I remember it so clearly. 1992. I’m in my student digs watching daytime TV. My housemate comes home with…is that?…it is! A Megadrive! We hook it up, slap in the Sonic cart and hit the power. It speaks. “Seeegaaaaa”, the music, the sprites, 16-bits of raw gaming power! Oh heaven. With no saving you had to sit for hours if you wanted to complete Sonic the Hedgehog, and I did, happily. Me and millions of others.

That game spawned the huge franchise that we all know, but only some of us love. And with good reason, as some (most?) of the sequels have been hit and miss, well, mostly miss (get back evil Shadow!). So it is with a little trepidation that I greet the news of a new Sonic game, but I confess that I am more excited by the latest offering from Team Sonic than I have been for a long time.

The screenshots and trailer (after the jump) for Sonic Unleashed (SU) that have so far been revealed show a world that looks stunning and it has been revealed today that this world will be created using the brand new “Hedghog Engine” (love it!). It has taken 3 years to create and will deliver “a rich and expansive world with multiple paths to choose from”. Also the team seem to have cottoned on to the fact that old Sonic fans like myself are sentimentalists at heart and want to relive the glory days of the past as Gary Knight, European Marketing Director for SEGA Europe explains, “By combining rich and vibrant scenery with dynamic viewpoints Sonic Unleashed will provide an immersive 3D experience whilst keeping alive the 2D gameplay elements and fantastic worlds that Sonic fans know and love.”

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of SU is what happens to Sonic at night. Although no firm details are given it is no secret that Sonic is going to take a werewolf form on night levels but today new game modes have also been revealed. “Super quick Sonic’s speed skills will be highlighted by four new modes, whilst the all new combat, movement and functional abilities will offer depth and variety to the game. As the sun sets in Sonic Unleashed, a different type of adventure will awaken in Sonic’s newest quest….”

If they pull all this off, and the scenery looks just as nice at top speed and 60 frames per second, and werewolf sonic doesn’t SUCK…then this could be the sequel we all been waiting for. Just don’t say it out loud yet.

[See also: Sonic Unleashed gallery]