Last Update: 8/25/07
Sonic The Hedgehog (XBL)
Overview
In the game, Sonic has to prevent Doctor Robotnik from collecting all the six of the Chaos Emeralds in an attempt to rule South Island. He must go through six dangerous "zones", each comprised of three stages (Refered in the game as acts) or bonus stage until he confronts Robotnik for the last time in the Final Zone.
The gameplay centers around elements that exploit the increased performance of the 16-bit console over its 8-bit forebears. It is notable for being both simplistic and engaging for players.
At the time of its release, Sonic the Hedgehog was one of the fastest platformers that had yet been released. Sonic could run, jump and roll at significantly higher speeds than most platformers of the time. Unlike other platformers, the game's levels were designed to encourage the player to progress quickly. Springs, slopes, high falls and loop-de-loops were all available to both boost and challenge the player to reach high speeds. This was all accomplished without any slowdown in framerates, adding to the experience.
Movement
Sonic's method of attack was also novel. As a hedgehog, he can curl up into a ball by either jumping or by rolling along the ground, a state in which he can damage most enemies by simply colliding with them. This was a change from most other platform games, where the player could damage enemies only by shooting or jumping on top of them. While rolling along the ground, Sonic can roll down slopes, gaining speed as he goes. Most slopes are irregular, as opposed to the fixed angles seen in previous platform games, and the game has the physics to match. Sonic's acceleration down a slope depends on its steepness; if travelling fast enough, he can run up and around 360° loops; and he suffers from drag underwater.
Features
Essential to the gameplay are the golden rings Sonic collects along his way in each level; a feature which would become one of the defining characteristics of the series. These items are regularly placed around the map and serve multiple functions. First, Sonic collects rings to protect himself. As long as he has at least one ring, he will not die when injured. Instead, when he's hit, all rings has Sonic collected will fly outward and scatter around the immediate area, some of which can then be retrieved before they disappear. If Sonic runs into an enemy without a single ring, he will die and lose a life. If Sonic manages to collect 100 rings he will gain a life, and gain an additional life for every 100 rings after that, provided he doesn't lose his rings in the process. If Sonic has at least 50 rings at the end of an act, a giant golden ring will float above the finishing sign which Sonic can then jump through to enter one of the special stages to collect a Chaos Emerald. At the end of each act, the total number of rings Sonic has is multiplied by 100 and added to the player's score. During the score tallying Sonic can also jump through the air to find hidden emblems which can range from 100 to 10,000 points. This was the only console Sonic game until Sonic Adventure where Sonic could get more lives by collecting over 200 rings (if he gets 300 rings in the later 16-bit titles, he gets nothing).
Also scattered throughout each act are monitors which, when broken, reward Sonic with one of a variety of bonuses and power-ups. These include a shield which will protect Sonic from a single hit, a 10-ring bonus, an extra life, temporary invincibility (accompanied with a temporary change in music), and "Super Sneakers", which give Sonic a temporary speed boost (and increase the tempo of the music for the duration until the power of the shoes run out). The item monitors have become another long lasting feature in the series, though they have changed to bubble-like containers in later games.
Despite the various types of protection available, neither the shield, rings, or invincibility will protect Sonic against instant death by getting crushed (by a trap or between a wall and a moving platform), drowning, running out of time (each act has a ten-minute time limit), or falling into a bottomless pit.
Progress through the game is made easier by lamp posts that act as checkpoints. When Sonic passes a lamp post, its color changes from blue to red, and the next time he loses a life, he will restart at that point rather than at the beginning of the act. However, unlike later 16-bit Sonic games, if Sonic touches a checkpoint and dies as a result of running out of time, the time at the checkpoint will reset to 0:00.
Hazards Sonic comes across along the way include a wide variety of "badniks" - animals trapped inside mechanical bodies which are released the moment Sonic hits them. Each badnik takes one hit to destroy, but they vary greatly from Zone to Zone; some will walk in a set path, others will try blasting Sonic, and some can't be avoided at all, such as the Bomb enemies in Star Light Zone. Sonic also has to look out for rows of sharp spikes, cliffs, and elaborate death traps. There is also the threat of drowning, as he can only survive 30 seconds underwater without drawing breath, either from the surface, or from the large air bubbles that regularly seep out of the ground in certain places.
...And now it's on the Xbox 360, downloadable at a cheap 400 Microsoft Points.
