Camp Sonic

Our readers are always on the lookout for new Sonic Unleashed information it seems. This time, reader Ah2190 got his hands on the new gamesTM Magazine, and promptly sent us scans of the article. There is a lot to learn about Sonic Unleashed from this new piece of literature, all of which is now available for your viewing. For those of you who just want a summary of the new information, read on.

As well as the action stages, Sonic Unleashed will also feature nine hub-world, themed around real geographical locations…

This could put an end to that rumor about the Wii and PS2 getting two fewer levels then the 360 and PS3 counterparts. We won’t completely squish the rumor just yet, but things are definitely looking good. We’ll probably get this rumor completely cleaned up by the end of E3.

…Like the hub world from the original Sonic Adventure, these areas can be roamed freely and feature human NPC’s with which to converse. Unlike the previous Sonic the Hedgehog, however, these human characters do not look out of place thanks to a new art style, which renders them as small and cute as Sonic himself.

This may ease the minds of countless Sonic fans out there who have been worried about the integration of human society in Sonic games. It’s something worth worrying about after recent Sonic disasters, but when we hear something like this, it lifts our spirits about such concerns. According to Hashimoto, one of the inspirations for the humans in Unleashed was Pixar and their popular films such as Ratatouille.

In regards to 2D and 3D gameplay:

“There are a couple of guidelines we followed in designing the levels,” explains Hashimoto. “The first is that each 2D or 3D section should last around 15-30 seconds. The second is that the overall stage should be no more than five minutes long. We try to switch between 2D and 3D as often as possible so that no one sequence lasts too long. the idea is to create a pace that never allows the player to grow bored.”

Hashimoto, you can go ahead and consider us far from bored, and we haven’t even got our hands on the game yet. Sure, that’s one way to set us up for disappointment, but the varying action sequences seem like a great idea to us.

For anyone worried that the 3D sections might be those most likely to let the side down, fear not. Sonic Team has retained the parts that always work – rail grinding from Sonic Adventure, lane switching from Sonic And The Secret Rings – and added a few new touches to capitalise on the perspective.

There you go folks. Your rails questions are answered, as it’s demonstrated that the best of all worlds have been combined to bring a truly unique, fun experience to the table.

…we did just mention a stage based on the Great Wall of China. In fact, every one of the nine [*ahem* NINE] locations of Sonic Unleashed is based on a real-world environment. So far we’ve seen a Spanish villa, an African desert plain, the aforementioned China, and New York City.

Though a far cry from Sonic’s traditional environments like Green Hill Zone and Casino Zone, the stages of Sonic Unleashed are still anything but realistic. These are familiar locations, only rendered in Sega’s distinctive visual style, with a perfect day’s weather and a series of spectacular eye-catching set pieces. Hashimoto explains, “One of the main themes of the game is about Sonic travelling around some very different places, so we wanted to create a sense of him existing in an actual world full of different countries. In fact, you may not know this but the Japanese title of this game is Sonic World Adventure…”

Few things here. First off, we once again see confirmation of 9 stages in Sonic Unleashed. Set that aside, and we get confirmation of a few levels such as China, a Spanish country, Africa, and New York City. The stylized look is something we’ve been impressed with ever since the first leaked shots and videos of Sonic Unleashed, and it’s been evident that although based off real world locations, Sega is keeping Sonic in a world of his own… unless there really are loops like that in Europe that no one ever told me about…

And what is there to learn about the plot in the latest gamesTM?

In an unusual touch for the series, the opening FMV in Sonic Unleashed kicks off the story by telling the concluding part of a previous, untold adventure [remember folks, Sonic Unleashed is not attached to any previous games]. Just like an Indiana Jones film… except set in space.

Bounding over and around a fleet of spaceships toward a final encounter with Dr Eggman, Sonic spins through the dark void of space and transforms into Super Sonic, only to be caught in on eof Dr Eggman’s machines. “Eggman uses a machine to corrupt the power of the emeralds,” Hashimoto explains. “So Sonic’s aim throughout Unleashed is to fix the emeralds by travelling the world to find shrines that will reverse the effects of Dr Eggman’s machine.”

It continues on that Sonic won’t be able to transform into Super Sonic until at least the climax of the game from this point on, but he will transform into something else until then (yes, they really aren’t saying what yet…)

Many of our own viewers have speculated similar plot line beginnings, and it seems to be the makings of a wonderful story. Can Sega pull it off? We’ll know soon enough.

Finally, there is also a quick blurb about the so-called RPG elements from Sonic Unleashed.

New powers can be unlocked by locating hidden items throughout the stages while regular abilities, such as speed and strength can be upgraded via sliding scales after each victory over a boss.

All in all, gamesTM seemed impressed, although they are not calling ready to say the game is going to be brilliant just yet (with recent Sonic games, we can’t blame them). We’re definitely excited to hear some of the things they discovered, and encourage to give the article a quick read yourself if you have a moment (it’s only 3 pages — 4 counting a full size photo). For those interested, we have the scans here, or you can go grab the latest issue of gamesTM yourself and start reading on page 29!

Thanks again Ah2190! You’ve been a huge help to the Sonic Community!

Stick around. E3 is literally only days away! And we’ve got eyes and ears on the floor, ready for a full writeup after the private showing of Sonic Unleashed!

Tags: gamesTM, scans, Sonic Unleashed