Official Nintendo Magazine detailed the latest facts about the upcoming multiplatform Sonic Unleashed in their latest issue, thanks to an interview from lead designer Yoshihisa Hashimoto.

First off, it was originally going to be the third title in the Sonic Adventure sub-series, but was since canned in favour of an all-new title built from scratch. This was done with the goal in mind of offering a completely new take on Sonic (there's still hope yet!).

According to Cubed3, the storyline is such that the seven Chaos Emeralds are misused by Dr. Robotnik (Eggman, if you prefer) and "something changes inside Sonic's body" (can't say I'm looking forward to the story). The plot will also see our hero travelling around the world. Sonic in Tokyo? Let's hope so. The environments will feature dynamic changes from day to night and apparently at night gamers will be able to slow down and manipulate objects. Sounds kind of vague, but possibly awesome.

The moves will feature some old, some new. The old includes the beloved "Spin Dash" and homing attacks. The new features something called "quick step" which will allow Sonic to quickly move left or right, and "Sonic Boost", which provides a quick speed boost. "Sonic Dash" is another, but no details have been given. Finally, for the Wii version, the Nunchuk will be used, though we don't know for what as of yet.

Regarding previous reports, looks like Sonic Team has nailed just about everything on Destructoid's checklist for how not to screw up this next title, aside from the new character thing, who is apparently a werewolf, but that can be forgiven, can't it?

Sonic will be unleashed late this year (I just had to go there). For those who haven't seen yet, here's the trailer for the in-game footage: