Sonic Drift: Next Generation

Sonic Drift: Next Generation is the name of an unreleased, concept game for the Xbox 360. It will be released solely for this platform, mostly because the PlayStation 3 gets enough new games already. The game is a complete re-boot of the Sonic Drift series. Because it is a reboot, several major Gameplay changes will be made, and many characters will make their debut in a racing game. The game will consist of eight grand pries, twenty-five playable racers, and a variety of items that can be used during races. Rainbow Studios, developer of ATV Offroad Fury 2, will assist with making the game’s engine, however, Sonic Team will finish the engine to suit the game’s Sonic style.

Gameplay
Sonic Drift: Next Generation will be a total re-boot to the Sonic Drift game series. The Gameplay will be adjusted to be more like recent racing games, but to still retain individuality. The greatest change, it seems, is the addition of bikes. Each character has either a kart or bike. Bikes weigh less and can’t do well off-road, but have better steering and acceleration. Karts on the other hand, are faster and weigh more, but have weaker acceleration and turning. Each kart and bike has its own stats. Tracks now contain many hazards and ramps, from which tricks can be done off of. A Chaos Energy meter sits on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, and as tricks are executed and items are used, it builds up. However, if the player falls off the course or fails to complete a trick it drops a little. The Chaos Energy bar increases the racer’s speed and acceleration as it goes up. The meter has three levels: Chaos, Super, and Hyper. When the bar fills up completely once, it goes to Super, and if it fills completely again, it reaches Hyper. Each level boosts the racer’s stats (only two or three stats are boosted at a time, not all five at once). If the bar drops down a level, the stats go down a level also.

Items appear for the first relative time in the series, and old items will reappear. The Robotnik Bomb, for example, is from the opening of Sonic & Knuckles, yet it appears as a semi-common item in the game. The Super Sneakers and Invincibility appear again, but old items like the Slow Sneaker and the Rocket Sneakers will return. DLC (Downloadable Content) will be available after its release. All characters can drift, trick, and use items, and only bike characters can do wheelies. There are quite a few modes in Next Generation. In addition to the Grand Prix mode and the single and multiplayer racing modes, Time Trials and Battle Mode appear. Time Trials force players to try and get the fastest times, whereas Battle Mode is a battle to see what racers remain alive at the end.

Racers
Racers are the key component in the game. Each racer has their own unique Speed, Acceleration, Off-Road, Handling, and Chaos stats. Whereas the first four may seem like obvious variables, the last is new. The Chaos stat shows how much Chaos Energy is gained from each trick/item hit. It also defines how much Chaos Energy the racer loses when they fall off the track or are hit by an item. Every racer rides either a kart or bike, similar to the ‘’Mario Kart’’ series. The differences in these vehicles can be read in the above section. Here is a list of all playable racers:


 * Super Sonic does not ride a vehicle, as he simply flies down the track. He also runs on Chaos Energy, so he will return to normal if he runs out of energy.

Racecourses
There are a total of thirty-two courses in eight grand pix cups, one for each of the Chaos Emerald colors and one for the Master Emerald. All of the courses are from previous games in the ‘’Sonic’’ series, from Marble Zone to the Apotos Alleyways.

GREEN

The easiest cup in the game. It is a beginner’s track set, as the courses have minimal obstacles and aren’t extremely long.
 * 1) Green Hill
 * 2) Apotos Alleyways
 * 3) Ocean Palace
 * 4) Leaf Storm

TEAL

The second easiest cup. More trick ramps and drift areas appear in this cup, along with more difficult jumps and terrain.
 * 1) Gigapolis
 * 2) Marble
 * 3) Hot Crater
 * 4) Sandapolis

YELLOW

The next cup after Teal. The courses begin to step up here, although they are not terribly challenging. More shortcuts will begin to appear after this cup, also.
 * 1) Lost Jungle
 * 2) Metal Harbor
 * 3) Kron Colony
 * 4) Sky Troops

RED

This cup steps up the difficulty a bit, as tracks must now be more carefully navigated, with sharper turns and more gaps. Tricks can also help with various speed boost areas and even aid in shortcuts.
 * 1) Music Plant
 * 2) Chu-Nan Fortress
 * 3) Dusty Desert
 * 4) Flying Battery

WHITE

A most obviously harder set of races, as the tracks are now loaded with hazards and sharp drifting turns, and gaps where failing a trick means costing major time.
 * 1) Hill Top
 * 2) Hang Castle
 * 3) Frontier Canyon
 * 4) Dead Line

BLUE

The third-to-last cup in the game, it consists of some nasty new obstacles, however, with careful precision they can be nearly overlooked. Item battling can become a problem in some of the difficult sections.
 * 1) Final Fortress
 * 2) Oil Ocean
 * 3) Space Gadget
 * 4) Hydro City

