Possible Sonic Unleashed gameplay video

by Majed Athab { Mar 23rd 2008 at 1:15AM }

There has been quite a lot of talk recently about leaked screenshots of Sonic Unleashed, a newly trademarked Sonic game possibly for the PS3 and Xbox 360. While the rumored leak was met with initial skepticism regarding the authenticity of the screenshots (probably due to early April fool's jitters), the high-res screens certainly looked real enough to cause debate and confusion. If those high quality pics weren't enough to convince non-believers, then perhaps this gameplay video from SEGA ON will do the trick.

In the video, we see Sonic race through a sandstone town and a jungle-like area. Both places have been seen previously in the leaked screens. As far as we can tell, the level design is looking good, and this might mean that we could be seeing a worthy current-gen Sonic game. That is, if it is real ... and most of all, coming to the PS3. We're crossing our fingers on both accounts.

[Thanks Andy!]

Tags: sega, sonic, sonic-unleashed

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jason B. @ Mar 23rd 2008 1:23AM

Truly stunning visuals. Although the Sonic character seems a little off.

Shattercross @ Mar 23rd 2008 1:47AM

If this is a hoax, then kudos to whoever made it- very convincing.

If this is real, then it seems that Sonic has returned to his 2d roots while the backdrops actually look somewhat next-gen...although, nothing impossible for the Wii....kudos to Sonic team if this proves to be real.

dustandechoes91 @ Mar 23rd 2008 1:54AM

The lighting and motion blur look way too good for the wii, but you never know.

Shattercross @ Mar 23rd 2008 1:59AM

My thoughts exactly dustandechoes.

Looking at the video and screenshots though, I'm feeling a bit on the skeptical side- alot of this looks possible to put together using a 3d software package like maya,possibly with some post for the gui.

Mr.ESC @ Mar 23rd 2008 2:35AM

If its a hoax I don't know if I'll cut the head of the person who make it or if we should introduce that person to Sega.

Also you make a good point,April 1st is around the corner.

Mr.ESC @ Mar 23rd 2008 2:36AM

Ops I replied to the wrong comment.

Fraser JK @ Mar 23rd 2008 8:32AM

If this is a hoax then yeah, that dude who pulled it off, must be a whiz with unlimited time, but if it aint... then so far so good. Am like interested now!

vahdyx @ Mar 23rd 2008 1:51AM

I'm a true die hard sega and sonic fan, and this video gave me chills of excitement.

I'm cannot wait for this game. I'm don't pre-order games, but this my friends, I'll pre-order. Even though there's no reason too, but I am.

I've owned every sega game on the dreamcast (yes I actually paid for them) and I've owned every sonic game, including the crappy last edition. This seems awesome so I'm happy about it

Shattercross @ Mar 23rd 2008 2:00AM

Careful, don't get too excited by it- you don't want to be let down if it's a hoax.

MCX @ Mar 23rd 2008 2:58AM

I still like sonic 1991. I just hope they really put good effort into it and don't rush it out.

mccomber @ Mar 23rd 2008 2:09AM

Being excited about a Sonic game is so 1994.

vahdyx @ Mar 23rd 2008 3:01AM

Yeah, the best things in life happened in the 90's.

I got laid for the first time, music was creative and had variety, I had Sega, I also had plenty of cool sonic games and I didn't have to pay bills. All the money I made was play money.

Those were the days

lordwindowlicker @ Mar 23rd 2008 2:40AM

I really am crossing my fingers that this is real, and good. I can't actually watch the video, I am at work and they tend to block most streaming video. I would LOVE a 2d console sonic game again, I long for the days when Sonic the Hedgehog was said with pride... and known for quality. Does anyone else here remember waiting with bated breath for the release of Sonic 2? Anyone?

