Sonic Unleashed gets off to a speedy start, with an impressive CGI sequence which opens the game showing Sonic tearing up Dr. Eggman's latest evil fleet of space warships. However, after 17 years Sonic still hasn't wisened up to the bad doctor's plans, and Eggman soon traps Sonic and steals the Chaos Emeralds. Using them to power his newest space cannon, Eggman rips up the planet's crust into several chunks, and in the process unleashes Dark Gaia, a giant monster who slumbers in the planet's core. Somehow, through all this, Sonic gets transformed into a Werehog (a lumbering creature with stretchy arms) and is flushed into space. Incredibly surviving the fall from orbit, Sonic lands back on the planet and teams up with Chip the Dog (yet another addition to the bloated Sonic character roster), working together to re-form the planet and stop Eggman. Once again, the plot is needlessly complicated, reading like a bad rip-off of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, but to the game's credit its cut-scenes are quite entertaining and a lot less awkward than those in previous games. They even manage to squeeze in a couple of good jokes.
Yes.
Unfortunately, the problems in Sonic Unleashed begin shortly after first starting the game. The 'hub worlds' from earlier 3D games make a re-appearance, and are once again a superfluous addition. They're split up into 'villages' where Sonic can roam around and talk to locals, and 'gate areas' which are almost mini-levels in themselves and contain entrances to the village's acts. These areas are still a bore to sit though, although they are quite small and free from the mammoth loading times of Sonic the Hedgehog. However, they are indicative of the overall concern with the game - while Sonic Team has made improvements on what went wrong in earlier games, they haven't had the courage to cut them away entirely, even if it would better the game.
The main conceit of the game is Sonic's newfound lycanthropy, as during the day he appears as his normal blue self, but at night he transforms into the horrific Werehog. Thus, the acts in Sonic Unleashed are divided into daytime and nighttime stages. While it's technically true that half of the stages are daytime and half are nighttime, your time will definitely be spent more in the nighttime stages, which generally last around 30 minutes, while the daytime stages only last around 5 to 10. Which is a shame, because the daytime stages are where the game truly feels like a proper Sonic game. These stages alternate between the aforementioned traditional 2D-style sequences (which actually play a lot like the series' PSP incarnation Sonic Rivals), and 3D sections more reminiscent of a cross between Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic and the Secret Rings. The one thing that distinguishes these levels from past games is their speed. As Sonic collects rings, he builds up 'ring energy', which in turn can be used to activate a Burnout-style boost. While Sonic has been seen boosting before in Sonic Rush, the speeds he reaches in Unleashed are unbelievable, and awesomely adrenaline-pumping. However, as in past games, it sometimes seems that the game is playing itself in these sections, with your only input being when to jump and when to tap the 'boost' button for another hit of sweet, sweet speed.
No.
That leaves the other half of the game, the nighttime Werehog stages. In the past, 3D Sonic games have been usually separated into sections where you play as Sonic (ie. fun), and sections where you don't (ie. not so fun). Consider the Werehog levels a continuation of this fine tradition. In these levels, Sonic's trademark speed becomes a distant memory, and the focus instead turns to combat. As a Werehog, Sonic is capable of pulling off a variety of combos using light and heavy attacks, as well as aerial and special moves. With every enemy defeated, Sonic gains experience which he can use to learn new combos and upgrade his various attributes. These sections of the game feel like a cross between a low-grade God of War and Kingdom Hearts, with a few Prince of Persia style environment puzzles thrown in-between the combat sections, and in all honesty, aren't that bad, even if you don't really feel like you're playing a Sonic game. While most of your combos will devolve into simple button mashing and the gameplay is bland, the battles are fairly easy and are unlikely to become too frustrating.
What will become frustrating is the constant backtracking throughout the game. To progress, you're required to find 'sun medals' to unlock further daytime stages and 'moon medals' to unlock nighttime stages. These are strewn throughout the various stages, and you'll find yourself constantly having to replay previous levels to find these medals. Playing through the shorter daytime levels isn't such a chore, but once that well runs dry, you'll have to return to slogging through the nighttime stages a few more times, which soon degrade from simply slow to plain boring when you're forced to run through them again. When the promised reward is a new daytime stage, this backtracking becomes bearable, but it's a little gaulling to have to go through this only to unlock another tiring Werehog stage, as is often the case.
... Yeah, maybe.
The presentation of Sonic Unleashed is one of the better points of the game. The graphics are vibrant and detailed, and the frame-rate usually holds up at a steady 30 frames per second (although this does drop when there is a lot of action on-screen, and at odd moments towards the end of the game). Character models have improved too, and remarkably the humans in Sonic's world no longer resemble polygons, instead becoming more pleasing caricatures. The voice talent in the game features the same cast as the 4Kids Entertainment series Sonic X, for what that's worth, and nobody completely embarrasses themselves. The music in the game is top-notch, with Sonic taking a cue from Mario and his orchestral soundtrack from Super Mario Galaxy, as well as stringing together some catchy tunes for the different stages that don't rely on second-rate rock. Unfortunately, there are some glitches to be found in the game, although they are far less prevalent than in Sonic the Hedgehog. For instance, the technology behind the daytime stages where Sonic switches from 2D gameplay to 3D doesn't appear to be entirely stable, and we found several instances where Sonic was trapped on the wrong plane of a 2D section and was unable to continue.
You'll find that throughout this review we've referred several times to other games. That's because Sonic Unleashed is a game that's kind of a mish-mash of a lot of other games, both Sonic and non-Sonic. Half of the game is pulling in one direction, back towards the simpler 2D platformers of yore, while the other half is pulling in a completely different direction, that of the generic 3D brawlers. Our question for Sonic Team is simple. If half of your game is fun (but not perfect), and the other half not so fun, then is there a reason to include that second half at all? As it stands, Sonic Unleashed is a step up from Sonic's last outing on 360 and PS3. It's faster, less glitchy and substantially tighter, but the lack of direction in the game hurts it in the end. Old-school Sonic fans will rejoice in the 2D portions of the game, but for everyone else there remains little reason to go for a run with Sonic.
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