PURPLE

The penultimate grand prix. This cup is very challenging, with hard turns, rough hills, and strategically placed boost pads. If the player is able to figure out how to navigate the courses, he will be ready for the final cup.
 * 1) Voxai Colony Beta
 * 2) Metropolis
 * 3) Chaos Angel
 * 4) Crimson Crater

MASTER

The final cup available normally. This cup is gruelingly hard, although it should be, considering it is the final cup. If the player has not mastered the arts of drifting, tricking, use of shortcuts, and item battling, it will be an extremely tough ride.
 * 1) Exception
 * 2) Black Comet
 * 3) Death Egg
 * 4) Doomsday

Battle Mode
Battle Mode is a new mode where racers go down a track with infinite laps, trying to defeat all the other racers. Players can change rules to fit their play style, from winning according to KO count or having a set number of laps and having to get the most points in the allotted time. Ten tracks are solely playable in this mode: Each player has four Shield-Bots around themselves, and each attack landed against them loses one, and if all are lost the player has to respawn with all bots again.
 * 1) Zoah Colony
 * 2) Huge Crisis
 * 3) Casino Night
 * 4) Ice Paradise
 * 5) Megalo Station
 * 6) Neo South Island
 * 7) Sleeping Egg
 * 8) Cryptic Castle
 * 9) Hidden Palace
 * 10) Azure Lake

Items

 * 1) Super Sneaker (the player receives an instant burst in speed)
 * 2) Slow Sneaker (the player’s top speed is temporarily dropped)
 * 3) Robotnik Bomb (the bomb from Knuckles’ opening in S&K drops on the track and explodes under a time limit or if contact is made, flipping over racers)
 * 4) Chu2 Bomb (from Sonic Battle, the Chu2 Bomb reappears! This small bomb comes in threes, and are motion-sensing, exploding when contact is made. Also, if they are left alone for a bit, they begin to walk around)
 * 5) Omochao Missile (the player shoots Omochao at a nearby opponent. This projectile homes in and spins out racers when hit)
 * 6) Fake Chaos Emerald (the Fake Chaos Emerald from Sonic X creates a lightning blast that strikes all racers in front of the user, spinning them out and temporarily draining their Chaos Meter)
 * 7) Golden Wings (based on the Special Rings from Sonic Advance 2, this power-up grows golden wings out of the back of the vehicle, and, for a limited time, the player can executed unlimited boosts)
 * 8) Rocket Sneakers (after a long absence, the Rocket Shoes from Sonic Chaos return; when used, a flamethrower blast of fire sprays from the vehicle’s rear, spinning out opponents)
 * 9) Invincibility (the racer is surrounded in a great glow, and any opponents who make contact with the user is flipped over)
 * 10) Gaia Bat (a Dark Gaia minion who swoops forward down the track, flipping over the racer who it was aimed at)

Unlockables
RACERS BATTLE ARENAS
 * 1) Bean the Dynamite (beat the Green Cup with an S Rank)
 * 2) Big the Cat (beat the Teal Cup with an S Rank)
 * 3) Emerl (beat the Yellow Cup with an S Rank)
 * 4) Storm the Albatross (beat the Red Cup with an S Rank)
 * 5) Silver the Hedgehog (beat the White Cup with an S Rank)
 * 6) Bark the Polar Bear (beat the Blue Cup with an S Rank)
 * 7) Eggman NEGA (beat the Purple Cup with an S Rank)
 * 8) Metal Sonic (beat the Master Cup with an S Rank)
 * 9) Super Sonic (beat the all cups with an S Rank)
 * 10) Cream the Rabbit (do a Time Trial on all courses in Time Trial mode)
 * 11) Wave the Swallow (get an S Rank on all courses in Time Trial)
 * 1) Sleeping Egg (get 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in the first four Grand Pries)
 * 2) Cryptic Castle (get 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in the last four Grand Pries)
 * 3) Hidden Palace (play the game for three hours)
 * 4) Azure Lake (play as all characters)

DLC
The game will have DLC support, and over time, more DLC will be added. Individual characters can be bought, but entire Cups must be bought. All characters will be 50 Microsoft Points and each Cup will be 100 Microsoft Points.

DLC Racers
If you wish to request a DLC character, please message Godzillabrawler.

DLC Racecourses
If you wish to request a DLC Cup, please message Godzillabrawler.

TIME STONE

A cup based on the levels of Sonic CD. This cup is moderately aggressive, similar to the Yellow and Red Cups. These tracks are actually quite long, and have intricate paths and trick areas. This DLC Pack will be released September 5th, 2012
 * 1) Palmtree Panic
 * 2) Tidal Tempest
 * 3) Quartz Quadrant
 * 4) Stardust Speedway