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Posts with tag sonic

Sega UNIQLO shirts available online to UK residents

Posted May 2nd 2008 6:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Fan stuff, Imports


The excellent, and affordable, line of Sega shirts from Japanese retailer UNIQLO are now available for purchase via the company's website. Sure, they only deliver within the United Kingdom, but that's a big step closer to, say, Texas, just to name a random location where someone might want to buy a shirt with the House of the Dead 4 logo on it.

Besides, we're mature enough to let our UK friends know about things they may enjoy, even if it doesn't benefit us in the least. Or if, among us, it just benefits Chris, as is the case this time. The Japanese shirts, by the way, come in Sonic-emblazoned bottles -- no idea if UNIQLO is doing the same in the UK.

Sonic Unleashed: Almost everything we knew was a lie

Posted Apr 29th 2008 1:30PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Rumors


We'll have to mark this as rumor, since the source is Kombo's writeup of a Play Magazine article, and thus a little too far abstracted for comfort. According to Kombo, a recent interview with Sonic Team's Yoshihisa Hashimoto about Sonic Unleashed revealed a bunch of stuff about Sega's latest attempt to refresh the franchise. What he had to say put basically everything we thought we knew about the game into question.

For example, the Wii game is being outsourced. Given the identity of the developer (Sonic Rush's Dimps), that's mostly a good thing, but it's still surprising to learn that we've been misled into thinking Sonic Team was simultaneously developing all three versions. That means that the "Hedgehog Engine," which we thought was being used for all three games, is not being used for the Wii. Furthermore, Dimps is doing not only the coding, but also level design for the Wii game, which means it's a different game.

Worst of all is the news that Sega has already started downplaying the 2.5D aspect of the game. We believed that the whole game played as a sidescroller, but Hashimoto said it'll be about half 2D and half 3D. Great!

None of this means that Sonic Unleashed on the Wii or any other platform will necessarily be bad, it just means that it won't be what we thought it was.

Gallery: Sonic Unleashed

Sonic scanned and Unleashed

Posted Apr 14th 2008 3:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: News, Interviews, Screens



The latest edition of the UK's Official Nintendo Magazine comes with an extensive eight-page preview of Sonic Unleashed, complete with gameplay details, fresh screenshots, and an interview with the project's lead designer, Yoshihisa Hashimoto. There's also new information aplenty on Sonic's darker alter-ego (dubbed "Were-Sonic" by the magazine). Apparently, this character only appears at night, can traverse stages using his longer arms (ONM describes this as "Donkey Kong-esque"), and is slightly slower (yet more agile) than regular Sonic. Oh, and he's not evil. Just ... different.

Speaking of being different, Hashimoto appears super keen to disassociate the game from more recent Sonic outings, insisting that Unleashed will have "more in common with the older Sonic Adventure games" and "no relation to Sonic the Hedgehog (PS3/360) or Sonic and the Secret Rings." Hit up French site Wiiz for the rest of the preview.

Gallery: Sonic Unleashed

Japanese retailer UNIQLO celebrates Sega

Posted Apr 9th 2008 10:30AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Fan stuff, Imports


As part of a "unique" t-shirt line, Japanese clothing retailer UNIQLO has unveiled a series of t-shirts celebrating three of Sega's iconic series: Sonic the Hedgehog, The House of the Dead and Virtua Fighter. The shirts feature simple, iconic designs (like Sonic's face, seen here, or individual VF characters), come in multiple colors, and cost only 1500 yen ($14.65) each. In short, they're just the kind of thing we'd like to see.

We'd say that, as usual, these are only available in Japan, but UNIQLO actually has stores in the UK, as well as one in New York. It is, then, possible that these have made it outside Japan, or may soon! We're just glad to be reminded of a time when Sega fandom was possible.

Sega teases Sonic lycanthropy

Posted Apr 8th 2008 8:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Video


Or lyc-hedgehog-py, or whatever. You know, the werewolf thing that we all knew was coming, because we all saw the leaked screenshots? It's real! Sega's latest trailer focuses on this aspect of Sonic Unleashed, giving us a sneak peek at the thing we've already totally seen. Of course, we don't yet know how this figures into gameplay. Soon we'll find out whether a (cartoon) wolf (who is also part hedgehog) is faster or slower than cartoon hedgehog.

