Rumours about a brand new title from SEGA entitled Sonic Unleashed have been zipping across the Internet all weekend, but we’ve held off posting until now due to a lack of confirmation that it was ever destined for a Nintendo platform (or, indeed, whether the game was real at all). After the explosion of hear’say this weekend, SEGA of Europe has spoken out to officially confirm the title, though we’re still relying on the words of a third party as to whether it will be heading to the Nintendo Wii.

SEGA of Europe has released the following information:

“Sonic the Hedgehog returns for a full-blown, action-packed adventure through the desolate and unpredictable World of Mubuz, a world dictated by an evil Dragon Lord, Immarius. Upon entering Muboz, Sonic fights an evil power which turns all the inhabitants into dangerous beasts.

• Become Wolf Sonic and fight enemies like never before using rapid combo maneuvers and Ring Energy
• Play as Sonic, Knuckles or Tails through 12 packed stages
• Extensive 2D gameplay brings the old Sonic back home”

The original discovery of Sonic Unleashed was made by the Espio Kaos Message Board, spotted whilst browsing one of SEGA’s FTP portals. The first screenshots indicate at a Computer Generated introduction and/or Microsoft Xbox 360/Sony PlayStation 3 gameplay) involving the golden-hued Super Sonic being defeated by the evil Dr. Eggman, and various locations based on Greek architecture.

Sonic Stadium, meanwhile, rumours that Sonic Unleashed will be the next Sonic ‘canon’ game, and that it is a follow up to Sonic 06’s Iblis disaster. The site writes that this is the reason for the dark, evil, purple-mouthed monster (in our screenshots above) and that Sonic will be struck by a curse that sees him fighting his alter ego, a creature in the form of a were-wolf. Sonic Unleashed is said to feature a mixture of Sonic and the Secret Rings-esque platforming, which will also switch to “2.5D” elements - we’d gather that from the leaked screenshots as well.

As for how we think Sonic Unleashed will be heading to the Nintendo Wii? A mysterious ‘Dennis’ from SEGA Magazine in Germany has stated:

“Sonic unleashed will be on the cover of the next PLAY magazine, it will also feature in Nintendo’s magazine (Nintendo Official Magazine) and will be in the August issue. The screens I have uploaded are from the Xbox 360 version of the game, however, the game is going to be a multi-format release.”

The images above may be from the Microsoft Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed, but the popular mascot hasn’t looked too bad at all in Sonic and the Secret Rings and SEGA Superstars Tennis, so we’re hoping some considerable effort is being put into the Nintendo Wii build too.

We’re not likely to hear a whole lot more about Sonic Unleashed until E3 or the company’s Gamers’ Day in May (not least whether in fact it really is on its way to the Nintendo Wii), but we’re glad to hear there won’t be any central characters other than Sonic (and the slightly iffy inclusion of his Wolfy alter-ego).