To celebrate Sonic's 20th birthday, SEGA have announced a brand new game staring everyone's favourite speed blue thing, due out sometime around Christmas this year.
Sonic Generations, as it's been dubbed, sees Sonic taking a trip back in time to meet his older - and chubbier - counterpart, in what must be a pretty awkward meeting. As is always the way, there's evil afoot, and the two versions of Sonic will need to team up to defeat a currently unnamed new nemesis, saving their friends in the process.
Sonic's as shocked about his new game as we are.
The levels are re-mastered versions of the originals, taken from the games that have spanned two decades - sort of like a greatest hits compilation - and promise to add a whole new perspective to the game, literally. Depending on the form of Sonic you choose, you'll either playing a 2D side-scrolling mode, or running around in full 3D, as in the more recent Sonics, in a twist that sounds so crazy it's making our head hurt just thinking about it.
Or, as David Corless, Sonic's global Brand Director puts it - "Sonic Generations will certainly be a fitting celebration for Sonic's 20th Anniversary. By having the classic 1991 Sonic that many fans know and love team up with his modern day incarnation, we are bringing back the nostalgia of the early days of Sonic and combining it with the innovation and stunning HD technology of the modern gaming era.Sonic Generations will bring to life the last twenty years of Sonic's universe in a truly unique and imaginative way"
We can't work out which is going to be better - playing the levels through for the first time, or the nostalgia boost you'll get if you played the originals.
There are few things that get us excited like a new Sonic game - so the idea of one that offers a completely new take on the classic Sonics, and an intriguing mix of styles makes us very excited indeed. When we reviewed Sonic Colours, we thought it was getting close to as good as Sonic games can get. This has the potential to be even better. Keep your ears to the ground, people. We'll tell you more when we get it.