As a bonus, you get to hear how the Sonic voice actor (sorry, Sonic voice-acting aficionados! We can't tell which one it is!) interprets the sound of a hedgehog turning into a werewolf. Do they teach that in acting class?

Gallery: Sonic Unleashed

Wii Warm Up: Dare we unleash Sonic?

Posted Apr 4th 2008 9:00AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Wii Warm Up


It's official: the hedgehog is back, in what many Sonic fans are already starting to call a possible return to form. But every new Sonic game gets called a return to form, because they always look great in initial screenshots -- and because fans' goodwill for the character has yet to be fully eroded.

We're not going to go too far into our personal opinions about Sonic and his recent games -- we'll just say that previous 3D Sonic the Hedgehog games have failed to meet many fans' expectations. Are you ready to give him another chance? Does the new trailer and the promise of side-scrolling gameplay resonate with you? To be honest, it totally does with us. That trailer worked, and we don't want to be the only ones who thought so.

Gallery: Sonic Unleashed

Sonic Unleashed: confirmed for Wii, 2.5D [update]

Posted Apr 3rd 2008 12:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News


Update: Trailer!

While we had no trouble believing that Sonic Unleashed was a real game and that the leaked screens and video were really that game, we had no solid evidence that it would show up on Wii. Sega of Europe has confirmed the existence of the game in a press release, and announced the platforms on which it will be released: pretty much all of them, including the Wii!

Sonic Unleashed will use a new "Hedgehog Engine" and will feature side-scrolling gameplay rendered in 3D graphics, as Sonic battles Eggman and attempts to reassemble the broken world (by running over it?) The werewolf thing also seems confirmed, as the press release says "As the sun sets in Sonic Unleashed, a different type of adventure will awaken in Sonic's newest quest ..." unless they just mean the type of adventure in which you can't see anything. Check out the first two official screenshots of Sonic Unleashed (but still not the Wii version) after the break.

Gallery: Sonic Unleashed

Continue reading Sonic Unleashed: confirmed for Wii, 2.5D [update]

Sonic Unleashed confirmed, mostly

Posted Mar 23rd 2008 5:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Rumors


Some video and screens came out of what looked like a new Sonic the Hedgehog game, identified as Sonic Unleashed. After this leak, Sega issued a press release to a German magazine called Sega On confirming the existence of the game -- and then Sega On removed it. Which means that we don't know what's real, if anything. We also don't know which platform or platforms the game will come out on -- the information out there says 360 and Wii, at least.

Sega On now says that Unleashed is an unprecedented collaboration between Sega teams in Japan, Europe, and the U.S., designed to "rebuild the Sonic brand and prove that it could work in 3D environments." It involves a werewolf-style Sonic, either as a player transformation or as an enemy. It's all very confusing, but we can at least say with some certainty that some Sonic game is coming to some system. Check Gamersyde for a bunch of (likely) screenshots, and hit the post break for a video! It looks ... really cool, and mostly 2D -- which the game was described to be in some possibly fake gameplay details.

Gallery: Sonic Unleashed

Continue reading Sonic Unleashed confirmed, mostly

Sonic & Knuckles to glide to Virtual Console

Posted Mar 11th 2008 12:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Virtual Console

The latest Virtual Console game to show up on the ESRB's ratings search page is an obvious one: Sonic & Knuckles. With Sonics 1 through 3 already available, it was only a matter of time before The Rest of Sonic 3 showed up. The ESRB rating should mean that the game will pop up on the VC soon, though it's no guarantee.

How will Sonic & Knuckles' unique "lock-on" feature work on the Wii? The original cartridge featured a pass-through that allowed other Sonic games to be connected, unlocking the ability to play through those games as Knuckles. Previous ports of Sonic & Knuckles have been packaged with the other games, with the "lock-on" extras selectable from a menu. Will Sonic & Knuckles on the Virtual Console check for Sonic 2 and 3? Will you be able to play Blue Sphere? Or will it just be the main Sonic & Knuckles game? We're curious, but we aren't getting our hopes up. Just like every other time a Sonic game comes out!

