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[Christopher]

Since I'm the ONLY one here who likes this game I think it would be form fitting for me to create the offical thread <3.

What it is:

Sonic the Hedgehog (also called Sonic Next-Gen, SONIC The Hedgehog, Sonic 2006, orSonic the Hedgehog 2006 to differentiate it from similarly titled games) is the name of the next-generation video game featuring Sonic to be released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game will be released on November 14, 2006 on the Xbox 360,. 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 will mark the 15th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog, just as Sonic Adventure 2 marked the 10th anniversary.

Among the innovations revealed are the incorporation of passing time, including the realistic movement of the sun, as well as highly detailed characters and landscapes (in one demo, a tree was shown in-game with mushrooms growing on it). Yuji Naka has stated that the general theme of the game will be "What if Sonic were real?"

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"[3] during his journey; Iblis causes many deaths in the future from which Silver hails. [4] 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 Soleana's kings. Eggman's robots swoop down to attack, and at the height of the battle the "[Scepter] of Darkness" is broken completely. When the seal is removed from the "[Scepter] of Darkness" Mephiles appears, looking entirely like Shadow, and by means of a mysterious power finishes by sending Shadow and Rouge to a future world on the brink of collapse.


Silver
Silver lives years in the future when telekinetic powers are the norm.[5] 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, but, do they have the wrong guy? And why does Blaze find Mephiles to be so suspicious? Time will tell as Silver and Blaze uncover the answers they need, and some not-so-pleasing realizations.

Screenshots:

Game Rankings.com score thus far:

*Thanks to Wikipedia, and Google.com

 

[CoryCubed]

don't worry your not the only one. picking that one up, and sonic rivals, sonic 1 on gba, live arcade, and virtual console, (just got it on my cell phone too), and god forbid I just downloaded the theme too.

 

[Rabid Wolverine]

If its region free, ill be picking this up.

 

[GCQuinton]

Trust me, you're not the only one but I've mostly stayed quiet on this topic. I'm picking my pre-order up tomorrow and am definately looking forward to playing it. Despite all the hate I do read on here for it, as controversial as it may seem to some, I really don't want to play the exact same game I've been playing the last 15 years with next-gen graphics slapped on.

If anything, I respect them for at least trying to do something different with the series instead of being content and chucking the same thing out and just riding it out. Just my opinion.

 

[Diablohead]

Going to try and rent it friday online, but no idea if they will have enough in to send out at gamesfrenzy.

 

[Oldschoolgamer]

Whenever I get a PS3, I will be playing this.

 

[Alex]

Waiting for a bit of impressions for a very rare change, but since I really loved SA1 and 2 and am getting a 360 today, I'm very interested.

 

[dark10x]

I was going to wait for the PS3 release, but seeing as I can't even GET a PS3, I'm buying it this week for XBOX360. Hopefully the framerate issues have been ironed out and the game delivers a mostly rock solid 60 fps.

I know the game is hated by most, but the demo (for me) played very well and was a massive step in the right direction after Shadow. The level design was great and the flow was just as good (or better) as Sonic Adventure 2. This should be worlds better than Shadow and even Heroes and really IS Sonic Adventure 3.

 

[Nakasan]

Rules for creating a worthwhile "official" thread:

1. Don't make it about new Sonic games (j/k).

2. Dont include target renders as legitimate screenshots. Makes you look like you don't really know what your on about.

3. Don't make it about new Sonic games.

 

[BobJustBob]

Where's Sonic Wii? You know, the good one.

 

[SaggyMonkey]

Isn't this new one more of an action rpg? I've heard the fast/running sections only account for a quarter of the game or so.

 

[Tiduz]

I already pre-ordered it, so your not the only one

And sonic wii isnt "better". its gameplay is totally different, and no matter what people say, its NOT old school sonic. People complain that sonic controls itself in this game but they say sonic wii is awesome... :lol

 

[jman2050]

Just hope that this is good, cause if it isn't, I don't know how much more of Sega's bull I can take.

 

[Nakasan]

I already pre-ordered it, so your not the only one

And sonic wii isnt "better". its gameplay is totally different, and no matter what people say, its NOT old school sonic. People complain that sonic controls itself in this game but they say sonic wii is awesome... :lol

Yes, the two Sonic games are extremely different, and neither are old skool Sonic, becuase old skool Sonic was never ALL about speed. It was about great handling, multiple paths through levels AND doing it fast. It was never just about speed. Sonic Team have forgot this.

