TGS 2002: Hands-onSonic Advance 2

Sega is showing off a new Sonic the Hedgehog game for the Game Boy Advance at this year's Tokyo Game Show. Sonic Advance 2 sticks close to the Sonic formula while adding a couple of new moves and a choice of playable characters.

The characters playable in the version being shown at TGS are Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Cream, a rabbit who travels with a chao companion. The chao can be used to attack enemies. Sonic himself has the jump shield seen in previous entries in the series, as well as a flip-over slide that can be used for quick stops and an airborne spinning whirlwind move that appears to be an attack of some kind.

The world shown, called Leaf Forest, is exactly what you would expect from a 2D Sonic game. The backgrounds and level design are very similar to the first worlds used in the early Sonic games for the Genesis. The Leaf Forest boss fight puts you up against Dr. Robotnik, who is driving a dune buggy with a giant hammer coming out of it.

Graphically, this may be the best-looking 2D Sonic game yet. The characters are bursting with fluid animation, and the game has a nice, colorful look to it. We'll have more information on Sonic Advance 2 as it becomes available.