Sega's at it again! A teaser has been posted on their Facebook page for a new game, apparently prepared to celebrate Sonic's 20th anniversary. About no details are available yet, except that it'll apparently feature both the modern and classic Sonic, and will be released for both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.





You have to give it to Sega: the franchise hasn't always been at it's best, but they keep trying by releasing game after game, each one bringing some changes to the franchise. In some ways, I think that's better than simply releasing a new, incremental game every year with few changes.

I know I'm in the minority by saying this, but I prefer the modern Sonic design, ever since I've seen the first artwork over a decade ago. The pot-bellied version doesn't look enough like an anthropomorphized animal that'd spend most of his time running.

First solid details, straight from Sega.

I like how this one looks. I just might pick it up.

The Sonic cycle makes me laugh a lot, but this occurrence has an exception: the press release already mentions that the friends are included. And I *like* the friends, too!

A demo for the game is now available on the Playstation Network, so I gave it a spin last night.

The game handles quite well! The controls with Classic Sonic are a bit different than the original Sega Genesis game: not worse, just different. I think that this would smooth itself very quickly after playing more than a single level, especially since it feels more "right" than Sonic 4 did at first. Modern Sonic's gameplay feels like many stages of Sonic Adventure 1 & 2, but with none of the clunky controls, sudden stops and wonky camera that I associate with the earlier titles. All in all, I'm happy with that.

Graphically, it looks very nice. Backgrounds look alive, animations are very fluid and the camera angles you get once in a while make some great scenery without slowing down your running speed. It's really fun to compare how the same stage design is structured in the classic and modern styles, both being similar while having a personality of their own.

I think I'll make the plunge and get this one. I'm still somewhat hesistant about it as I've been burned in the past, but I like the concept, there's no gameplay gimmick, the demo is convincing and I still want to enjoy Sonic games. Now, the big question: I recently learned that the game will be released on PC too, so should I go with the PS3 or the PC version? I'm tempted by the latter...

... and this is not even considering the upcoming 3DS version, which has a completely different set of stages save for the obligatory Green Hill Zone!

They're heavy for a game like this, sure, but my PC meets or exceeds everything in the "recommended" area. Besides, since I've read that Sega designed all versions to fully support stereoscopic 3D, I'll be able to get a nice 3D display on my monitor. I'm going to preorder it on Steam now, since I'll get Sonic 3 & Knuckles along with Sonic 3D Blast for free.

Also, if anyone cares, IGN has posted their review of the game.

0_0

A good review! Has the Sonic Cycle been broken?

I'm still playing through it. Fun, but frustrating in some levels. Not so surprisingly, I found the Sonic Heroes-based one the worse of the bunch by far!

With that said, what about the 3DS version? Did anyone here pick it up? What are your thoughts on it?