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Sonic Team has a funny way of making games these days. This morning The Sonic Stadium broke news of a forum post leaking images pertaining to be from Sonic Unleashed. We can now confirm that these images are real. This will be the next Sonic game.

And yet, we don't know quite how to take the news. On the one hand, we're excited with the promise of gorgeous levels and a Sonic that we actually want to associate ourselves with. On the other hand... well, read on.

Sonic Unleashed will be the next Sonic 'canon' game, if you will, intending to follow on from Sonic 06's Iblis disaster (in more ways than one), hence the weird unimaginitive dark creature git in the screenshots this morning. You see Super Sonic attempting to stop Eggman once more, but a new trick up his sleeve results in Sonic having to deal with a rather unnatural curse.

A werewolf. Sonic has to fight a werewolf alter-ego of himself.

Yeah.

But hey! Look how gorgeous this is!



Makes it all better in a weird way, right? The locales look stunning, and Sonic has never looked better. During the Sonic stages you can expect to encounter levels in a mixture of tried and tested ways, including Sonic and the Secret Rings style running and switching to 2.5D platforming on the odd occasion.

At various points he will change into his werewolf form, at which point a gameplay gimmick will come into play - something we've been told isn't exactly in keeping with trying to make a Sonic game... well... let us say, 'good'. We have our suspicions.

The blue hog won't be alone on his adventure either, as another new character that will probably be dispensed of in ten minutes will make a no-doubt unwelcome and unnecessary appearance. Just who or what this character will be is unknown as of yet.

Finally, Sonic Unleashed is currently a working title and, like Sonic Wildfire before it, will likely change before its release. We weren't told what consoles the game is destined for, but if we were to put our speculating caps on we'd say the SatSR elements would point to the Wii being a likely candidate. Sonic Team appear to want to continue the trend of adapting old stories into the Sonic universe, let's hope the werewolf thing doesn't bring things down a peg or three.

To see some official art of the were-hog, check out SEGA-Portal's archive of screenshots that were added throughout the day.

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Update: Don't get too pumped -- Sega Magazine, the original source for this information, just posted a vague disclaimer saying that the info discussed in their article is back to being speculation. Sonic Unleashed is in the works with a giant budget, but the claim that it would be 2D might be dissolved by their latest mission statement: to "rebuild the Sonic brand and prove it could work in 3D environments." We'll let you know more about this situation as it develops.

For the past few days, we've been seeing a gaggle of screenshots and a somewhat dubious gameplay video (check it out after the break) for Sega's recently trademarked title Sonic Unleashed. Self-proclaimed Sonic experts have weighed in on whether the leaked media is "teh fake," but all doubts were crushed by a recent confirmation by Sega Europe -- Sonic Unleashed is on its way to unspecified consoles for a November release, and as many pieced together from the leaked video, much of the gameplay is returning to the series' 2D roots.

You'll be able to traverse the game's 12 stages as Knuckles, Tails or the eponymous hedgehog, who has picked up the ability to transform into Wolf Sonic, seen in the concept art above. We aren't crazy about the prospect of a foam-mouthed, feral version of the beloved protagonist, but we're pleased to know they're keeping the game's character lineup to a minimum. There's a chance we'll be hearing more about the title at SEGA Gamer's Day in May -- keep your fingers crossed that no additional whimsically named forest dwellers pop up on the game's roster until then. Video embedded after the break.

quote ljpdonnelly

I seem to remember something about it being a 360/PS3 exclusive.

quote Sonic Flash

IMO the last good Sonic game was Sonic Adventure 2.. The next Sonic game I'm looking forward to is the DS one, and that's because Sonic Team ISN'T working on it.

I wish they'd stop flushing their franchises down the toilet...

This game looks very similar to the 360 and PS3 game, and very few liked that game. I don't see why everyone is excited.

quote Sonic Flash

IMO the last good Sonic game was Sonic Adventure 2.. The next Sonic game I'm looking forward to is the DS one, and that's because Sonic Team ISN'T working on it.

I wish they'd stop flushing their franchises down the toilet...

This game looks very similar to the 360 and PS3 game, and very few liked that game. I don't see why everyone is excited.

quote Phoenix

I'm a huge Sonic the Hedgehog fan so I hope this doesn't become "Sonic and the Secret Rings 2". Unless it's another Sonic Adventure they shouldn't even try going into 3-D, I love the 2-D Sonic from the '90s.

Also if that's gameplay video it's definitely from either the 360 or PS3 versions. I hope Wii will have this too (heh, made a funny).