In the game, Sonic has to prevent Doctor Robotnik from collecting all the six of the Chaos Emeralds in an attempt to rule South Island. He must go through six dangerous "zones", each comprised of three stages (Refered in the game as acts) or bonus stage until he confronts Robotnik for the last time in the Final Zone.
The gameplay centers around elements that exploit the increased performance of the 16-bit console over its 8-bit forebears. It is notable for being both simplistic and engaging for players.
At the time of its release, Sonic the Hedgehog was one of the fastest platformers that had yet been released. Sonic could run, jump and roll at significantly higher speeds than most platformers of the time. Unlike other platformers, the game's levels were designed to encourage the player to progress quickly. Springs, slopes, high falls and loop-de-loops were all available to both boost and challenge the player to reach high speeds. This was all accomplished without any slowdown in framerates, adding to the experience.
Movement
Sonic's method of attack was also novel. As a hedgehog, he can curl up into a ball by either jumping or by rolling along the ground, a state in which he can damage most enemies by simply colliding with them. This was a change from most other platform games, where the player could damage enemies only by shooting or jumping on top of them. While rolling along the ground, Sonic can roll down slopes, gaining speed as he goes. Most slopes are irregular, as opposed to the fixed angles seen in previous platform games, and the game has the physics to match. Sonic's acceleration down a slope depends on its steepness; if travelling fast enough, he can run up and around 360° loops; and he suffers from drag underwater.
Features
Essential to the gameplay are the golden rings Sonic collects along his way in each level; a feature which would become one of the defining characteristics of the series. These items are regularly placed around the map and serve multiple functions. First, Sonic collects rings to protect himself. As long as he has at least one ring, he will not die when injured. Instead, when he's hit, all rings has Sonic collected will fly outward and scatter around the immediate area, some of which can then be retrieved before they disappear. If Sonic runs into an enemy without a single ring, he will die and lose a life. If Sonic manages to collect 100 rings he will gain a life, and gain an additional life for every 100 rings after that, provided he doesn't lose his rings in the process. If Sonic has at least 50 rings at the end of an act, a giant golden ring will float above the finishing sign which Sonic can then jump through to enter one of the special stages to collect a Chaos Emerald. At the end of each act, the total number of rings Sonic has is multiplied by 100 and added to the player's score. During the score tallying Sonic can also jump through the air to find hidden emblems which can range from 100 to 10,000 points. This was the only console Sonic game until Sonic Adventure where Sonic could get more lives by collecting over 200 rings (if he gets 300 rings in the later 16-bit titles, he gets nothing).
Also scattered throughout each act are monitors which, when broken, reward Sonic with one of a variety of bonuses and power-ups. These include a shield which will protect Sonic from a single hit, a 10-ring bonus, an extra life, temporary invincibility (accompanied with a temporary change in music), and "Super Sneakers", which give Sonic a temporary speed boost (and increase the tempo of the music for the duration until the power of the shoes run out). The item monitors have become another long lasting feature in the series, though they have changed to bubble-like containers in later games.
Despite the various types of protection available, neither the shield, rings, or invincibility will protect Sonic against instant death by getting crushed (by a trap or between a wall and a moving platform), drowning, running out of time (each act has a ten-minute time limit), or falling into a bottomless pit.
Progress through the game is made easier by lamp posts that act as checkpoints. When Sonic passes a lamp post, its color changes from blue to red, and the next time he loses a life, he will restart at that point rather than at the beginning of the act. However, unlike later 16-bit Sonic games, if Sonic touches a checkpoint and dies as a result of running out of time, the time at the checkpoint will reset to 0:00.
Hazards Sonic comes across along the way include a wide variety of "badniks" - animals trapped inside mechanical bodies which are released the moment Sonic hits them. Each badnik takes one hit to destroy, but they vary greatly from Zone to Zone; some will walk in a set path, others will try blasting Sonic, and some can't be avoided at all, such as the Bomb enemies in Star Light Zone. Sonic also has to look out for rows of sharp spikes, cliffs, and elaborate death traps. There is also the threat of drowning, as he can only survive 30 seconds underwater without drawing breath, either from the surface, or from the large air bubbles that regularly seep out of the ground in certain places.
...And now it's on the Xbox 360, downloadable at a cheap 400 Microsoft Points.
Publisher: Sega
