Sega today announced that Sonic Unleahsed, the next game in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, is in development for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and PS2. The game will shpi this holiday season.
This latest installment will take players on a high-speed journey around the world — which has somehow been broken apart by the evil Dr. Eggman. Don’t ask how…we don’t know, and Sega isn’t saying.
What we do know is that it’s up to Sonic to put the pieces of the world back together again by retrieving the power of the chaos emeralds. In doing so, Sonic will find himself in a race against time and faced with an unusual situation in which day and night play different yet important roles in Sonic’s quest. Again, Sega’s being mysterious about this one.
By completing a variety of stages that span the seven broken continents of the world, gamers will need to make use of Sonic’s speed, but also a few new abilities to save the world and the main character himself. Well, they’re new to the franchise, at least.
Sonic Unleashed will see Sonic running at high speeds of course, but the game will also include four new speed mechanics, making combat/fighting possible. The game will also introduce new movement functional abilities and platforming elements.
Interestingly, Sega said its new game is built on a new proprietary “Hedgehog Engine,” which introduces lighting abilities and new technology tailor made for Sonic’s new speed capabilities. Under development for approximately three years, the Hedgehog Engine will, according to Sega, “help produce a visually rich next generation look and feel with elements of classic Sonic gameplay components.”