Sega unveils Shadow the Hedgehog

SAN FRANCISCO--The Metreon unveiled its Walk of Game tonight in a ceremony that saw Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog among the 2005 inductees. However, the real news is that Sega used the opportunity to unveil a new platform game called Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow is Sonic's nemesis, first appearing in Sonic Adventure 2. The new game seems to be a Sonic-style adventure with some bold new twists.

The short clip showed off a variety of gameplay from the upcoming platformer that featured familiar Sonic mechanics, along with some new additions to the time-tested formula. Among the segments that showed Shadow's railsliding, homing jump, and speed-burst abilities, it was hard to miss Shadow...because he packed some heat. Yes, the dark hedgehog rolls strapped with a pistol of some kind, and he appears to have no qualms about using it to take out fools that are in his way.

The environments shown appear to be in the same tribal vein as those from Sonic's recent console adventures, although, as evidenced by the text interspersed among the gameplay, Shadow will be taking players on a tear through the darker side of Sonic's universe. Additionally, the graphics appear to be along the same lines as those seen in Sonic Heroes.

Although no platforms were given for the game's release, PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions seem like givens, especially when taking into account the Sonic series' history. The game is scheduled to be released this fall, so expect to see some official details on the game in May at E3 2005, if not sooner.