Video Games | Your source for all Hedgehog information

Hedgehog Quills

April 13th, 2009 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Video Games

Of all the features of your pet hedgehog, possibly none stands out more than than the quills.

When you actually stop to consider it, they actually are quite remarkable. They are the main methods of defense a hedgehog has against predators, but they serve some other rather helpful purposes too. Diagram of a quillAlthough scientifically described as being changed hairs, every one of the approximately 7000 quills on a hedgehog’s back is far more complicated than any hair potentially may be.

Instead of being solid within, each is filled through with complicated network of air chambers. Not only does this make them extremely light and powerful, but it also helps to stop buckling and breakage. At the base, the quill narrows to a thin stem where it enters the skin and is strongly anchored in the muscle tissue by a little, ball-shaped follicle. At the opposite end, the quill narrows to a needle-like point and is bent a little back to provide maximum defense should a predator have an interest in having hedgehog for lunch! When attacked, it’s the contraction of the 2 massive muscles that run down either side of the hedgehogs body that cause the quills to be raised in defense. When those 2 muscles are contracted, ( very similar to pulling the draw strings on a purse ) they pull against the ball-like base of the quill, drawing it into an upright position. Since the muscles pull different quills in different directions, they have a tendency to crisscross each other, forming a near impenetrable barrier.

They are not only there for defensive purposes. Hedgehogs are spotted for being talented climbers but, like pussies, are not amazing at getting themselves back down again! When they do come across a drop that they can not climb down, they will simply roll into a ball and drop, permitting the pricks to soften the fall. To stop the quills from being damaged or lost, the thin stem just above the skin flexes on impact. Though we don’t endorse you try this at home, wild hedgehogs have been seen dropping from heights of almost twenty feet with no clear signs of injury! Electron Microscope Image courtesy of Shelley Small Microscopic cut-away picture of a quill Click here to view a bigger copy Photograph thanks to Shelley Tiny In their local environments, hedgehogs are spotted snake killers and, once more, the quills come in quite handy for this too. After having first grasped the snake with its teeth, they’re going to drive their forehead quills into the snake, thus slaughtering it.

So, next time you hold a hedgehog in your hand, take a closer look. The fantastic design and wonder of these unique animals makes something as trivial as a single quill something to wonder at!

European Hedgehogs.. mostly wild

April 6th, 2009 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Video Games

It’s important to recollect that hedgehogs are not just pets. In the UK and Europe hedgehogs run wild and are a particularly crucial part of their local ecosystem.

ECU Hedgehog - photograph thanks to Bart truck Oijen guarded by law in most ECU countries, one would think hedgehogs are safe and secure, but in fact they are in consistent danger of extinction by the hands of humans.. Regularly misunderstood and drenched in folklore, hedgehogs are as much at risk from do-gooders as they are from those that would like to see them dead. In traditional times, and as late as the fifteenth century, hedgehogs ( or urchins as they were then known ) were often charged with being hags in animal form.

They were also appearing on menus of the day. Conrad of Megenberg considered their flesh to be good for a number of infirmities : “…the flesh of the hedgehog is healthy for the stomach and bolsters the same. Similarly it hath a power of drying and relieving the gut.

It deals with the water of dropsy and is of great help to like are inclined to the illness called elephantiasis” though conditions have improved somewhat for the poor hedgehog, folks still have myths that lead to their sickness and death on a virtually daily basis. Numerous hedgehogs are rubbed out on roadways each year in spite of attempts to educate the general public and the building of special “hedgehog tunnels” under roadways, built to try to give the animals a safe way to go around busy roads. Many owners still put out a dish of milk and bread to persuade hedgehogs to remain in their gardens. Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant, making this convention more damaging than advantageous. 2 ECU Hedgehogs Care has to be taken before burning a pile of leaves or when turning over mulch piles since hedgehogs like to burrow into them to sleep and sleep. Many hapless hedgehogs have been carelessly burned to death or impaled on the end of garden forks as a consequence of failing to first check the pile. Swimming pools can similarly prove a source of danger since hedgehogs can fall in and, with no real way out, drown. Pool owners should install a wooden ramp or a chunk of thick rope to permit hedgehogs that might fall in to climb out on their own.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Early Days