 

[Tiduz]

on this point i agree, but i still think this game will be enjoyable to a degree that its satisfying, and who knows, maybe people who hate it will enjoy it too if they give it a chance NOT based on a DEMO and Proportions... this is the only game ive seen people complain about proportions on a BLUE HEDGEHOG. :lol

 

[BobJustBob]

I already pre-ordered it, so your not the only one

And sonic wii isnt "better". its gameplay is totally different, and no matter what people say, its NOT old school sonic. People complain that sonic controls itself in this game but they say sonic wii is awesome... :lol

Different from *this* is better.

 

[Hunter D]

If this game is better than SA2 I will get it.

 

[Zaptruder]

I would be down for this game.

Except if the final has a camera anything like the demo, it's utterly unplayable for me.

 

[Tiduz]

Different from *this* is better.

Explain to me how, as i understand it thats your opinion, thus NOT a Fact.
Im gonna play both, twice the fun instead of triple the bitching going on.

 

[McBacon]

Did you people play the demo?

There is no doubt in my mind this is more shit.

 

[Dabookerman]

http://www.realgamenews.com/?p=8#respond

:lol

 

[Speevy]

Every game deserves a chance, but I don't think we've seen the slightest indication from press or the demo that this game has potential to improve.

 

[dark10x]

Did you people play the demo?

There is no doubt in my mind this is more shit.

Yes, and I thought it was good. Very much like SA2, but with a larger number of branching paths and improved homing mechanics. I had no troubles with the camera.

It's vastly superior to Shadow, that much is for sure. I don't expect perfection, but if it can deliver something as enjoyable as the demo, I'll be happy. I know that won't work for most, though.

 

[Tiduz]

Yes, and I thought it was good. Very much like SA2, but with a larger number of branching paths and improved homing mechanics. I had no troubles with the camera.

It's vastly superior to Shadow, that much is for sure. I don't expect perfection, but if it can deliver something as enjoyable as the demo, I'll be happy. I know that won't work for most, though.

exactly my point, the game is not perfect, but many games are not perfect and still verry enjoyable.

 

[Rocked]

Why is it just called "Sonic The Hedgehog"? Such an insult to the real Sonic The Hedgehog game.

 

[FightyF]

I won't go into detail into how fanatical I am about Sonic, and how I'd prefer it going back to it's physics based roots...so I'll just leave it at that.

BUT, I will buy this game, despite the fact that:

-it still has hacked physics

-it still plays like a refined Adventure game

-there's too much homing attacks and grinding (grinding takes less skill than in SA2)

-no spin attack at all

I won't necessarily pick it up right away, though.

Anyways, I played the demo quite a bit and was able to beat it in 56 seconds, but one guy on YouTube got 52 seconds. He thought my path was the shortest though. Which means I suck.

DON'T BRING UP THE PEICE OF SHIT CALLED SONIC WII OR I'LL GIVE YOU A SICILIAN NECKTIE.

 

[bigmakstudios]

DON'T BRING UP THE PEICE OF SHIT CALLED SONIC WII OR I'LL GIVE YOU A SICILIAN NECKTIE.

The one that's gotten significantly more positive impressions than Sonic the Hedgehog?

 

[gutter_trash]

if the PS3 v. wasn`t delay until the Holidays, I would be anticipating the PS3 launch like mad.

Now, I go whatever, my reason to buy a PS3 at launch now has been pushed into a Christmas affair

wish me luck in securing a PS3 this friday or next month

 

[BobJustBob]

DON'T BRING UP THE PEICE OF SHIT CALLED SONIC WII OR I'LL GIVE YOU A SICILIAN NECKTIE.

 

[GitarooMan]

So PS3 version is definitely December at this point?

 

[FightyF]

The one that's gotten significantly more positive impressions than Sonic the Hedgehog?

We're talking SONIC here.

Not Crash Bandicoot on speed.

 

[Tiduz]

Why is it just called "Sonic The Hedgehog"? Such an insult to the real Sonic The Hedgehog game.

True, it should just have been sonic adventure III.

 

[Alex]

The trailer posted in the other thread makes it look so nice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM7TDIjvGIE

 

[nubbe]

We're talking SONIC here.

Not Crash Bandicoot on speed.

*head explodes*

 

[Tiduz]

sonic wii has one thing i dont like, if you miss stuff (for example gems scattered in secret places in a level) you cant seem to go back...

 

[FightyF]

True, it should just have been sonic adventure III.

Agreed.

Y'know when it was announced, and they were talking about using Havoc for the physics, I was thinking, "they finally realize what made Sonic...Sonic!" and I thought the title would be fitting because it would be the first 3D Sonic game done right.

Boy...was I wrong.

