Amidst the circulating rumors, Sega has announced that Sonic Unleashed is in development for the PS2, Wii, Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. The title will utilize a unique "Hedgehog Engine" and is set for release later this year.

"By combining rich and vibrant scenery with dynamic viewpoints Sonic Unleashed will provide an immersive 3D experience whilst keeping alive the 2D gameplay elements and fantastic worlds that Sonic fans know and love" says Gary Knight, European Marketing Director for Sega Europe.

Hit the jump to view more images.

You can almost set it like clockwork: another Sonic game at least every year. This fall Sonic returns to racing in Sonic Rivals 2 for the PlayStation Portable. Is the Hedgehog racer worth a run?

First off, let me break it down as to what this game features: a story mode and racing mode. In race mode, all you do is pick one of eight characters and battle it out through a bunch of different levels. This is essentially what the game is all about - you racing against opponents. It’s a fun and engaging experience.

The same can not be said for the story mode which is poor to say the least. Sonic games aren’t about the story at all, they're about speed and moving as fast as you can through a level.

In the story mode, you pick one of four teams to race with, with each team featuring two racers. There are several issues with this, the first being the game's combat. There is too much of a focus on combat and not nearly as much on the actual racing.

In regards to combat, once you get close to an opponent you can press the circle button to pass or jump over them. You also can acquire items throughout the level to utilize in order to attack your opponent. In addition, characters are given unique abilities if they collect enough rings in a board. This is unfair to say the least as some characters are given a significant advantage over others like Tails's ability to fly compared to Silver’s power.

The focus of combat in the races continues when you’ll have to face off against the other characters in a one-on-one battle. To put it mildly, it’s not the most exhilarating experience because whoever gets hit twice loses.

That is followed up by another race and then you come to a boss battle. The ending battle features the same kind of gameplay that was popular in the original Sonic series in the 90’s. The difference here is that you’re also battling your rival in the boss fight to be the first one to hit the boss. The focus on battling your rival and a boss at the same time is utterly irritating to say the least.

That’s not to say that Sonic Rivals 2 doesn’t have its fun parts. The race mode isn’t bad as stated above because it’s not focused on the rival aspect.

Also, the graphics in Sonic 2 are phenomenal particularly for a handheld game. The game moves incredibly fast. In fact you do get the sense of speed you’re supposed to. In addition, the characters and environments explode off the screen.

While that is nice, the story and sound are quite poor. The game features typical bland Sonic music and horrible voice acting.

Overall Sonic Rivals 2 isn’t a terrible game, the problem is that it focuses too much on battle. In fact, the racing is pretty fun and you do really get a feel for the speed and pace of the game and it’s worth a run through.

Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega
Release: Nov 13, 2007
MSRP: $39.99
Everyone

Sega has published new screenshots of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for the DS. The game will also be released for the Wii and is scheduled for 2008 release.

Hit the link to view more images.

Sonic returns to the Nintendo DS in an all-new frantic adventure complete with dizzying dives, near vertical curves and brain twisting loops. Sonic Rush Adventure will retain the DS action that fans loved so much from Sonic Rush, as well as providing a new high seas adventure where Sonic clashes with ruthless pirates. Players will set off from Windmill Village as Sonic and blast their way through seven action-packed and widely diverse levels. Sonic Rush Adventure will make full use of the DS Download Play feature and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, which enables gamers to compete with friends in wireless racing and mission-based battles.

Guide Sonic through numerous action stages in the fast and furious single player mode, whilst collecting valuable items and materials that enable Sonic and Tails to track down the villainous pirates. With a fleet of up to five ships, including a submarine, water bike and hovercraft, Sonic Rush Adventure uses the Touch Screen technology in exciting new ways. Use the Nintendo DS Stylus to help control vessels as they race across the ocean gathering rings, performing tricks, and torching pirate boats, whilst engaging in fierce ship-to-ship battles. At the end of each level, epic 3D boss battles spanning both screens will test gamers skills to result in an ultimate showdown with the evil boss character, Captain Whisker.

