Sonic Unleashed aims to address all the concerns of gamers and fans alike by taking the venerable series back to the drawing board. Thanks to the realisation by SEGA that, in recent years, Sonic the Hedgehog has only ever really worked in a 2D space, there’s a heavy emphasis on dynamic 2D to 3D platforming action – the latter being inspired by the success of Sonic and the Secret Rings.

It’s all made possible by the new Hedgehog Engine, which Sonic Team have been working on for three years and is confident will provide an excellent representation of the classic elements of the fast-paced platformer. The game is split into two types of stages, with the more recognisable Sonic levels featuring multiple routes and plenty of opportunity for speed.

When day turns to night though, Sonic becomes a whole different beast – a Werehog. This isn’t his Sunday best or anything – Dr. Robotnik’s latest plan involves splitting the planet into fragments and rebuilding it in his image, and during an assault on his Egg Carrier, Sonic gets zapped with a beam that makes things rather hairy.

During these werewolf hedgehog segments, the game turns into a slower-paced, more punchy action game, with many enemies to sock and tricky platforming sections to overcome. The two combined will aim to help re-define Sonic the Hedgehog for a more discerning generation of games players.