1-2 players thus possibly indicating that only two, as opposed to four, people may be able to participate in multiplayer modes. Also, recent scans of the September 2006 issue of EGM suggests that the mini-games will be wide in range and variety, including races, tag games, and even quizzes. [49] It has recently been revealed that Sonic or Shadow can work together to get the Chaos Emeralds too.[50]

Music

A few tracks from the game have been revealed so far. The background music for Kingdom Valley, Crisis City, Wave Ocean have been heard from various sources and gameplay movies on IGN, Kikizo, and other sites of that nature. On that note, three tracks can be heard on the official American site that are actually remixes to the stage themes of Kingdom Valley and Crisis City. [51]

There are also various versions to the main theme for the game, entitled, "His World". For one, an instrumental version performed by Ali Tabatabaee & Matty Lewis from Zebrahead, is available on the Japanese official website. [52] It was removed at one point (Archived AMV with the song) because it was confirmed by an interview with Zebrahead that they were recording a full version of the song including the whole band, which was scheduled to be finished September 19, 2006. The introductory part of the song bares a subtle resemblence towards the original Sonic the Hedgehog theme song on the Sega Genesis, although it may be coincidental. Another version of the song (an instrumental and more rock oriented version) has been used in a handful of trailers, debuting even before the vocal version was released. It is unknown where these music tracks will be used in the game, if at all.

On a side note, HipHop/R&B Artist Akon is doing a remix to Dreams Come True song "Sweet Sweet Sweet", which was originally the ending theme for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Sega Mega Drive. The song will be entitled "SWEET SWEET SWEET -06 AKON MIX-", and is presumed to be either Princess Elise's theme or the ending theme for the game. More information is available on the Japanese site [53]; it was also recently featured in a trailer from the Tokyo Game Show. This song will be in english for the US release of the game.

Crush 40, who have done several songs for the Sonic series in the past, are performing a remix of "All Hail Shadow", one of the vocal songs from the Shadow the Hedgehog soundtrack. However, aside from this one track, Jun Senoue is not composing the music for this game .

Reception

The game, thus far, has obtained several mixed opinions within the reviews. Three of which are average, and the other two being above average.

• PLAY Magazine rated the game a 95/100
• Game-On rated this game an 87/100
• GameBrink rated the game a 57/100 [54].
• 1UP rated the game a 55/100 [55].
• GameDaily rated the game a 2.5/5 [56]

References

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000GM8ACM/202-8306227-0361429?v=glance&n=300703

External links

• Ryan Drummond email - Ryan Drummond's explanation to his email that he sent to Sega.
• The game's official American site - The game's official American site. It is completely different than the Japanese site. It apparently reveals almost all of the characters.
• Official European Site - Very similar to the American site. But has a different video on the Home page.
• Sonic the Hedgehog - The game's official Japanese site from Sonic Channel.
• Sega of America's information page
• Sega of America's game page
• Gamespot Newspage - Yuji Naka demos real-time next-gen Sonic at the Tokyo Game Show 2005; accompanying trailers feature gameplay on a PS3 developers' kit.
• "TGS: Sonic the Hedgehog Next-Gen trailer" at Game Videos
• Interview with Mike Pollock at Fireball20xl