Sonic Rush Adventure allows players to bounce, fly, swing, ride and run through grand environments of lush forests, an ominous ghost ship, snow covered mountains, pirate villages and a vast underwater sea cave. Along the way there will be a variety of enemy characters to battle against including robots, skeleton warriors, pterodactyls, and a robotic triceratops.

We've added screenshots from Sega's Wii variant of the upcoming Sonic platformer, Sonic and the Secret Rings. The game is currently scheduled for a March release on the console, while the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions (simply titled "Sonic The Hedgehog") should be in stores by year's end. ]]> Fri, 22 Sep 2006 10:57:00 -0500 Tim Grube http://www.gamebump.com/go/sonic_riders_coming_to_pc http://www.gamebump.com/go/sonic_riders_coming_to_pc http://www.gamebump.com/go/sonic_riders_coming_to_pc# This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.

"Sonic Riders adds a new and exciting dimension to PC racing games," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing, SEGA of America, Inc. "The blending of the action-racing genre and the Sonic franchise has created a racing game that is appealing and accessible to both Sonic fans and casual gamers alike."

Sonic Riders is rated "E" for ‘Everyone' by the ESRB, and is available at retailers nationwide for an MSRP of $19.95. Look for the PC version later this year.]]> Tue, 22 Aug 2006 20:52:00 -0500 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/sega_announces_sonic_wild_fire_for_wii http://www.gamebump.com/go/sega_announces_sonic_wild_fire_for_wii http://www.gamebump.com/go/sega_announces_sonic_wild_fire_for_wii# SEGA has announced that they are working on an exclusive Sonic title for the upcoming Nintendo Wii console called Sonic Wild Fire.

The game was shown a bit today at Nintendo's press conference and stars Sonic in his first solo adventure since the original Sonic the Hedgehog. The title looks to take advantage of the unique Wii controller as you'll take Sonic through an adventure of the class tale, Arabian Nights. In the game, the last few pages of the book have gone missing and it is up to Sonic to re-create the story.

Sonic Wild Fire will take our blue hero through a variety of stunning environments that he can even interact with. Besides the single-player game, Wild Fire will feature some unique mini-games geared towards the new controller which can be played alone or in multiplayer.

Sonic Wild Fire is set to race to the Wii in 2007.

Sega has announced that Backbone Entertainment is currently developing Sonic Rivals exclusively for Sony's PlayStation Portable. The game is a 3D platform racer that features lush, detailed environments, four playable characters selected from the Sonic universe, and a wi-fi multiplayer mode.

The company has also confirmed that the Sonic franchise has sold more than 44 million units since its 1991 release. Enjoy the first screens.

]]> Wed, 03 May 2006 09:52:00 -0500 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_sonic_riders_xbox http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_sonic_riders_xbox http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_sonic_riders_xbox# This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Eric Dayday.

Racing games featuring established characters isn’t anything new. Mario and gang has done it with astounding success and two of Sony’s unofficial mascots – Jak and Crash – have done the same. Sonic isn’t new to the genre either, starring in the foot racer, Sonic R, on the Saturn. Well, Sonic is back again and in a racing title, but this time the crew is riding hoverboards, a la Back to the Future 2, dubbed “extreme gear”.

The first thing you’ll notice when you dive into Sonic Riders are the crisp and colorful graphics. It continues what the Sonic Adventure games did in doing a wonderful job of capturing the same atmosphere from the old 2D classics in 3D. The majority of the tracks look like some sort of 3D version of an old 2D Sonic stage. Any Sonic fan will instantly feel some sense of nostalgia when they see some of the tracks. There are some framerate problems, but nothing truly bothersome.

