Sonic Colors Preview

Pull up the roots.

Okay, so Sonic Unleashed was a total fiasco. Sonic as a werewolf?!?! Really?! They must've been smoking some seriously good stuff when they came up with that one. Fortunately for us, it seems as if the buzz has worn off and sanity once again reigns supreme. Sonic Colors takes the franchise back a step in the right direction. Away from lycanthropy and back to being a high-paced, speed-oriented platformer. But there are some new twists and surprises waiting around the corner. (Don't worry, no werewolves or sparkly vampires.)

Once again Eggman is being a total douchebag and has kidnapped a group of ghost-like aliens known as “Wisps” to power his newest scheme: An outer-space theme park. As no one could've ever possibly guessed, it's up to everyone's favorite blue hedgehog, who looks nothing like a hedgehog at all, to free the whisps from their robotic prisons and save the day once again.

This time he'll have the help of special-colored wisps that will grant Sonic special powers. If you free a green one, it will give you Tron-like laser powers that allow you to beam through special grids like a Tron light cycle or destroy groups of enemies that stand in your way; if you can get your hands on a yellow one, he'll give you the ability to drill through the dirt and discover new areas. And as always you'll have Sonic's traditional moves like the spin-dash and the ability to combo your jumps along with all the daytime abilities from Unleashed. As you unlock new fur coats, you'll be able to go back through previous levels and explore alternate routes.

But it's not all just new colors of fur you can expect. The out-of-this-world themes of Dr. Robotnik's park will take you through new and creative levels outside of the traditional backgrounds you're used to seeing in the franchise. You'll start off in the relatively normal looking Tropical Resort, just to get the hang of things, but you'll soon move onto more fantastical areas like Sweet Mountain, which is made entirely out of cakes and candy. Luckily for Sonic he's got a fast metabolism from all the running. (It's also why he never gets his period.)

The Wii's levels will also look to combine the 3D platforming that we've become familiar with 2D areas that we've all been clamoring for since the series went 3D while the DS version will offer gameplay similar to that found in Sonic Rush.

Sonic Colors is hoping to redeem the series from the corniness that was the werehog and replace it with a system that actually makes sense and works with the Sonic we're used to a hell of a lot better. With Sonic 4 Episode 1 on the way this year too, this just may be the boost that the spiny fuzzball needs to launch him back into the spotlight. You'll be able to get your hands on Sonic Colors later this year exclusively for Nintendo Wii and DS.