Skyscraper Scamper


 * For the hub world on the same continent, see Empire City.

Skyscraper Scamper (スカイスクレイパー・スキャンパー) the sixth or seventh Action Stage in the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed (depending on the order of previous Action Stages). During the events of the game, Sonic the Hedgehog and Chip arrive in this area to keep Eggman's robots and Dark Gaia's Minions from overrunning the area. It is located in Empire City.

Located in the middle of a modern metropolis, Skyscraper Scamper takes place far above ground, amongst enormously tall skyscrapers and highways that wind between the buildings and structures.

Overview
Skyscraper Scamper is primarily based off the real-life city of New York, while also borrowing features from other famous cities in the real-life United States. Being located in the heart of Empire City, Skyscraper Scamper's primary setting is that of high above ground in a modern high-rising metropolis. Countless mile-high modern skyscrapers tower high above the ground, breaching the cloud cover, and cover up the horizon and area within like a densely packed forest. The buildings found in Skyscraper Scamper differ between each in appearance and shape, ranging from towering buildings with spires, to lower buildings with flat rooftops. Between the buildings high above ground are also elevated highways and roads that crisscross between each other while going up and down, with some of the roads in the background featuring cars driving on them. Additionally, the are some tunnels, resembling the Lincoln Tunnel, for the cars to drive through.

Despite being set up high in a highly urbanized area, Skyscraper Scamper also features some flora in the form of tress, bushes and even patches of grass growing on flat sections of the rooftops.

Noticeable structures that stand out in Skyscraper Scamper are large suspension bridges (which the player can travel across) resembling the real-life George Washington Bridge, and Verrazano Bridge, and skyscrapers resembling Chrysler Building.

Gameplay
In both the daytime acts and nighttime acts of Sonic Unleashed, the player travels through Skyscraper Scamper by moving between and across the top of buildings. In this Action Stage, Skyscraper Scamper has the player use narrow and/or enclosed platforms that limits the his/hers movements, with bottomless pits being a near constant threat. Additionally, there are many moving platforms for the player to use to advance through the acts.

In the daytime acts, the player runs along highways, crosses gabs with either rails or Homing Attacks, and leaps from building to building with the help of Ramps and the Light Speed Dash.

In the nighttime act, the player focuses primarily on moving from rooftop to rooftop through the use of ledge and platforms. The nighttime Act features heavy use of the balance beam gimmick, with balancing beams lined with spikes on the sides so they cannot be grabbed, and which can sometimes even collapse over bottomless pits. There are also several electrical beams that the player has to bypass by destroying machines or flicking Switches.

Act 1
This act takes place across the majority of Skyscraper Scamper. In the beginning of the act, the player start out by running down a highway segment with curving roadways, using rails, Springs, Ramps and the Light Speed Dash to cross the present gabs in the road. At the end of this section, the player will enter a tunnel that will take him/her to the rooftops. There, the player has to get across bottomless pits using small and narrow platforms, with the choice of multiple paths. After crossing a few rooftops, the player will enter another road section that is played in 2.5D before arriving at the buildings once more. From there, the player lands on a large suspension bridge, where he/she will face the Interceptor and then following a group of Aero Chasers. After leaving the bridge, the player will enter a grindingsection on rails above a bottomless pit, where the player can either move between the buildings or run across them. At the end of the act, the player then has to defeat a group of Egg Fighters to make the Goal Ring appear. It is in this act that Sonic and Chip are clearing out the invading Eggman's robots

Act 2
This act takes place amongst the rooftops of the vast skyscrapers. Here, the player has to run down a series of extremely narrow beams, located above bottomless pits, that connect different rooftops while fighting enemies, utilizing the Light Speed Dash and avoiding obstacles such as spikes and flying hammers. On the final bar section, the player has to get across bar that can suddenly shift to the ring and left, with the Quick Step being a recommended maneuver here.

Act 1
This act primarily takes place on the rooftops of the skyscrapers. Here, the player first has to advance to the next rooftop climbing ledges. Once arriving on the side of the first skyscraper, the player has to destroy a generator to allow usage of the swinging poles to the next ledge segment. After leaving the ledge section, the player has to encircle a series of beams and rooftop platforms to reach the switch that will deactivate a barrier blocking the player's path. Following that, the player has to reach another separate rooftop and defeat a Titan to get a key stone for a pedestal that will unlock another platform, which will take the player further down the act. Shortly after, the player will arrive in a maze-like section where he/she has to destroy another generator to lower a barrier blocking the path. From there, the player will arrive at a rooftop where he/she has to solve a puzzle involving shutting down electrical beams and then activating a series of switches to unlock the path to the end of the act. There, the player then has to defeat another Titan to unlock the entrance to the Goal Ring. It is in this act that Sonic and Chip are clearing out the invasion of Dark Gaia's Minions.

Empire City and Adabat Adventure Pack DLC
The downloadable content pack for the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 version of Sonic Unleashed, the "Empire City and Adabat Adventure Pack", introduced two additional daytime acts and nighttime acts for Skyscraper Scamper to the game. These acts are basically extensions of the original acts in the game, but are much more difficult to complete. The pack was released on Xbox Live for 250 MS Points and on the PlayStation Network for $3.00 on 11 June, 2009.

Act 1-2
This act is basically the same as the daytime Act 1 in the game, expect the act has been modified, having been given a generally harder layout with more gimmicks, more enemies and more hazardous and abundant obstacles, such as spikes and bombs.

Act 3
This act mainly takes place on a very long highway amongst the skyscrapers. Here, the player races down the highway while having to avoid hazardous obstacles such as spikes and bombs. After getting to another highway through a series of Dash Rings, the player will be confronted by a group of Aero Chasers and then the Interceptor. Curiously, during the Interceptor segment, the camera pans from a high location above Sonic. After facing the Interceptor, the player will arrive on a rooftop, where he/she has to defeat some enemies to make the Goal Ring appear.

Trivia

 * Many of the Street Locations are named after other Sonic characters that don't appear in the game; more specifically the members of Team Dark (Shadow, Rouge and E-123 Omega), Silver, Blaze, Pachacamac, and the Chao. Exceptions to this include Knuckles, Cream and the members of the Chaotix (Espio, Charmy and Vector).
 * In the level itself, Sonic 06's cover can be seen on a newsletter in the News Stand of Empire City's HUB world.
 * In Sonic Generations, the re-imagined Speed Highway takes elements from this stage, such as signs named after various characters like Blaze Motors and several road sections.
 * In the video game, Sonic Lost World, the third act of a level called Desert Ruins in the game has similar background music to the Daytime version of Skyscraper Scamper.