The premise of the game is that Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are walking around minding their own business when they see a group of thieves on extreme gear make off with a Chaos Emerald. Sonic manages to knock one of them off their board and proceeds to give chase on the hijacked gear, though awkwardly since he’s not accustomed to riding it. The thieves eventually get away leaving Sonic licking his wounds. Then, out of nowhere Dr. Eggman pops up on a big screen announcing an extreme gear tournament. Sonic doesn’t care until he hears the words “Chaos Emerald” and then sees the thieves, who are announced as the tournament’s first entrants, behind Dr. Eggman. So, Sonic and crew enter and it takes off from there. Sounds flimsy don’t it? Don’t worry, I’ll get to that later.

The actual racing in Sonic Riders is pretty darn fun. The sense of speed is quite thrilling – think F-Zero and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what it’s like. Trying to be the fastest, however, isn’t the only thing you’ll have to worry about. Boosting, which is an essential tool, uses up the air meter, and it eats it up quickly. Running out of air is the worst thing that can possibly happen to you in this game as your rider won’t be able to stay on the extreme gear. You’ll be stuck running around on foot until you find someway to refill it. And trust me, if you find yourself in this situation late in the race, you’ve already lost. Fortunately, there are multiple ways to refill it. The easiest way is to find an air refill pit. But, the downside to the air pits is that you’ll have to stay still for a couple seconds losing precious time in the process. The other way is to perform tricks at certain parts of the track. Now, this isn’t a complex trick system by any means – most are pulled off by holding the control stick in a direction – but with all the frantic racing happening around you, it doesn’t need to be. When you land, you’ll be graded and the higher the grade the more air meter refill you get.

Rings are scattered all over the tracks and at first it may not seem worth it to pick them up, but after you realize how important that air meter is you’ll want to scoop up all that you can. By collecting lots of rings, you’ll “level up”. Level ups will increase your speed, turning ability, and most importantly, give you a bigger air meter to work with. But, be warned that when you’re attacked by a rival you’ll lose your rings and all the bonuses you gained from the level ups. At least you can keep them off your tail by performing a tornado attack, which is done by hitting the L+R triggers together. But, again, this expends precious air, so use it sparingly.

The best part about the racing is turbulence riding. When opponents are in front of you, they’ll create a turbulence wave. If you can manage to make your way inside of it, you’ll gain a considerable amount of speed. And since the wave is shaped like a mini half-pipe, you can climb up the sides and perform some tricks. You can just imagine how useful this tactic is when you consider that not only will you be faster, but also have the opportunity to refill your air meter.

Sonic Riders features the usual modes you’d find in a racer – time trial, free mode, etc. Multiplayer is most likely where you’ll find the majority of the fun. There’s nothing like knocking out one of your friends and then overtaking them for the win right before the finish line. There’s also a mission mode, survival and tag battle. Tag is an interesting concept in that two teams race against each other, but it’s in the best interest of the team to stay relatively close together. If there’s a large gap between teammates, the two won’t be able to reach higher speeds, so don’t think that you can use the “one person races ahead while one fights off the other team” strategy. Then there’s the story mode which I will touch on in the next section.

At the onset, only six characters are selectable – Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and the team of thieves known as the Babylon Rogues. The rogues are made up of Jet the Hawk, Wave the Swallow, and Storm the Albatross. And in typical fashion, each of them matches up with one of the three protagonists. Sonic Riders has a character type system that can affect how one traverses the courses. Sonic and Jet are “speed” types who can grind certain rails to give them speed boosts over certain parts of the track; Tails and Wave are “flight” types that can pass through high set rings to gain boosts; and Knuckles and Storm are power types that can plow through traffic without losing speed or smash through breakable walls to reveal shortcuts. It’s an interesting system though a bit underwhelming because it really doesn’t change how you race.

The biggest blemish in Sonic Riders is its rather weak story mode. It’s really useless other than opening up other extreme gear and characters. The story is already flimsy but add to that some cheesy dialogue that’s poorly acted and it becomes a sad affair for everyone. Unfortunately, story mode is all that would hook a single-player. Well, there is mission mode, but can hold your attention for only so long.

