Sonic and the Secret Rings

Sonic and the Secret Rings formerly known as Sonic Wild Fire is a video game in the Sonic The Hedgehog series to be released exclusively for the Wii on March 6, 2007 in North America, and in Japan during spring 2007. It is played by holding the Wii Remote controller horizontally, and then tilting it left or right to move Sonic.

This game is not to be confused with the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), which is currently under development for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Story

Sonic and the Secret Rings has been in production for approximately two years.

The story begins with Sonic turning the pages of the classic book, “Arabian Nights.” Suddenly, he is visited by the tale’s central character, the Genie, who reveals that the last several pages of the book have mysteriously gone blank. This mystical being grants Sonic the ability to travel into the book’s world. Armed with his signature speed, Sonic sets off on an adventure to retrieve the missing pages, and set the world of the Arabian Nights back in order.

Not much else is known. However, A recent demo of the game shows Sonic being chased by three Pentaceratops. In addition, Sonic is seen running down the neck of a large long-necked dinosaur and is also seen being attacked by a Spinosaurus-like dinosaur at the end of 2006 German Games Convention trailer.

Levels

So far, only two levels have been seen. Each level seems to let Sonic make a special trick or stunt that takes advantage of the controller configuration.

* Sand Oasis: This level is set in the Arabian Nights theme the game's setting is designed from. Sonic will start running down a huge building, run around the side of a pond, avoid fire traps, and end it with a dash through a city. The obstacles are giant swords/axes that launch at Sonic and flame throwers during the section Sonic runs inside a building. Sonic performs a stunt halfway through the stage where Sonic is creeping along the edge of a wall while dodging axes and spikes.

* Dinosaur Jungle: Set in the Dinosaur era. At the beginning of the level, Sonic is chased by Pentaceratops. He will later be running on the backs of dinosaurs and a T-Rex is seen at the end of the German trailer. In this level, Sonic surfs the rivers in the level on a log. It appears to be used twice in the level. The First one happens after the triceratops chase where Sonic runs on a bridge which is then destroyed by a giant tree and Sonic uses part of the bridge as a board. The second one happens somewhere in the middle of the level where Sonic must proceed through by surfing another river (this time, in a cave).

Control

Players will control Sonic with the unique Wii Remote by holding the controller horizontally, tilting it forward quickly to execute a "homing attack". Sonic's movement will also be controlled by tilting the controller left or right, much like a steering wheel. Sonic will run on a semi-linear path. Pulling the controller towards you allows for Sonic to walk backwards, combining this with turning allows Sonic to rotate 360 degrees. When the "Wild Fire" meter is full (by collecting small fire icons), shaking the controller will make Sonic boost at incredible speeds and be invincible for a limited time, as well as destroying nearby obstacles, very similar to the mechanics of Chaos Control in Shadow the Hedgehog.

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