Only 2 weeks until we can get our hands on BioWare's rendition of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Of all the Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood trailers we've posted, these two are by far the best. They give us the most insight on what we can expect in terms of character abilities and environments. Second video after the jump.

Sonic Chronicles: Bioware Developer Diary
Sonic Chronicles Trailer Shows Combat

I think this is obviously best left for the audience’s first playthrough to find out. I will say that the overall story is broken up into two Acts, the first taking place in a very familiar Sonic World, and the second branching out into something we haven’t seen yet, something a little darker (not just visually). I’m confident that what has been done with the story in Sonic Chronicles will be something that fans will remember for a while, and will hopefully be expanded in the future.

Sonic fans remember a lot that has happened to that blue hedgehog in the last few years, none of it good. Break the trend, BioWare, do it. Not for your own sake or SEGA's sake, but Sonic's.

Q&A: BioWare on Sonic Chronicles [GameSpot]

The company's presence in the Business Center closely mirrors that of E3, with Alpha Protocol, the new RTS Stormrise, and PlatinumGames titles Bayonetta and MadWorld on display, along with Empire: Total War, Golden Axe, and Valkyria Chronicles. Between the titles we know about and the one we hope we know about, it should be a very exciting GC for Sega indeed.

SEGA UNLEASHES SONIC AND BRINGS SAMBA RHYTHMS TO LEIPZIG

GC 2008 – SEGA confirms games line-up

LONDON & MUNICH (August 14, 2008) – SEGA® Europe Ltd. and SEGA® Germany GmbH today announced the titles which will be presented to the public and industry professionals at Games Convention 2008. Two SEGA heroes will dominate events in the consumer area (Hall 5, Booth F02), which will strongly and positively stand out from the usual trade fair booths thanks to its special design. Amigo, the clever monkey from the Samba De Amigo game series celebrates his comeback exclusively on the Wii, and at the same time, his public premiere. For the first time customers will be able to shake their Wii remotes to the beat, next to, and on the stage – 40 well-known songs and new game modes provide long-lasting enthusiasm. Samba De Amigo will also be the primary element of our professionally moderated stage show – with full audience participation.

Sonic will also be taking the trip to Leipzig and presenting himself to the public in two games. Along with his role-playing game premiere Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, developed exclusively for the DS by BioWare, the cool hedgehog will play up his strengths in Sonic Unleashed. Visitors to the Games Convention will get to experience the new and, in many areas, heavily improved gameplay for themselves. With the Olympic Games in mind, the SEGA booth will also showcase the athletic field – along with Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Beijing 2008 will also be waiting for medal-worthy video game athletes. The booth will be rounded out with Dinosaur King, the game to the new TV series, and Space Siege – another thrilling PC adventure from cult designer Chris Taylor.

In the Business Center (Hall 1, Booth I31), SEGA will provide an outlook for more up-coming highlights. Notable developers from Japan (Platinum Games), the UK (Headstrong Games, The Creative Assembly), and Australia (The Creative Assembly Australia) will give media representatives a sneak peek at forthcoming SEGA titles for all platforms.

Besides a world premiere, which will be announced in time for the start of the trade fair, new versions and demos of the presented games have been developed especially for GC. The titles presented in the business area include the epic Empire: Total War, the action packed espionage RPG Alpha Protocol, Platinum Games’ highly anticipated Madworld and Bayonetta, the long-awaited comeback of Golden Axe, the Japanese strategy eye-catcher Valkyria Chronicles, and Stormrise – an all new kind of strategy game designed specially for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. In addition, all titles from the consumer area will also be available in the Business Center.

While we didn't get a walk through of the game's storyline, we were given a chance to mess around with a chunk of the game.

The DS title shows the action of the game on the bottom, touch screen, while the top screen is taken up by a large colorful map of the section of the world you are currently exploring.

The game has you playing a team of Sonic characters, selected among 11 playable in the game.

Typically while playing only one of your team is shown on the screen and controllable, but you can switch between them by tapping on their icons. Each character has different abilities, which can be used by tapping icons that pop up at times while wandering the map.

For instance, only Big the Cat was able to make his way through a dense fog of clouds in portions of the map I was on, while a wing icon showed me that I could use Tails' flying ability.

The fighting segments of the game did a nice job of capturing the essence of typical role-playing and adding enough to make it exciting. While you still select who you are attacking and how you are attacking them in a turn-based setting, once the attacks start some require the gamer to rhythmically tap the screen or drag the stylus in particular places, ala Elite Beat Agents, to succeed.

Fleeing an encounter is also very hands on, as you have to keep an eye on your entire team and tap different members to get them to jump over obstacles as you run from the bad guys in a sort of mini-game.

Despite being on the compact DS, the game seemed to pack most of the features one would expect to find in a role-playing game including lots of wandering, dialog trees, puzzles, leveling up and even an equipable pet of sorts.

Over the years I've found myself losing interest in role-playing games, but this slight blending of genres, a move that gets more involved in the process and makes the title feel slightly more like an action game, has me thinking that this would be a great game to take with me on a trip.

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.

According to details from the newest issue of Nintendo Power, the game has a hand-drawn watercolor style. Each member in your party—which can total four of the eleven available characters—will have special abilities (we're betting the farm on Sonic being fast). Battles are turn-based and attacks are said to follow an Elite Beat Agents model.

There's more to read at the message board post linked below.

Bioware's Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood in new NP [NeoGAF]