I also hate how important the air meter is. You’ve read how integral it is to success and when so much rides on being able to keep it full, Sonic Riders can turn from seriously fun to seriously frustrating all in the span of one lap. The sense of speed is awesome but the fun and pacing take a huge hit when you’re forced off the board and have to run or staying still in an air pit waiting for a refill. It’s worse than Wipeout, in which you would reach blistering speeds and then hit a wall slow down to a crawl. I want to race my brains out, not have to worry about a stupid meter slowing me down.

Another thing is how horrible the extreme gear is to control. Sharp turns need to be made by holding the right trigger down. However, if you don’t release it in time you’ll shoot almost in reverse because you somehow pulled a 180. And the grind mechanic for the speed types is unintuitive – press A once to jump then you have to press A again to make contact with the rail. You don’t know how many times I tried jumping and mistiming the A to grind. I lost many a place because of this.

One last nitpick of note – the female announcer that shouts out every single event that happens – a pass, a pit, a boost, etc – gets really annoying fast.

Sonic Riders isn’t the greatest character-driven racing title, but it isn’t the worst either. Racing is quite fun with its simple trick system, fast sense of speed, and the cool turbulence riding mechanics. However, the constant monitoring and replenishing of the air meter drags the game down quite a bit. It’s like Sega tried to do too much, damaging the overall fun factor in the process. Recommended for Sonic fans and those who enjoy multiplayer racing, but a hard sell for anyone else.

Racing is fun, but some aspects like tight turning and constant air meter filling are a drag.

Excellent job of giving off that Sonic vibe, but nothing spectacular.

Music is forgettable and that announcer can get annoying fast.

Single-player won’t hold yourinterest for long, but as a multiplayer title, it's a blast.

With friends, you’ll play a lot. Alone, all there is to do is unlock characters & extreme gear.

]]> Wed, 15 Mar 2006 15:14:00 -0600 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_preview_sonic_riders_ngc1 http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_preview_sonic_riders_ngc1 http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_preview_sonic_riders_ngc1# This preview was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Olly Dean.

Mario has a lot to answer for. Not only was he responsible for the glut of mid-90s mascots that every developer on the planet insisted on creating, but also ever since Super Mario Kart every one of them has had to have a racing game. It must be the law or something.

Sonic may have had his token racer in 1997’s Sonic R but we now come to Sonic’s second attempt at racing stardom as he and the rest of his team get together for some suitably rad Back to the Future-style hoverboard action. It seems that the mysterious Babylon Rogues have gone and stolen one of the Chaos Emeralds, but agree to return it if Sonic and friends can beat them in a racing tournament hosted by our old friend Dr. Eggman.

The game takes in multiple racing disciplines for players to master with each of the characters having special abilities that you can use to gain the upper hand on the opposition. Some characters will be able to fly over sections of track while others can smash through walls to cut out corners, for example. The same course can play completely differently depending on who you play as which certainly helps to keep things interesting.

Your speed is maintained by filling your air tank, achieved by performing tricks and nabbing top-ups dotted around the track to be used as a turbo. Hitting an opponent while boosting will knock them flying, so it’s in your interest to keep a healthy supply. Not only that, but staying in the wake of the other racers will give you a boost which should help keep things competitive.

The meat of the single-player comes in the form of the story mode which follows Sonic’s attempts to win back the Chaos Emerald from the Rogues, no doubt with some foul play going on along the way. Between races the stories and rivalries of the characters play out in some decent looking cut scenes, and the story is slightly different depending on whom you play as and how you perform.

One of the more disappointing aspects is that Sonic Riders has no online multiplayer at all. There are offline multiplayer races and battle modes for up to four players to tear around, but online modes would no doubt have added immensely to the longevity of the game. We’ll have to reserve judgement on that until we get to spend some real time with it.

