New Sonic games

By Ellie Gibson Published 19 May, 2005

And some old faves return.

If we've learned one thing from this year's E3, apart from the fact that 2006 is going to be very exciting, it's that there's no such thing as a retirement age for game characters. Mario, Donkey Kong and Link are all still going strong, not to mention Pac-Man - who's been popping pills for more than 25 years now.

And then of course there's Sonic, who shows no signs of slowing down in his old age. As we reported previously, the most interesting news is that a Sonic game for Xbox 360 appears to be in development - but that's not all.

Nintendo DS owners have got Sonic Rush to look forward to, which sees our hero teaming up with new sidekick Blaze the Cat. It's 2D but with “3D visual effects”, and promises to make full use of the handheld's dual screens and stylus control. Which is always a bonus. It's on SEGA's stand at E3, so we might have a look at it if we get time.

Next up is previously announced Shadow the Hedgehog for PS2, Xbox and GameCube.

Playing as the title character, you get to decide whether to stay on the path of goodness or head on over to the dark side and achieve a power greater than any Jedi. (Sorry. We've just been to see it. Twice. It's the best thing EVER. [Adventure, eh. Excitement, eh. -Ed])

Anyway, Shadow gets all sorts of goodies to muck about with, from bazookas and blasters to spaceships, SUVs and - wait for it - motorbikes, and he can even construct makeshift weapons from objects in the environment. Smart.

If you prefer your Sonic games old and weaponless, you'll no doubt be pleased to hear that SEGA is also releasing the Sonic Gems Collection for PS2 and GameCube. It includes Sonic CD, arcade beat-em-up Sonic The Fighters and super-fast (well, it was back then) racer Sonic R.

Not to mention six Game Gear titles - Sonic Spinball, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic Drift 2, Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble, Tails' Skypatrol and Tails Adventures. A few “other surprises” are promised too.

And finally, the original and - some would say - best game in the series, Sonic the Hedgehog, is returning for mobile phones. It'll come bundled with Panasonic's new line of GSM handsets, in fact.

In terms of release dates there's a Sonic for all seasons, with the Sonic Gems Collection out this summer, Sonic Rush and Sonic Mobile following in autumn, and Shadow the Hedgehog rounding it all off in winter. All together now, bipbip, bip-beow-beow, bipbipbipbip beow-beoww...

Screenshots? Sonic Rush, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Gems Collection.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (8) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Carrybagma #1 7 years ago

    Cor. It's so much nicer here than on the Phil Harrison thread.

  • Kami #2 7 years ago

    Sonic R was really good for its time... just doesn't hold the same weight these days I think, what with there being only four tracks (unless they're planning bonus tracks, in which case colour me sold on that one alone!)... great game in its day... probably also grossly overdue a bit of an update...

    Sonic Rush looks sweet, although the two-screens-high thing is a bit strange, but hey. "Blaze the Cat"... ugh, excuse me while I vomit. I said not long ago I wanted new characters in the Sonic series, but come on, a little imagination SEGA?

    As for Shadow the Hedgehog... I'm still deeply divided. On one hand, it feels like it's pandering to the GTA generation. On the other hand, it looks like it might be a step in the right direction and hopefully will help the series get out of this terrible cheesy childish rut it's now currently caught up in... I'm gonna need to play it first I think. I'm not 100% sold on the idea... but I admit it's a step in the right direction...

    Quote:not to mention Pac-Man - who's been popping pills for more than 25 years now.

    Had to quote this. Made me laugh... wrong on so many different levels and yet so damned funny...
    Edited by 1 at 20/05/05 @ 01:53

  • 3william56 #3 7 years ago

    So what's the difference between Sonic Gems and Sonic Mega Collection +??

  • Zomoniac #4 7 years ago

    So what's the difference between Sonic Gems and Sonic Mega
    Collection +??

    Sonic Gems has Sonic Battle/R/CD/various Game Gear titles.

    Sonic Mega Collection Plus has Sonic 1/2/3/Knuckles/3D/Spinball/assorted spin off titles.

    In other words, they have different games.

  • Mr_Bogus #5 7 years ago

    Woohoo! *blows the dust off his hori pad*

    I'm sure Sonic R had more than 4 tracks...? Remember playing it to death on the Saturn.

  • Aretak #6 7 years ago

    Whee... Sonic CD!

  • Tricky #7 7 years ago

    Quote:not to mention Pac-Man
    - who's been popping pills for more than 25 years
    now.

    Had to quote this. Made me laugh... wrong
    on so many different levels and yet so damned funny...

    Yeah, imagine the comedown from 25 years of pills :/

  • mad_caddy #8 7 years ago

    hoorah! thank you SEGA.

  • #9 7 years ago

    "NEWSFLASH" "NEWSFLASH" "NEWSFLASH"

    The Xbox 360 "IS MORE POWERFUL" than the PS3!

    Goto the link below and all will be explained:

    htt p://xbox360.ign.com/articles/617/617951p1.html

    By the way, I'm going to post this on every comments page on this site; because this is the type of information Eurogamer doesn't want you to see because this site is bias towards the PS3!

    If get banned, so what! At lest some of you would of saw this news by then!

  • Gareth.de #10 7 years ago

    Dave, that website's a load of shite.