Sega had an early—and we want to stress that "early"—version of Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood playable at last week's Nintendo Media Summit. The Sonic role-playing game from BioWare applies the developer's well polished formula—branching plotline and dialogue trees, epic story, deep turn-based battle engine—to the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. It's very charming; charming enough to make one think "Oh yeah, Sonic was charming at one point." The brief glimpses of witty banter and cute character designs are a welcome change in the face of 3D Sonic platforming.

Yes, the game was still in its infancy, but we got a decent glimpse at the gameplay mechanics that should make Sonic Chronicles another BioWare hit.

The game is almost entirely stylus controlled, with Sonic (or whomever you're playing) following touchscreen taps and drags. Context sensitive pop-up actions will appear at certain points, letting the player enter doors, sprint through corkscrews or cross gaps. Some are character or ability specific, requiring the use of a flying Rouge the Bat, for example.

In battle, fights with angry woodsy creatures will require a knowledge of turn-based RPG tactics. Your quartet of fighters will load out with a series of special attacks that depends on who is in your current party. Tag-team moves may require both Sonic and Amy, with some special attacks that can only be done via threesome.

Those special attacks are executed with a rhythmic Ouendan-style series of touchscreen presses, an addition that brings a bit of welcome action to an otherwise passive Sonic game.

There's no lack of options for stats obsessive RPG gamers, with a skill leveling system and a Chao breeding mechanic that will let players tailor how Knuckles or Tails evolve. Expect Sonic Chronicles to feature an impressive depth in line with the BioWare pedigree.

It's hard to pass any sort of judgment on a game so incomplete, but the few minutes of Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood we played certainly held our interest in playing a more plodding, calculating Sonic the Hedgehog game. Put it on your 2009 wishlist.

Send an email to Michael McWhertor, the author of this post, at .