Sega Superstars Tennis de amigo

Posted Mar 4th 2008 8:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Video



We haven't seen much Samba de Amigo related media for Sega's upcoming tennis game, aside from a handful of screenshots. Fortunately, the Samba stage looks to be pretty great, if we do say so ourselves. The above trailer may be super short, but the stage seems to have all the elements of "awesome," like a cheetah band, good music, and bra-wearing cacti. It's nice to see some fun characters make a return from the original Dreamcast game -- we're sure our favorite maraca-playing monkey would be lonely without them.

After the break, you can also check out the intro trailer for the Sonic's Green Hill Zone court.

Continue reading Sega Superstars Tennis de amigo

Dojo update: No, you can't use the shuttle loop

Posted Feb 14th 2008 12:45PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: News, Screens



Even though we really, really want to. To see what we're gibbering about now, go past the break, where spoilers lurk.

Continue reading Dojo update: No, you can't use the shuttle loop

The VC Advantage: Sonic and the Secret

Posted Feb 6th 2008 9:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: The VC Advantage


The Internet has made it easy to find cheats for games, but we miss the tips pages from game magazines, when the discovery of a new code could inspire you to go back to an old game. These codes aren't exactly new, but oldness is the essence of the Virtual Console! We're bringing back the classic codes every week on The VC Advantage.

There is one major reason that the Sonic the Hedgehog series peaked on the Genesis. It's not Sonic's redesign or the voice actor controversy found later. It's not the move from 2D to 3D. It's not the overloading of "friends" that weighed the series down with superfluous anthropomorphoid mascots. That stuff is all vaguely annoying, but it's not as big a loss as the debug mode.

Sonics 1-3 and CD all featured a mode accessible via controller combination that allowed you to turn Sonic into a scrolling cursor who could be moved around the screen unimpeded by objects, enemies, or game rules. In addition, Sonic could be turned into any sprite, which could then be dropped into the level at the press of a button.

Continue reading The VC Advantage: Sonic and the Secret

First4Figures' new toys feature pre-attitude Sonic

Posted Feb 5th 2008 6:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Fan stuff


First4Figures, the company responsible for all of those extravagant Nintendo figurines, has turned their attention to classic Sega for their next release: a line based on Genesis-era Sonic the Hedgehog. The collection is designed to represent Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles as they appeared back in the mid-'90s, before their extreme redesign -- before Knuckles started rapping.

For now, the set includes Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. The best part about this period in Sonic's life is that there aren't really any more ridiculous characters to base toys on. No Big the Cat, no Cream and Cheese, and certainly no Shadow. Maybe Robotnik and a couple of mechanical Sonics later, but this collection is safe from the sidekick parade that has ruined the series.

The approximately 5-inch-tall toys will be released around the summer, for a currently unspecified price. Don't be surprised if they're expensive -- this is First4Figures, after all!

[Via Joystiq]

Rumor: Nintendo still hurt about RE4, reason why Capcom doesn't have a Brawler

Posted Feb 4th 2008 2:15PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: Rumors

There's a rumor floating around that the lack of a playable character from Camp Capcom is due to a little game by the name of Resident Evil 4. You see, before it ended up on the PC and PS2, along with the Wii, it was meant to be entirely a GameCube exclusive. That didn't last that long, however.

With the inclusion of Sega's Sonic and Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid line of games, the inclusion of one of Capcom's characters (oh, let's say ... Mega Man) quite possibly would've been too much for this blogger's weak little heart. The rest of the world, however, probably would've liked to see one of Capcom's characters make it into the already overstuffed line-up of playable brawlers.

What Capcom character would you have liked to see in Brawl?

Mario & Sonic wins UK post-holiday period

Posted Jan 22nd 2008 10:35PM by David Hinkle
Filed under: News


Before the holiday season at the end of 2007, we reported on a weird betting practice in the UK: wagering on video game sales data. Hey, if they'll head out-of-country (as close as it may be) for a Wii, then we guess they'll do just about anything. More power to them!

But, as solid of a bet as it was before Christmas, the title's supplies dipped and it wasn't able to take the number one spot. Now that supplies have made their way back to the UK, we see how much those in the country dig on the combined Sonic and Mario flavor as the first sales figures for the country have emerged.

Gallery: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

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