Sonic Riders is looking like it could be good fun for those looking for something new to play on the current consoles. It has the sharp and vivid look that the 3D Sonic titles have been known for and has the potential to be one of the better mascot-based racing games out there. The lack of online multiplayer might be a little disappointing but with the game due out next week we’ll be able to bring you a more definitive verdict then. ]]> Wed, 15 Feb 2006 18:01:00 -0600 Tim Grube http://www.gamebump.com/go/dragon_ball_z_supersonic_warriors_2_in_stores http://www.gamebump.com/go/dragon_ball_z_supersonic_warriors_2_in_stores http://www.gamebump.com/go/dragon_ball_z_supersonic_warriors_2_in_stores# This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.

"The release of Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2 signifies the inaugural release of a Dragon Ball Z title for the Nintendo DS," said Matt Collins, Director of Global Brand Management, Atari. "We are pleased to partner with FUNimation to deliver authentic DBZ content for Nintendo's innovative handheld system, and we are certain that the unique features and thrilling battles will excite both DBZ and Nintendo fans alike."

The game is rated 'E10+ and has a suggested retail price of $29.95.]]> Thu, 17 Nov 2005 18:44:00 -0600 Brian Mohr http://www.gamebump.com/go/sonic_rushes_to_stores http://www.gamebump.com/go/sonic_rushes_to_stores http://www.gamebump.com/go/sonic_rushes_to_stores# This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.

SEGA has announced that Sonic Rush has released for the Nintendo DS.

In this version, Sonic is working with a new character Blaze the Cat as you must search for Sol Emeralds so they don't fall in the wrong hands. Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing at SEGA said, "Sonic Rush combines the gameplay finesse and level design of the class 2D Sonic titles with fully 3D character models, bosses and effects."

The game also features a 2-player battle mode and more. Sonic Rush will retail for $34.95.]]> Wed, 16 Nov 2005 00:19:00 -0600 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_sonic_gems_collection_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_sonic_gems_collection_ngc http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_sonic_gems_collection_ngc# This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Eric Dayday.

Companies love making money off some of their classic titles by releasing them in compilations. We’ve seen Namco’s numerous arcade classics and Capcom’s Mega Man Anniversary Collection. Sega has been banking on their mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, and have done so twice already with Sonic Mega Collection and Sonic Mega Collection Plus. Those two games covered the entire Genesis library, and now Sega has treated us to some of the more rare and obscure titles in Sonic Gems Collection.

Gems Collection offers up nine different titles from the Sonic franchise – Sonic CD, Sonic R, the first US release of Sonic the Fighters, as well as the six Game Gear Sonic games. It’s definitely quite a number of games, but unfortunately, some of them just aren’t worth playing.

Sonic CD is regarded by most fans as one of the best in the series. Originally released for the Sega CD and the PC, it contains the same solid speedy side-scrolling action as the classic games with the added twist of time travel. Each stage has a past and future version and things you do in the past version, such as breaking walls and platforms, will affect the stage layout of the future version. This simple mechanic essentially doubles the size of the levels and thus the game itself. It’s rather fun to just take your time and see what exactly you can fiddle with and how it changes the future version. Also, since this is one of the games in this collection that was originally made for the CD format, the audio tracks sound clearer and crisper than most of the others in the collection.

Sonic the Fighters sees its first official US release here in Gems Collection. It’s not the deepest or the prettiest fighting game, but it’s nice to see it added here. Fighters is basically a dumbed-down version of Virtua Fighter 2, which makes sense since both originally ran on Sega’s Model 2 arcade hardware.

Sonic R is a racing game, but not with karts – competitors race on their feet. This makes a lot of sense for Sonic and Knuckles, but not so much for everyone else. That aside, if you can suspend that logic for a second, Sonic R is pretty fun due to its course designs. Most of them are designed after classic 2D Sonic stages and feature a bevy of shortcuts and alternate routes. It’s actually a pretty good idea to scope out the course in time attack mode to familiarize yourself to the main course and its shortcuts so that you can gain an advantage on the AI.

