With Sonic The Hedgehog celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year, a mystery appeared on the internet as to just how Sega would promote this auspicious occasion. The obvious answer was a new game, but how would the game play? Would it focus on the nostalgia of the 2D era, or try to give a good 3D experience not seen since the Sonic Adventure games? Well, the new game was officially announced, and Sonic Generations answers that question: both.

Sonic Generations first appeared as a domain name, hinting at a new game in the franchise. Then, a few days later, a trailer was released further driving speculation.

The trailer showed Sonic running through a relatively colorless area, though it bore a striking resemblance to the designs of the original Sonic the Hedgehog levels. Then, the original Sonic design began running alongside the current Sonic. This definitely raised a few eyebrows as to just what the game would entail.

The trailer in question can be seen right here.

Now, with the game’s official announcement, more details have been released. The game will take place due to a “time hole” pulling the current-day Sonic back in time to his past, where he teams up with his past self. You can play as either version of Sonic, with the past version’s levels being in 2D and the modern Sonic levels being 3D. For those worried about an overrun of characters, don’t worry, as it’s been confirmed that Sonic will be the only playable character.

Seeing as this takes place back in the past, we’ll be seeing old Sonic levels redesigned for a new system. The levels will also be seen from a new perspective for the 3D levels. The best example of this is seen in the trailer and screenshots released for the game, which show off the redesigned Green Hill Zone, the famous first level of the first Sonic game. Have a look for yourself.

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Sonic Generations will be released for both the Xbox 360 and PS3. Oddly enough, no Wii version has been announced, which is especially strange after the positive reception the Wii exclusive Sonic Colors received. Maybe the two games are meant to compliment one another, as Colors played a lot like an older Sonic game as well.

Are you excited for the newest title in the Sonic franchise? Will the combination of old and new prove to be a smash hit, or fall on its face? What other levels do you hope to see re imagined?

Sonic Generations is due sometime this holiday season for the PS3 and Xbox 360.

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Source: 1up, VG247, IGN