March 28th, 2009 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Video Games

Damian Cross asked:

The idea behind the creation of Sonic the Hedgehog was an existing need at Sega Corporation to create a video game character to rival Nintendo’s extremely successful Mario. At the time, the existing competition in part of Sega laid on “Alex the Kidd”, a pretty unsuccessful effort that many video game players and fans hardly remember today. A team of developers at Sega got together, including Artist Naoto ?shima, designer Hirokazu Yasuhara and programmer Yuji Naka, to create what came to be one of the most famous video game characters to hit the game screens with over 50 million copies sold worldwide. Early suggestions included a rabbit with extended ears, and a Theodore Roosevelt look alike. In the end, their hopes where placed on Sonic, who carries the colors of the Sega company logo.

Now that the Sonic image had been created, artist and programmers went to work at giving form to their creation, and developing a video game around the blue blur. Finally, Sonic the Hedgehog game was sent out to retail stores on June 23, 1991 to expecting fans everywhere. The game contained many of the ingredients Sonic is known for today. Among the features in the first title where the creation of Sonic’s worst enemy, Dr. Robotnik, also known as Eggman, the green hills in the background, treasure hunting in the form of rings and the famous (very hard to get) Chaos Emeralds, and of course, his infamous speed for running, jumping through loops and dodging enemies. The game seemed to catch on quickly, with harmonious tunes that kept video game players coming back and spreading the word. The team at Sega had accomplished what they set out to do as Sonic and friends became a serious contender with Mario and Super Mario in the video games arena. Sega took advantage of this momentum and released Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in 1992. This time, Sonic was a little faster, bigger, and now counted with the introduction of Miles “Tails” Prower, one of Sonic’s best friends who followed Sonic around in his adventure, or could also be controlled by a second player. The game succeeded in adding to Sonic’s popularity, and as sales continue to rise Sonic came out in a cartoon series and also as a comic book.

A couple more titles continued to follow, many of which came out for Sega’s magadrive console, and the short lived Sega Saturn. But despite Sega’s misfortune with their game console, it has not been the case with Sonic the Hedgehog, which continues to entertain his millions of fans everywhere.

Sonic the Hedgehog on the Psp

March 26th, 2009 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Video Games

Sharudin Rahmat asked:

Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game character and the hero of a video game series released by SEGA, as well as various spin-off comics, cartoons and books. Designer Hirokazu Yasuhara, artist Naoto ?shima and programmer Yuji Naka are generally credited with the creation of the character, a blue, anthropomorphic hedgehog, whose ability to run faster than the speed of sound is a major part of game-play for this series.

Sonic Rivals is a head-to-head competition between Sonic and his top rivals, where the gloves are off and the winner takes all. What starts as a friendly competition between Sonic and Knuckles quickly intensifies as Shadow and other rivals jump into the action. “Sonic Rivals brings back the classic 2D platform game-play that started it all, and douses it with vibrant three-dimensional environments,” says Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing, SEGA of America Inc.

Sonic Rivals 2 was released for the PSP last month in North America, and it hit Europe and other PAL regions on December 7. The playable competitors of this sonic speed race are Espio the Chameleon, Knuckles the Echidna, hedgehogs Shadow, Silver and Sonic, Tails, Rogue the Bat and Metal Sonic.

The sequel has several new features including a revamped rival “jostling” game-play system, which allows for closer head-to-head competition. The sequel also includes upgraded power-ups and range weapons. Card trading and collection in Sonic Rivals 2 has also increased and will now include 150 collectible cards. The cards will enable players to customize characters’ tracksuits, as well as unlock new PSP backgrounds and Cup Circuits.