Out of the Game Gear games, Tails’ Skypatrol is the most interesting. It plays more like a puzzle game than an action one. You’ll control a flying Tails in forced forward movement stages. Armed with a ring that can be used as a weapon as well as for activating switches and such, it’s up to you to navigate Tails from start to finish.

Lastly, Vectorman and Vectorman 2 are waiting to be unlocked. The first Vectorman was an underrated action title in the waning days of the 16-bit era and is a welcome addition to the collection. Its sequel isn’t as solid and polished as its predecessor, but it is still nice to have.

While those games are fun for a while, some do have their downsides, and the other Game Gear games just aren’t fun.

Sonic CD, Tails’ Skypatrol, and Vectorman are actually quite fun and will hold your attention for more than half an hour. The same can’t be said for the rest of the collection.

Sonic the Fighters will get boring after your first fight or so. There are only eight selectable characters and half of them are only known to the most hardcore fans of the franchise. And though each character has a decent movelist, the dated and choppy gameplay will leave gamers unsatisfied.

Sonic R is fun the first time through, but after you’ve finished a couple of laps, you will have seen all you really need to see. The Grand Prix just isn’t enough to sustain any amount of interest.

The rest of the Game Gear games include Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble, Tails Adventures, Sonic Drift 2, and Sonic Spinball. Sonic 2 and Triple Trouble are your standard side-scrolling titles; Tails Adventures is a side-scrolling featuring just Tails who can throw bombs and fly for short amounts of time; Sonic Drift 2 is a go-kart racer; and Sonic Spinball is a pinball game. The major shortcoming these games all have in common is bad emulation. The frame rate suffers greatly in every game with frequent slowdowns even when there isn’t much on-screen. Also, the audio quality is horrendous. I realize the audio was originally intended to be blasted out of the Game Gear’s miniscule speakers, but the horrible audio fidelity will have your ears bleeding.

Sonic 2 and Triple Trouble are passable gameplay-wise, but Sonic CD is where you’ll want to stay. Tails Adventures is just mind-numbingly boring. Tails walks slow as molasses and he throws bombs? The idea of him throwing bombs just seems way out there. Sonic Drift 2 is atrocious. Think of it as F1 Race with muddy textures and a horizon so-low that it makes anticipating turns impossible, and you have Sonic Drift 2. And then, we have Sonic Spinball. If you’ve played another pinball game with an action theme, then you’ve played Spinball, and the one you played is probably better.

Finally, I don’t mind having the Vectorman games as unlockable extras. However, I would have enjoyed the unlockables a lot more if they had left the Streets of Rage trilogy in there. Japanese gamers got it in their Gems Collection, and word is that Sega of America took it out to get the “E” rating, rather than the “T” rating had they included Streets of Rage.

For $29.99, you sure aren’t getting a lot. Is plunking down $30 for the 12-year-old original Sonic CD, maybe Tails’ Skypatrol, and then having a bunch of useless extra baggage thrown in, really worth it? In my opinion it’s not. While Sonic CD and Tails’ Skypatrol are fun, the others get boring after a few rounds, and the Game Gear emulations are horribly done, which doesn’t translates well when playing on a larger screen. If you have Sonic fever and the only prescription is Sonic Gems Collection, then I suggest you hold out and wait until it drops in price. Even then, I don’t know how much you’ll get out of this collection.

If you love classic side-scrolling Sonic games, some of these games will satisfy you.

Sonic CD and Sonic R aren’t too bad, but the Game Gear games look ugly. Framerate drops often.

Sonic CD’s soundtrack is nice; R’s is weird. The Game Gear games' audio quality drops the score

Some of the games are fun, and some are fun, even if only the first time around.

Vectorman games to unlock for a total of 12 games, but some of them aren’t worth the time.

]]> Fri, 09 Sep 2005 18:31:00 -0500