Andy @ Mar 23rd 2008 2:45AM

The screenshots are HD, which make me believe it will be coming to PS3/360

leiwei @ Mar 23rd 2008 3:44AM

As much as I am a huge Sonic fan, those visuals are great and it's a welcome that Sonic's going back to its 2D roots, but man is that background music annoying. And I highly doubt this is the one that was proposed for the Wii. The gameplay video of Sonic for the Wii that was shown long ago was a Sonic-on-rails game and had a behind-sonic camera view like in Sonic Adventure. This one's more like 2D-ish with 3D elements.

flameofdoom666 @ Mar 23rd 2008 3:45PM

"And I highly doubt this is the one that was proposed for the Wii. The gameplay video of Sonic for the Wii that was shown long ago was a Sonic-on-rails game and had a behind-sonic camera view like in Sonic Adventure."

You know that game came out a year ago right? It is called Sonic and the Secret Rings.

leiwei @ Mar 23rd 2008 9:06PM

Oh that's out already? Didn't know that. Thanks for the info. Guess I'll go rent and check out how it's like.

finelicker @ Mar 23rd 2008 3:51AM

Ahhh, looks like its back to its dreamcast version roots. I really hope so.

Terrence @ Mar 23rd 2008 11:54AM

I mean, it COULD be a next-gen game. I was extremely doubtful at first, thinking it might be some sort of scrapped Dreamcast project, until someone earlier mentioned the motion blur effect, and when I watched it again it DID look pretty nice.

Although, if its not a hoax, I'm sure the Wii is fully capable of producing those graphics. I've seen similar stuff in some Gamecube games, even. Truthfully, I HOPE it is a hoax, because if it IS real, it's going to suck. Sure, it's gone back to it's 2D roots, but if it's being developed by Sonic Team you KNOW it's going to suck; there hasn't been a good Sonic game in years (until Sonic RPG, developed by BioWare).

Mr Khan @ Mar 23rd 2008 4:34PM

Aye aye

Personally, i think its going to be multiplatform (beyond PS360). The resolution is high on these images, but the sheer amount of polygons, textures, etc, is nothing that the Wii can't pull off

Damian @ Mar 23rd 2008 7:11AM

Completely agree with your comments about the 90`s Vahdyx . Bills , Rent and Food and basic living does indeed suck .
The Sega MegaDrive (with Sonic 1) was first thing i bought with my first paycheck wayback in 91 i think .

gordon_strange @ Mar 23rd 2008 8:08AM

awesome. i'm throwing caution to the wind and going to believe this is true. i'm always skeptical about leaks, but sonic is really , REALLY, due a decent game. its like the master system all over again!

oh and vahdyx- faf comments dude!!

DrSmooth @ Mar 23rd 2008 8:26AM

Damian and Vahdyx,

I'm with you both. Though I wouldn't want to go back to the 90s (life right now is just too good), I remember how much fun I had with my Sega Master System, Genesis and Dreamcast. I actually really liked Sonic Adventure for the DC, and I was rather surprised when I started reading later that a lot of people didn't care for it. Minus a compilation disc of classic Sonic titles, that the last true Sonic game I ever bought.

The video that this post links to is very compelling (assuming that this is the real deal and not some hoax). I'm sure they cherry-picked the footage from among the finished or semi-finished work they have, but if the game play in this footage is representative of the whole title, this could be great. In my opinion, one of the trickiest things to do in a Sonic game is to let the blue hedgehog live up to his name and his reputation, make Ricky Bobby proud and just go FAST. There need to be enough loops, jumps, etc. to make it seem like more than a just racing title in platformer clothing, and there need to be enough enemies and challenges so that it doesn't feel like you've put the game on autopilot and are just WATCHING him go fast. That's a tricky balance to achieve, and it looks like they're at least on the right track in this video.

Here's to hoping this game coming out for the PS3. Next up: somehow justifying its purchase when I have bills and a family to worry about. Then there's the fact that I already have more games than I can make time to play. Sigh.

Gaming was definitely easier as a teenager.