SEGA has added a new multiplayer battle mode, which lets two players use the PSP’s game-sharing functionality to compete in six different ad hoc races using a single copy of the game. The multiplayer battle modes are: Knockout, where players try desperately to knockout their opponent before the time runs out), Ring Battle (where gamers do anything to make sure that they have the most rings when the timer hits zero), Race (where the goal is to reach the finish line first), King of the Hill (where players have to stay in the safety zone for as long as possible before their time runs out), Capture the Chao (where gamers must capture and hold onto their opponents Chao), and Tag (players fight to stay alive in this intense game of avoiding the soon-to-explode bomb). A single-player free mode has also been added.

Twelve new ring-filled stages have been created for this intense head-to-head race, where the ultimate goal is to rescue the Chao and uncover who is responsible for some dastardly deeds.

Main character Sonic has changed quite a bit in appearance since his 1991 debut as a fresh-faced, stubby-legged thick-around-the-middle blue hedgehog. By the late ‘90s he was sporting a new look, with thicker quills, longer legs, green contacts, and an even sassier attitude. He’s looking taller and thinner these days, and he’s even got a slightly different quill coif.

Sonic Advance 2: For Game Boy Advance

February 28th, 2009 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Video Games

Damian Cross asked:

Sonic the Hedgehog followers gather round to collect the latest feedback on “Sonic Advance 2″, developed by Sega Corporation. On it’s 6th birthday this month, the game was released on March 10, 2003 at an average retail price of $30 dollars.

Released under the action genre, the game has been labeled a favorite for well known Sonic type, full of action scenes, fighting, and featured appearances of enemies like Dr. Robotnik. The game seems to present high difficulty levels for gamers, despite the initial setting, in their goal to complete the game by collecting treasure. Some of the advice given by players include letting go of the Chaos Emeralds in your quest in order to bring down game difficulty to enjoyable levels, and even so you are warned about falling off into many pits and watching the ‘game over’ screen time and time again before reaching any reasonable milestones towards the end of the game.

As far as graphics, the screen view is more like a 2D version of the design used in Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog, as higher levels are mined with pits. The player keeps falling into these pits, and will have to continue doing so in the course of the game in order to test the path for weaknesses, trace a route and complete the level. At the end of each level the player faces a battle against one of the bosses, which Sonic will have to face while on the move. Do not expect the battle with the bosses, especially the last one, to be a walk in the park. If you are a hard core gamer, you might consider collecting the emeralds, adding a notch of difficulty to an already challenging game. The process involves collecting each of the 7 special rings within each of the large acts. In order to collect them all, the player will need to get to the end of the act without dying, and moreover, you will have to complete a special stage at the end of the act in order to get your hands on the Chaos Emerald. Considering you cannot claim to have completed this game unless the player accomplishes the task of collecting all the emeralds, better have some time to spare and be prepared to die more than a couple of times.

The levels keep increasing the amount of difficulty as you go along, making it more of a challenge for you to stay alive and actually complete the level you’re on. I must add that the quest for the Chaos Emerald is reserved for the very few, and those who try and get discouraged are many. In the end, however, it’s all about fun and games, isn’t it?

Sonic Rivals for Play Station Portable

February 2nd, 2009 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Video Games

Damian Cross asked:

Sonic the Hedgehog had a bumpy ride entering the new millennium. A decade after it’s debut the blue blur had to face many issues with the release of ‘Sonic Heroes’. This game title was shipped out to retail stores amidst high expectations over a character who had already made his claim to fame in the decade of the ninety’s. With several bugs in the code, and pre-set high difficulty levels made the game a little annoying for many Sonic the Hedgehog fans. On top of this, the hedgehog also had to see the demise of the Sega Genesis console, the futile attempt made from Sega of America to enter the video game console industry. But despite these road blocks, developers at Backbone Entertainment got to work in a Sonic game title for the Sony PlayStation portable.

