X06: Sonic the Hedgehog Hands-On

On the eve of Microsoft's X06 event in Barcelona, Sega has released a new demo for Sonic the Hedgehog. This new demo appears to be an abbreviated version of what Microsoft had on display at its booth during 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo, with a shorter overall run time and without any appearances by either Shadow or the new character, Silver the Hedgehog. Still, it shows Sonic looking better than he ever has before, and it shows off several unique gameplay mechanics.

The overall experience wasn't too far off from what Sonic Team has been doing with its Sonic Adventure games. By tapping the A button once, you can make Sonic jump, and by tapping it a second time, you can make him home in on nearby enemies while in midair. The X button serves as a dedicated attack button, and depending on the situation, we were able to get Sonic to perform a leg sweep, a dashing attack, and a ground-pound move. In typical Sonic fashion, all of the enemies in the demo were menacing robots--some looked humanoid in form, while others looked like robotic crabs.

Save for one robot armed with a pair of hefty laser cannons, none of the enemies gave us much trouble--it was pretty easy to dispatch groups of enemies by simply pounding on the A button. We found that we were our own worst enemy, and we fell to our death multiple times. Part of this was due to the inherent design of the demo, which featured plenty of small platforms that you have to jump, and sometimes fly, between, but we also found the controls to be a bit too sensitive.

Still, the experience was unmistakably Sonic. We collected rings, grinded rails, ran over treadmill-style speed pads, bounced off giant pinball bumpers, and ran through checkpoint turnstiles. There were a few new touches as well, such as a giant eagle that we could hitch a ride with, serpentine pathways made of wind that we could hop onto, and horizontally suspended lengths of rope that we could use trapeze-style to reach higher platforms.

The level felt like a refined, more-realistic take on the Marble Zone from the original Sonic the Hedgehog, with lots of sheer granite cliffs and waterfalls, and though there were a few spotty rock textures, it's a slick-looking level. We dashed through the short demo on our first run in well under 10 minutes, but it was clear from the demo that there are several alternate paths to explore, so it can warrant multiple play-throughs.

Though the demo gave no sign that Sonic Team is prepared to reinvent the franchise with Sonic the Hedgehog, there were definitely some moments that are sure to please fans. Sonic the Hedgehog is set to arrive on the Xbox 360 in mid-November.