Tag: Sonic 20th Anniversary »

Sega has spent the past year celebrating Sonic's 20th Anniversary, releasing new Sonic titles that pay homage to the original games and re-releasing many of the original Sonic titles. Now, Sega has released an app to help iOS users get in on the extended celebration.

The star of the Sonic 20th Anniversary app is the brand new game, Sonic the Sketchhog. This is an endless runner game, where players control Sonic trying to collect rings and hop on top of Dr. Robotnik's assorted minions. When players don't hit an enemy, they lose their rings, and if they're hit without any rings, then it's game over, just like traditional Sonic games. As can be inferred from the title, all the graphics in the game are rough sketches rather than anything hyper-detailed, though Game Center support for high scores is present. Don't be surprised if this lays the groundwork for a future full-featured Sonic endless runner game, if only because the idea makes so much sense.

The other big part of the app is a Lite version of Sonic 4: Episode 1, though this puts the "light" in "Lite" as players can play the first level of the game for sixty seconds. That's it. As well, the app comes with some wallpapers, including some that are only available for a limited amount of time. Currently, there's a Sonic Unleashed wallpaper available through September 9th, for those that just happened to actually love that game. As well, there's links to other Sonic and Sega games on the App Store, news about upcoming titles both the consoles and iOS (including the upcoming version of Sonic CD which will not be actually available on compact disc), and links to see the latest Sonic-related tweets.

Not a bad way to celebrate a 20th anniversary, especially with a new free game. Of course, the real fun will come when Sonic's 21st Annversary arrives. Just remember, don't drink and spin dash.