Name: Sonic Unleashed
Platform: Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3.
Platform Reviewed: Xbox 360
Oh boy you’re jumping for joy right now aren’t you? Another Sonic game has come out; in fact it’s the third one to be released this generation. Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 turned out to be one of the worst games for the Xbox 360 and PS3, having been blessed with a ridiculous story, glitchy game play and poor controls. Sonic and the Secret Rings did very little to improve on this, by having a story just as bad (well, that’s kind of an overstatement) and a control scheme that made no sense. So Sonic Team has decided to take another crack at making a Sonic game that works in 3D. Is Sonic Unleashed able to return the spiky blue mammal to his glory days by being as good the Mega Drive classics? In a sense, yes it is. However, Sonic Team’s refusal to make a simple Sonic game without any stupid gimmicks is truly the only thing that runs this game into the ground. You know what I’m talking about. The game begins with Sonic, who is on Dr. Eggman’s evil flying fortress once again trying to stop his evil plans. To cut a long story short, Sonic get’s captured, Eggman fires a laser that splits the planet apart and Sonic turns into a werewolf. Yeah that’s right, and this drains all the energy from the Chaos Emeralds too. Guess what, it’s time for another adventure!
There are two kinds of gameplay styles in Sonic Unleashed. There are the traditional high speed stages where Sonic must race to the goal, and the action platforming werehog levels where Sonic must go mental on all the baddies in his way. So the big question is: “Do either of these styles work?” I’m happy to report that the Sonic levels do indeed work. In a bid to win back fans of Sonic’s 16-bit days, Sonic Team has made the high-speed levels 2D and 3D. You will be running across a side-scrolling course which controls much like the classic Sonic games, then the levels will randomly swap to 3D, which controls much like Sonic Adventure did. Yes, this means that you have full control over Sonic so that he won’t be running by himself while you needlessly steer him left and right. However, there is a side-step move which allows you to move quickly from side to side to avoid objects, which seems to work much better than using the Control Stick in most areas. The only time when Sonic will be running automatically is during the boss battles, which seems to work better as you won’t get left behind as was the case in Sonic Heroes.
As for Werehog levels… well, not so much. At first, they seem like a fun enough addition to the game, but eventually they start to get stale and repetitive. The game play is pretty much walk into an area, beat up some bad guys, move on to the next area and repeat. When you reach the later levels however, the werehog really begin to test your patience. Enemies appear in greater numbers, and some platforming areas require perfect timing to advance. When I say perfect, I mean when you jump from this pole to the next, you must get the right amount of hang time and press B at the perfect moment to cling to it. Conveniently, when you reach these levels, the game starts rewarding you with extra lives every time you die.
Also, what is the point of having all these people to talk to in the towns? None of them have anything worth while to say. You walk up to them and they will tell you something that has nothing to do with anything. No hidden clues to getting a secret item, no missions, they just babble on about nothing. What else strikes me as odd is that none of them seem to mind having a friendly char with a ferocious wolf-like creature at night. So much things in this game could have been done without. But hey, at least Sonic isn’t saving human princesses this time.
It really is a shame that Sonic Team can’t just make a SONIC game. I mean they are slowly getting the message, as you are technically playing as Sonic the entire time, but the werehog goes from fun to
been there done that very quickly. If Sega had just removed the werehog (or atleast spent more time refining it), this game would have been the 3D Sonic game we have been waiting for. But I guess that’s what we get for years of hoping.
The Good
- Great visuals.
- Improvement over past Sonic games.
- Fast action.
- No human princesses.
The Bad
- Although it’s a vast improvement, it’s not perfected yet.
- Werehog gets old and repetitive very quickly.
- The later levels can really test your patience.
- The people populating the 3D hubs are a rather pointless addition to the game.
Graphics: 5/5 – Shoot through huge colourful lands at blistering speeds. Everything looks great.
Sound: 3/5 – Music is still high quality, but the somewhat cheesy voice acting could have been done without.
Gameplay: 3/5 – The high speed levels are fun, but the werehog loses its charm fast.
Longevity: 2/5 – After you beat the game, only a few levels will keep you coming back for more..
13/20 – C - (65%)
Linear Mode
