In what is a hands-down guarantee for E3 2012′s weirdest announcement, SEGA has announced that Godaddy spokesmodelperson and Maxim bikini personmodel Danica Patrick will be the official spokesbikiniperson for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, as well as a playable character in the game this Fall.
Hahaha what? Hit the jump for an interview, the newest trailer, and some other tidbits. (But seriously, what?)
The demo for Sonic Generations hit PS3′s and 360′s across the globe last Thursday, intended as a playable celebration of Sonic’s 20th birthday, and it took hackers all of a day to crack it open and rip out its forbidden treasures to an audience of forum-goers everywhere. It was only supposed to contain the ‘Classic Sonic’ version of Green Hill Zone, but prodders and pokers have found oh so much more, from hidden remixes to rough CG models. SEGA has always had a particular issue with demos that contain ample amounts of “secret” content, and the Sonic community is, if nothing else, a committed and curious lot.
The end result, for now, is an unofficially-official rundown of all the stages that will be recreated in Generations as both “classic” and “modern” levels. A lot of these were easily predicted, some are genuinely surprising… For me, nothing is more indicative of the franchise’s unsettling tonal shift, post-Genesis, than the fact that 45% of the game will now contain environments based around human-populated cities. No snow levels, no desert levels, not even a casino-themed stage as far as anyone can tell. (DLC pinball games, while admittedly cool, do not count.)
That doesn’t mean there aren’t some great choices in here, though. Hit the jump to see the full list of zones/stages, complete with rundowns of unique features and video play-throughs of the original versions!
You knew this was coming: Sonic the Hedgehog is officially 20 years old as of today.
Released on June 23rd, 1991, SEGA’s bold, blue mascot burst onto the scene with what were– for the time– incredible graphics, an uncanny soundtrack, and an unrivaled platform experience. The combined efforts of Yuji Naka, Naoto Oshima, and (unofficially) the brow-furrowed suits at SEGA America ended up collaborating to create the lightning-in-a-bottle mascot that would officially shake up the console wars and become the first official threat to Nintendo’s empire. Funny how times have changed.
The sad part is that the younger generation (and those who never really paid attention, perhaps) probably remember him as a sad, sorry imitator to Mario’s throne, falling among the unremarkable, mediocre polygonal ranks of Crash Bandicoot or Spyro the Dragon. On this rare occasion, his double-decade birthday, I think it’s the perfect time to celebrate his legitimate legacy with a career retrospective. Whether you need a simple refresher or this is your first glimpse into his glory days, I promise it’s a worthwhile watch.
Click play for part one, then hit the jump-cut to enjoy Gametap’s four-part history of Sonic the Hedgehog:
Those who have followed the blue hedgehog’s exploits know that the Dreamcast-era games, despite not holding up particularly well, are vaunted by critics and fans alike as “better days” for the series. There’s a lot there to remember, as it helped define the franchise in terms of approach and aesthetic for the following decade, but the stand-out element for most people was the music. One of the more notorious tunes was the cliche-heavy song “Escape From the City” for the City Escape stage. It’s so bad that it’s good, for most. I fall into that camp.
Well, guess which Dreamcast-era stage was just announced for Sonic Generations with a brand-spanking new CG/gameplay trailer?
Catch the new trailer, gameplay and extra secrets after the jump:
Well, it is -a- Friday, and while I may have promised the third installment of this series far earlier than today, now seems like a more appropriate time than ever to pick things back up with my evaluation of the Sonic franchise as it currently stands. I’m obviously excited about what this year will bring for the oft-mocked blue hedgehog, much to the confusion or dismissal of some of our readers. I assure you, though, that my optimism and genuine enthusiasm is well-founded. Why does a new Sonic game announcement get me all hot and bothered? Why do I have renewed faith in Sonic Team for the first time in ages? Try to suspend your disbelief long enough to read a few paragraphs after the jump and you’ll find out as I take you back to last November’s release, Sonic Colors.
Oh my god, I didn’t even know you could get boners this hard.
I think I should go to a hospital. Or put ice on it. Or something.
More info to come later, I’m sure. Today just got incredibly interesting.
So, Sonic Free Riders was a bust to no one’s surprise. What, then, of the other, far more sincere Sonic offerings that came from SEGA last fall? What of the ambitiously-named throwback that was vaunted as the overdue return to form which would finally, assuredly, definitely restore the series to the celebrated status of its 16-bit glory days?
What of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1?
It’s an interesting time to be an admitted Sonic the Hedgehog fan.
The game industry’s most laughable and easily targeted franchise has been going through some noticeable changes lately, following a shift in authority and direction within SEGA that has lead, for better or worse, to a high focus on strengthening Sonic’s brand and improving his overall image within the video game industry/community. They’ve even taken measures to reduce the availability of some of his more recent failures and missteps, an announcement that was made in anticipation of what they clearly expected (or hoped) would be a strong fall release schedule for the blue blur.
Now, on the cusp of a new set of Sonic-related announcements and reveals, we’re able to examine their new strategy in the unavoidable and complete illumination of hindsight. How’d all that stuff work out for you, guys?
In this three-part series of separate reviews, I’m going to break down the three Sonic releases from last fall; Sonic Free Riders (for Kinect), Sonic Colors (for Wii), and Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 (for practically every possible platform), and evaluate where this beloved (believe it or not) character stands and just how far he has yet to climb before he’s out of the muck and into the spotlight proper.
I shall be presenting these in-depth analyses in the order of worst-to-best… which means that I shall, unfortunately, be starting at the bottom of the barrel with Sonic Free Riders.