Sonic Rivals was made exclusively for Sony PlayStation portable. Not only was it the first game developed by a Canadian based company in this genre, but also the first game made for the Sony gadget. Programmers and designers at Backbone Entertainment went to work under the supervision of Sega of America to expand on the Blue Blur’s territory, beating other game titles by being the first to hit the screen of the Sony PlayStation portable. Takashi Lisuka was among the team leaders from Sega to join the in the creation efforts. Surprisingly though, among the many first’s surrounding this sonic game title, it was also the first Sonic game not to be released in Japan. For this release, the team got to work on what came to be known as a 2.5 D graphical interface style, which made it possible to bring sonic to the small portable screen. Featuring a classic game storyline and most background colors and special effects sonic fans around the world have come to expect from Sonic and friends. Thus, sonic fans could now enjoy the fast speeds, jumping through loops and the much sought after rings in the treasure hunting experience on their portable Sony gadget.

In the summer of 2007, an even better and more detailed version of Sonic Rivals was unveiled called Sonic Rivals 2. This time the game featured the inclusion of a few other character such as Miles “Tails” Prower, Espio and Rouge. With a more detailed background and special effects, and additional levels for even more fun and extended game play, it was well received by fans everywhere. To add to the Sonic’s popularity and promote the game title release, efforts where also made in the marketing and promotion areas by means of 150 more collectible cards released to the market at the same time as the game title. Today, Sonic the Hedgehog has become available in almost every game console there is, it is safe to say Sonic and the Freedom Fighters are here to stay.

The Ultimate Sonic Flash Games Online

January 24th, 2009 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Video Games

Damian Cross asked:

The Spiky Blue Blur character, known to most as Sonic the Hedgehog has grown to ever so popular dimensions this last decade, with over 10 million copies sold of his game titles each time a new one is released. However, with the fast and furious development of Flash, an application developed by Macromedia in 1996, becoming cheaper, faster and easier to use, Sonic has now invaded our computer screens with a plethora (did I say plethora?) of animated games for everyone to enjoy. Websites are spawning everywhere claiming to have the latest Sonic games available to play online, absolutely free. What which are the best games? And where can I find them? One could search the web for popular terms, or maybe ask around in gaming forums for a few tips.

As a humble Sonic enthusiast, I could say that the most popular sonic game to play online would be ‘Sonic Smash Brothers’. This title was made in flash for the internet only, and was received with great enthusiasm by fans. With over 300 thousand searches each month, Sonic smash brothers has gone ahead of the sonic games competition hands down. It is a 10 mb download on a flash platform, which the player would play on the screen. The setting is very similar to the one sonic fans have already become familiar with, with a few innovations here and there. Great sound effects and a unique plot provide the user with a game that is both, entertaining and new. But with this aside, the flash game platform provides sufficient ease for internet developers to change things around and come up with all kinds of variations for sonic games. For example, there is ‘Sonic in Angel Island’, depicting the classic and traditional jumping through loops, collecting rings, and infamous running speeds. For those who appreciate a much lower paced adventure, there are games such as Sonic Dots, a classic pacman theme with sonic and friends as the featured characters. The fun does not stop there, sonic variations available in the internet include amenities such as scene creators, where the player gets an opportunity to design the background, obstacles and such of the game they wish to play. In the latest fad, sonic the hedgehog has joined forces with Mario and friends in games like Sonic Lost in Mario World. As the title describes, gamers get a chance to see what it would be like to play a Sonic Game in a Mario setting. Can’t help to see the irony in this, since it was the Mario character from Nintendo that sonic the hedgehog was made to commercially compete with when he was created.

Today, Sonic and friends get ready to hit the stores, joining forces with Mario in a game title called “Sonic and Mario at the Olympic Games”. Two developer teams of 100 people each are at work to bring out the best of these celebrities to the Nintendo game console. Hoping to be released in time for the winter Olympics in Vancouver, as an avid Internet player I would also watch out for any free previews available online.

Archive for the ‘Video Games’ Category

Hedgehog Quills

European Hedgehogs.. mostly wild

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Early Days

Sonic the Hedgehog on the Psp

Sonic Advance 2: For Game Boy Advance

Sonic Rivals for Play Station Portable

The Ultimate Sonic Flash Games Online

Resources

Subscribe Feed

Meta

Author

Pages

Categories

Archives