The previously cancelled Sonic X-Treme has been given a second chance thanks to a group of dedicated fans.
If there’s one thing most people can agree on, it’s that we probably don’t need many more Sonic games. Don’t me wrong, I love that blue anthropomorphic hedgehog just as much as the next guy. The thing is, his games have been hit or miss for years now, and “miss” seems to happen far more often than “hit.” That being the case, one group of Sonic fans has been working hard to breathe new life into one of the franchise’s long lost titles. And their work has just recently paid off.
Posting to the Sonic Retro Forums, a group of fan developers has announced the release of a new, unofficial PC port of the cancelled Sega Saturn game Sonic X-Treme. While the current version is still an early build and only contains a single level, it still represents the first time the game has been available to gamers in a playable form.
Originally created by Sega of America and intended for release back in 1996, X-Treme would have been the first fully 3D game in the Hedgehog’s library. Unfortunately, while the game would be shown off at E3 that year, its troubled development and the unexpected departure of key programmers due to illness, eventually forced Sega to shut down it down.
Looking at the game personally, I’ll admit that it doesn’t look like something I’d be interested in playing. Just watching its release trailer, the camera looks like something that would frustrate me the heck out of me. That being the case, it’s still really neat to have a playable version of what, previously, had only been a sad foot note in the history of Sonic. If you’re interested in trying the PC version of Sonic X-Treme, a download link and other pertinent information can be found here.
Source: Sonic Retro Forums
