Steve Lycett, executive producer at Sumo Digital as been very busy answering a lot of fan-proposed questions at the Sonic Stadium Message Board. We’ve also learnt some new things about the game from his answers:
– The game uses a new engine called the Sumo Engine which allows for dynamic lighting
– The vehicle transforms into either a plane or a boat for water and flying sections. This script-driven and cannot be done manually
– All the new tracks are completely original and are not variations on a theme (like all the various Seaside Hill stages in the original game)
– Online play hasn’t been confirmed for PC but HEAVILY hinted at
– Sumo are attempting to impliment all-star moves for online play
– Sumo have approached SEGA in regards to releasing a soundtrack for the game
– The game will run at 30fps
– There will be a much wider array of powerups
– The 3DS version will not be running the Sumo Engine and will be built from the group up. Sumo are aiming to make this version as close to the other versions as possible
– Sumo are trying to impliment dynamically changing music which changes depending on what is happening in the race
– The ‘first place attack weapon’ drops items in the way of the person in first position which they then have to avoid. It doesn’t attack them head on with no means of defence (think the infamous Mario Kart blue shell)
More information on the newly announced sequel to Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing is slowly seeping in.
The game will feature a total of 27 playable characters. The characters will be unlocked in a single player adventure/story mode which is also new to the series. Characters can also earn XP and level up which allows the characters to use their all-star moves.
Sumo Digital’s development team has been expanded to include members of past racing studios such as Gareth Wilson from Bizarre Creations as well as members of Black Rock.
There will also be new weapons like a small, remote controlled Sonic vehicle (complete with transformations) which can be remotely driven into enemies and detonated like a bomb. Also announced is a giant catchers mitt which can be used to catch enemy projectiles and use them to your advantage.
A sequel to Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing has been confirmed. The next game in the series is named Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (note the exclusion of ‘SEGA’ from the title) and it will be released on X-Box 360. No other word on release platforms is available at this time but Playstation 3 will likely be considered seeing how the first one was also released on that platform.
New features confirmed for the game are:
Gliding and water-based racing
Terrain that changes as the race goes on
Panzer Dragoon and Super Monkey Ball themed courses
Richard Jacques has contributed to the soundtrack
New characters include Vyse from Skies of Arcadia and Gilius Thunderhead from Golden Axe
Project X Zone, the upcoming SEGA, Capcom and Namco Bandai joint RPG venture now has screenshots. Among the SEGA characters now confirmed are Ulala from Space Channel 5, Space Harrier from, well… Space Harrier and Opa-Opa from Fantasy Zone (yes!). Check out the screens below courtesy of Sonic Wrecks and gaze at some amazing sprite-work:
The collaborative game that SEGA, Capcom and Namco Bandai have been working on for the 3DS is called Project X Zone and it will be a strategic RPG.
The characters in the game fight in pairs. A list of characters from each company has also been revealed by Weekly Famitsu:
Capcom
Ryu and Ken (Street Fighter), X and Zero (Mega Man), Demitri and Dante (Darkstalkers and Devil May Cry), Chris and Jill (Resident Evil).
SEGA
Shinguji Sakura and Ogami Ichiro (Sakura Wars), Pai and Akira (Virtua Fighter), Kurt and Riela (Valkyria Chronicles), Ulala and Touma (Space Channel 5 and Shining Force EXA).
Namco Bandai
Sanger Somvold (Super Robot Wars), Jin and Ling Xiaoyu (Tekken), Kos-Mos and T-elos (Xenosaga), Yurie and Estel (Tales of Vesperia), Kaito and Black Rose (.hack).
The project is being lead by Namco Bandai’s own Kensuke Tsukanaka. There is no news of a Western release at this time but the game is due for a Japanese release later this year.
The European 3DS eShop has been updated to include the 3 Game Gear titles. The titles in question are Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble, Shinobi and Dragon Crystal. Dragon Crystal is priced at £2.70, Shinobi at £3.60 and Sonic at £4.50. The full press release now follows:
“We are pleased to announce that three original Game Gear games are making a welcome return to handheld gaming. Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble, Shinobi and Dragon Crystal are all now available on the 3DS eshop worldwide giving you the chance to overcome past adversities.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble was originally released in November 1994, as a sequel to Sonic Chaos. The platform-oriented game gives players the choice of playing as Sonic or Tails. Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble introduces players to Nack the Weasel for the first time.
Sonic and Tails are tasked with retrieving the Chaos Emeralds which have been scattered across planet Mobius during an experiment, by Dr. Robotnik and his team testing the ‘Atomic Destroyer’ which goes wrong. In the meantime Dr. Robotnik runs into Knuckles and convinces him Sonic and Tails are out to steal the emeralds. Nack the Weasel takes advantage of the confusion to collect the emeralds for himself.
Shinobi, known in Japan as The G.G. Shinobi, was developed and published by SEGA exclusively for the SEGA Game Gear. It was released in 1991 as part of the Shinobi series of games. The music in the game was composed by Yūzō Koshiro.
As Joe Musashi, student of the ‘The Master of Oboro’, you are sent to Ninja Valley which has been submerged by an air of terror and destruction as a dark force has established a base within Neo City. You must use the art of Ninjutsu to free your fellow shinobi, and continue your adventure by mastering their skills.
Dragon Crystal is an RPG which was originally released on the SEGA Master System and ported to the Game Gear in 1991 making it one the Game Gear’s earliest Role Playing Games.
In Dragon Crystal, you must navigate your way through 30 randomly generated, dangerous labyrinths, collecting weapons, armour, magic books along the way. Gameplay combat is turn-based, players positioning during battles is paramount to their success.”
Remember Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse for the Mega Drive? Remember how amazing it was? Well who would’ve guessed that it would get a sequel 22 years later, but that’s exactly what is happening!
The upcoming release of Epic Mickey 2 on 3DS will not follow the same path as its’ console brethren; the developers have seen fit to make it an entirely different game featuring the plucky mouse that follows directly after the events of Castle of Illusion.
Obviously SEGA won’t be publishing Epic Mickey 2 as Disney now publishes its’ own Mickey games, but this should be of interest to anyone who has fond memories of the original Mega Drive game.
There’s not a lot to say at the moment, but a Japanese teaser site has revealed that SEGA, Capcom and Namco Bandai are teaming up for a new 3DS project. The only information regarding the project so far is the bare-bones teaser website which you can access via this link: CLICK HERE
Not really a lot to go on, is it? Something tells me we aren’t going to hear much else about this title until the Summer (E3 most likely) as well, but we’ll update you on any news regarding this extremely interesting project as we get it.
The 3DS version of Mario & Sonic at the London Olympic Games is due soon on the 10th of February. Therefore SEGA have released a new trailer for the game:
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