*head explodes*

Yeah, I know...it's an abomination much like Sonic 3D Blast.

sonic wii has one thing i dont like, if you miss stuff (for example gems scattered in secret places in a level) you cant seem to go back...

Well, it's just not Sonic. You can't spin attack or spin dash. You can't jump in a ball. You can't go back (one thing that differentiated it from Mario).

It just ain't Sonic. It's just SEGA trying to make a quick buck on the Wii using Sonic's popularity.

 

[Skilotonn]

I'm definetely going to give this game a spin...

Oh, and for the Gamerpics and theme lovers, there's a bunch of Sonic stuff in the Marketplace - none are free though, but they look great...

 

[JamesE]

Crash Bandicoot has level design/controls am I right guys?

Projected thread: Christopher says something about how it's not 1991, chaos ensues. Lots of people apologise for the game in a manner which borders on gross self-deciet, fire and looting ensues. Somewhere among the carnage, a single tear is shed for Sega of old, and Christopher says it's not 1991 and it's the same old haters in the threads, but this still doesn't fix the wanky .plot, shit modeling and character design nor the hopelessly broken controls. Then SWAT deploys teargas.

Any cutscenes up on Youtube? I fancy a laugh.

 

[FightyF]

Yeah I suppose that Crash > Sonic Wii considering that he can actually be controlled to a greater degree, plus he has a spin attack like Espio's.

Anyways, I wonder if SEGA will have online leaderboards for time attack. That would be nuts!

 

[JamesE]

Well, it's just not Sonic. You can't spin attack or spin dash. You can't jump in a ball. You can't go back (one thing that differentiated it from Mario).

It just ain't Sonic. It's just SEGA trying to make a quick buck on the Wii using Sonic's popularity.

The spindash and spin jump attacks aren't in 2006, either - I would imagine that this is some kind of symptom of the licencing department's growing insanity, but they've been moving away from the ball jump since Sonic Adventure 2.

As for your other critiques of the game, about half a dozen Sonic games have featured linear into-the-screen stages since 1992 - it's a trademark of the series revisited in most of the DIMPS handheld games, it was a selling point for Sonic 3D Saturn, and Chaotix's weird variant was the highlight of the game. Most recently it was pretty ****ing awesome in Sonic Rush.

Sonic Wii is the game of that game, and as such it has more to do with the old school games than Sonic 2006. It's a dedicated Special Stage game. I'm even hopeful we might get a bit of side-scrolling action in some of the stages, since the early demo has a part that suggests it.

I don't think you "get" it.

 

[JamesE]

Yeah I suppose that Crash > Sonic Wii considering that he can actually be controlled to a greater degree, plus he has a spin attack like Espio's.

Anyways, I wonder if SEGA will have online leaderboards for time attack. That would be nuts!

Oh. I thought you were talking about the Xboxen version.

 

[FightyF]

The spindash and spin jump attacks aren't in 2006, either - I would imagine that this is some kind of symptom of the licencing department's growing insanity, but they've been moving away from the ball jump since Sonic Adventure 2.

You can jump and kill baddies in StH, IIRC. I honestly can't remember the last time I killed a baddy w/o autolocking.

As for your other critiques of the game, about half a dozen Sonic games have featured linear into-the-screen stages since 1992 - it's a trademark of the series revisited in most of the DIMPS handheld games, it was a selling point for Sonic 3D Saturn, and Chaotix's weird variant was the highlight of the game. Most recently it was pretty ****ing awesome in Sonic Rush.

But those are special stages, a small part of the overall gameplay.

Sonic Wii is the game of that game, and as such it has more to do with the old school games than Sonic 2006. It's a dedicated Special Stage game. I'm even hopeful we might get a bit of side-scrolling action in some of the stages, since the early demo has a part that suggests it.

I don't think you "get" it.

I "get it" in the same way you do, but my interpretation is different than yours, ie. I think it's a game that SEGA's releasing to capitalize on Sonic's popularity. You've admitted yourself that it's more of a "dedicated Special Stage" game rather than a new Sonic platformer. If you've read my previous posts regarding this topic, I was excited about the Wii controller and Sonic, but this is just a waste IMO.

Secondly, it doesn't make much use of the Wii controller from what we know thus far. In fact, it could be done on the PS3 using the sixaxis controller. Not very innovative, considering the possibilities the controller affords.

I'm not only pissed off at SEGA, but at the posters trolling StH threads claiming that Sonic Wii is better. These guys aren't Sonic fans, and don't care for SEGA's bastardization of the series.

 

[sonikokaruto]

how is this in comparison to sonic wii?

