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The Blue Blur has been completely reborn in this new take on the Sonic franchise that incorporates both 2D and 3D elements. Our impressions of the E3 demo!

Sonic fans, finally you have my express permission to be rightfully excited about a Sonic game. Based on what was shown behind closed doors at Sega’s E3 headquarters, Sonic Unleashed is looking to be one hell of a thrill ride.

Rather than making another 3D Sonic game with the same formula started by Sonic Adventure way back in 1999, Sonic Unleashed is a complete rebirth of the franchise that utilizes both 3D and 2D gaming styles. The 3D portions of the game puts the camera behind Sonic as he blazes down a set path similar to how he would in Sonic and the Secret Rings for the Wii. Unlike that game however, Sonic is actually under your total control and is not constantly moving forward. The great thing about the camera being constantly behind Sonic is that it eliminates the need for having to deal with a clumsy camera system that has always been the bane of 3D Sonic games.

When the game shifts to a 2D perspective, it’s just like the traditional 2D Sonic games of yore. You blaze down a trail from left to right, collecting rings, avoiding traps, hitting speed boosters, jumping on baddies, and everything that has made the Sega Genesis and Nintendo DS Sonic games such a blast to play.

No matter which dimension you’re playing in, you need to constantly stay alert as Sonic Unleashed is easily the fastest Sonic game yet with the speedy little hedgehog running upwards of about 300 miles per hour. Thankfully there are a couple of gameplay additions that are aimed to help you cope with this speed. When the camera is behind Sonic, he has the ability to press the right and left bumpers to execute a quick step to the sides without losing any speed or momentum.

Doing so is vital to avoiding traps and enemies in addition to collecting long strings of rings. Speaking of rings, they do more than just keep you alive in Sonic Unleashed. By collecting rings, you build up a boost meter that allows you to execute a Sonic Boost, which grants Sonic a momentary burst of speed and invulnerability, allowing you to plow through objects and enemies like a bulldozer.