Sonic, Sega's loveable blue hedgehog mascot, has been a regular on Sega game systems and Nintendo GameBoy's for a long time. Now, in honor of the 15th anniversary of this unlikely hero, Sega has released Sonic the Hedgehog for Xbox 360 (a PS3 version of this new game is expected in March 2007).

First, some background. Sonic (who actually looks nothing like a hedgehog) is the bright blue, smiling, white gloved, red sneaker wearing, long legged, pointy eared hero of several computer games (as well as comic and TV show spin-offs). He usually charges along paths through jungles or beaches or volcanoes, towards some all important destination, picking up gold rings, jumping and leaping as needed, defying gravity (thanks to his speed), and thus working his way from one world to another. Yep, Sonic has never been big on plot and story lines, he's always been an arcade type character.

But not anymore. The new Sonic the Hedgehog game weaves a complex tale involving a damsel in distress, time travel, telekinetic powers, lots of robots and mechanical devices, mysterious powerful emeralds, cool all-terrain vehicles, and lots of trusty sidekicks. The story segments are presented in two alternating formats, Action Stages are the more typical Sonic high-speed linear arcade sequences, and Town Stages are more like adventure missions allowing for more varied interaction.

This game also introduces two other very important characters (and yes, they are also hedgehogs), Silver and Shadow, are unlocked during game play, and then develop their own parallel story lines, and time travel in and out of each other's episodes. It sounds terribly complicated, but it all made perfect sense to the kids!

The multiple parallel story lines is actually a very good thing. Games in this genre often have sequences that must be played over and over until they can finally be passed. This can be incredibly frustrating and disheartening to younger players. Sonic the Hedgehog addresses this problem by allowing the players to jump between the story lines at will. Having trouble getting Sonic through the fiery volcano? No problem, stop, and try getting Shadow into the White Acropolis instead. You get the idea. The game tracks the progress for each of the main characters, and 100% has to be achieved for each of the three to finish the game, but the player has the luxury of switching between story lines at will. That's a big plus.

Another nice touch are all the extra optional story lines, usually found during Town Stages. A character in the town may ask for help with a task which the player can accept or refuse. If accepted there is usually a reward in the form of more rings, and while younger players will usually opt out of these diversions, more skilled players will enjoy the extra challenges.

I really only have one big criticism of this game, and that is that it is always loading, and loading, and loading, and loading. The truth is this does not seem to bother my kids at all, but it really bugs me.

Sonic the Hedgehog carries an E10 rating due to fantasy violence. Sonic, Silver, and Shadow spend a considerable amount of their time destroying bad guys (jumping on them, tossing them, throwing their fired ammunition back at them, and so on). It's loud and bright and intense, but I'd not consider it violent at all. A better reason for the E10 rating might be the fact that some of the bad guys do look scary, and might therefore not be suited for younger kids (although my 3 and 6 year old think they are hilarious)!

This is a big game, make that a huge game. I don't think it's a game that kids will want to play again once they have completed it, but it will take them a long time to do so, making the price tag a whole lot easier to justify.

Initial sales figures indicate that Sonic the Hedgehog has not been doing that well. This seems to be because the Xbox 360 has become a playing platform for more mature gamers, and this game is definitely targeted at younger players (my teenage kids have no interest in this game, but the 8 and 10 year olds love it, and those too young to play enjoy watching their older siblings do so). But, considering the real lack of kids games for the Xbox 360, Sonic the Hedgehog is both welcome and appreciated.

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Note: This game will be supported on PS3. As per company provided product details the game should be identical on all platforms, however we've only played it on Xbox 360, and this review is based only on the game as played.

Cloning is a complex subject involving hardcore science and biology, a moral and ethical minefield, strong opinions and emotions, and ... cartoonish silliness? Yes, absolutely.

Microsoft has been releasing downloadable arcade games regularly via Xbox Live, and one of the recent releases is Cloning Clyde. The story is simple enough. Dimwitted Clyde is offered $20 to take part in an experiment, allowing himself to be cloned, despite not having any idea what that actually means. But something goes wrong, Clyde is cloned more times than expected, and when the game begins Clyde is trying to escape the lab while rescuing as many of his clones as possible. It sounds simple, and for the most part it is. The game is not meant to be particularly challenging, it is meant to be silly and fun.

Cloning Clyde is a cartoonish 2D scrolling adventure set in 25 levels (and additional challenge levels). Clyde can run, climb ladders, swim, throw rocks and chickens, destroy surveillance robots, and more. When needed, Clyde can clone himself (sometimes more than one Clyde is needed to solve a puzzle), and the Y key is then used to select which Clyde to control. Clyde can also create mutated clones, a chicken Clyde, a monkey Clyde, a frog Clyde, and more. These special clones have special properties which Clyde can take advantage of to solve puzzles.

Throughout the game Clyde encounters notes (left for him by his clones) containing tips, advice, and enough silliness to elicit giggles from the little ones. The game supports easy, normal, and hard modes, none of which are terribly hard. A multiplayer mode is available too, although we've not used that.

Cloning Clyde is good gaming fun, inexpensive, and a perfect example of what Xbox Live Arcade should be.

Note: Cloning Clyde is only available by download from Xbox Live Arcade. A free trial download is also available.