 

[Tiduz]

The spin dash IS in it.

 

[JamesE]

You can jump and kill baddies in StH, IIRC. I honestly can't remember the last time I killed a baddy w/o autolocking.

Homing dash was the only way to kill anything in at least one of the demos I read up on, man. I cuss Sega bad.

But those are special stages, a small part of the overall gameplay.

Or an underdeveloped part of the franchise? It all depends how you want to spin it, I suppose - I'm willing to give it a chance, and having seen how amazing it's forerunners were (and all the untapped potential they had) I'm ready to give it a chance, since "not playing like classic Yasuhara/Oshima-style Sonic" hasn't stopped countless hundreds of games released since 1994 playing well. The game has possible merit, and their take on Sonic's design (rounded tummy, not skinny rubberbody with weird pseudo-pecs) and world (fantasy!) is a step closer to how I'd like to see the character portrayed. You have nothing to lose by giving it a chance, dude.

Wait for Rush 2. I think Dimps finally understand how to make their own brand of good 2D Sonic games.

 

[Firestorm]

The trailer posted in the other thread makes it look so nice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM7TDIjvGIE

Until you see that princess and remember about the lame plot, Shadow, and Silver.

But Tails has made me want to pick this up. Probably after I finish Zelda. My 360 hasn't arrived yet anyway.

 

[Rogultgot]

I can't wait to collect the Chaos Emeralds through a storyline basis and not as an optional ability for players with enough rings/talent/time to complete the special stages.

 

[gutter_trash]

the reason for not naming the game Sonic Adventure III is purely marketing. Calling it a Sonic The Hedgehog gives the impression that it`s a new fresh start, but we all know that it`s a spawn off the Adventure games. So it can feel like Sonic Adventure III in spirit but it`s marketidly calles Sonic The Hedgehog

 

[FightyF]

Homing dash was the only way to kill anything in at least one of the demos I read up on, man. I cuss Sega bad.

How about in the 360 demo? I'm pretty sure you can kill them just by jumping on them the more I think about it. I'm not home right now so I can't check.

Or an underdeveloped part of the franchise? It all depends how you want to spin it, I suppose - I'm willing to give it a chance, and having seen how amazing it's forerunners were (and all the untapped potential they had) I'm ready to give it a chance, since "not playing like classic Yasuhara/Oshima-style Sonic" hasn't stopped countless hundreds of games released since 1994 playing well. The game has possible merit, and their take on Sonic's design (rounded tummy, not skinny rubberbody with weird pseudo-pecs) and world (fantasy!) is a step closer to how I'd like to see the character portrayed. You have nothing to lose by giving it a chance, dude.

I'm still going to buy it once I get a Wii next Christmas...but then again I buy a lot of bad Sonic games that aren't what I want, a 3D Sonic Platformer.

Heh, I didn't want anyone talking about Sonic Wii because I knew I'd rip it another asshole. And now I've gone done it.

Back on topic:

Here are some LEVEL info from wikipedia:

* 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.

* 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.

* Wave Ocean: A beach-like stage resembling Emerald Coast from Sonic Adventure, even including 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.

* 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.

* 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. 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

* 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, in possible homage to the Ice Cap Zones of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic Adventure.

* 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. [28] There is a high possibility that this is the Radical Train level, but it is not confirmed.

* 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.

* 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.

* End of the World: Little official information has been made available on this stage as of yet, but it is claimed to be the final stage for the "Last Story". According to Sonic Cult, this stage entails most of the characters - Knuckles, Tails, Silver, Rouge, Shadow, and, Amy - going on a hunt for all the 7 Chaos Emeralds a la Sonic Adventure and Cannon's Core from Sonic Adventure 2. It is the final stage in the game's storyline.

* 11th Stage: It has been confirmed on the American site [32] that there is an 11th stage. No information has been made available on this stage as of yet. An achievement for the game appears to unlock the "true" final ending by achieving all S Ranks on every stage; whether this stage is unlocked through this is unknown, but it seems likely.


--------------
With all of that "carrying Elise through the level" in mind I'll make another bold statement:

Sonic 360 = ICO on speed

 

[Yoshi]

You can jump and kill baddies in StH, IIRC. I honestly can't remember the last time I killed a baddy w/o autolocking.

Shadow the Hedgehog. Killing the Giants was much easier by just going to them and jumping repeatedly, as it was faster than homing attacking and they couldn't block the attacks like they could the weapons.

Oh and of course I'll get Sonic the Hedgehog - I even got all A ranks in Shadow the Hedgehog because of having no other new Sonic game to play =).