Sonic 2006
Sonic the Hedgehog comes to the Xbox360 and Playstation3 (maybe Revolution but that's still unknown)
Known Features
The detail level and draw distance have been upped considerably. In the demo, Sonic was seen running around fields, forests and canyons that seemed to go on for miles in every direction. High-res textures are everywhere.
A Day/Night cycle has been implemented. As you play, time slowly changes from dawn, to noon, dusk, night time, and back to dawn again in real-time. Everything in the game casts shadows based on the position of the sun or moon.
The basic features of previous Sonic games return; Rail Grinding, Springs, Dash Plates and the Homing Attack were all shown in the Demo. It is unknown how much this move set will be changed for the future.
The Robots designed for this game have been made to look more menacing - they appear to be smoother, more deadly variations of the G.U.N. robots from Sonic Adventure 2.
Yuji Naka has stated that this game will capture the most realistic sensation of speed ever, a feature only possible on Next-Generation Systems. This could be seen as a parallel to how NiGHTS was designed: capturing sensation of flight.
The Havok Physics Engine has been implemented, giving robots and debris realistic physics as objects crumble, fall and bounce around the playing field.
Rumors
The Day/Night Cycle, Incredible Draw Distance, and the promise on the sensation of speed all seem to suggest that this game will be shifting away from the straightforward level designs seen in Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes in favor of a more cohesive world; somewhat like the Adventure Fields in the original Sonic Adventure, but on a much larger scale with a greater depth of gameplay.
The game will star Sonic, and Sonic only. Yuji Naka has stated in interviews that it would be interesting to do a game that stars just Sonic, but that fans also complain when their favorite character doesn't make an appearance - leaving him currently undecided on the issue.
Super Sonic may finally be playable outside of the final boss encounter - a feature Sonic fans have been begging for ever since the original Sonic Adventure.
As of December 2005, the game is only confirmed for the PS3 and the Xbox 360; though not announced for the Nintendo Revolution, it is speculated that it will appear on the console. Despite positive opinions of the Revolution, Sega has yet to announce any games for the system.
It has been said that, in addition to Yuji Naka directing the game, the original character designer for Sonic and Eggman, Naoto Ohshima, and the original music composer for Sonic 1 and Sonic 2, Masato Nakamura, are returning to provide some form of input on this game as well.
Originally, the game's designers were considering to give Sonic fur or individually animate every one of his spines, but this idea was dropped in favor of a more traditional Sonic.