Sonic Unleashed Review PS3

      The glory days of Sonic the Hedgehog has long since passed. Recently, Sega has dropped the ball on every Sonic game released since Sonic Adventure 2 for the Sega Dreamcast. Sonic Unleashed, the newest iteration in a series of crap is no exception. Sega seems to release trailers that make the game look fun and then bastardize the poor Sega mascot with absurd additions, such as the werehog feature in this game. I don’t know what the game development team is smoking, but if they plan on having jobs for much longer, they need to go to rehab and start the design process all over again. I have always been partial to the Sonic games and have preferred them over the Mario games, but I can admit when a series has gone downhill into hell. Some people seem to think that Sonic in 3D just does not work and that the series should continue to be in 2D or abandoned completely. Personally, I believe it is not the format of 2D and 3D that is the problem, but the lack of a coherent story, horrible voiceovers, ridiculous game features, camera issues, and all around horrible design as the key problems preventing a golden series from reaching the stratosphere.

Graphic and sound:

     The graphics in Sonic Unleashed are actually nice to look at. The 3D models are nice and smooth and the environments look lush. If you are not in a rush to beat a level, I highly suggest roaming around and looking at the scenery. I especially enjoyed the tropical island stages and the Asian themed stages. The textures are decent for a cartoon-themed game. Do not expect to see photorealistic textures as the Sonic games are not known for their realism. The musical score in Sonic is the standard themed jingles that are common in all the series games and does not intrude much on gameplay. The voices are a different story. The voiceovers in Sonic Unleashed are one of the worst and most annoying ones I have ever heard in my life. At one point I just muted the in-game voices because of the annoying Chip character. I highly recommend muting the voices or you will hate the game even more.

Gameplay and controls:

     The game is divided between day and night stages and one must traverse both types of stages to progress through the game. The day stages consist of Sonic in a 3^rd person perspective behind the character camera as he rushes through the stage and then switches to a 2D camera when going through loops and a few other side scrolling platforming areas. There are also a few areas that have a free roaming 3D camera as well. The goal in the day stages is reminiscent of the old Sega Genesis games of reaching the end of the stage as fast as possible.

     The night stages consist of a new twist to Sonic in which he transforms into a “werehog” with long stretchy arms and a few battle moves. The character progresses in 3D platforming with a limited 3D camera. Most of the stages consist of jumping, rudimentary fighting and grabbing items to unlock doors. The camera is a hindrance in both the day and night stages as the player will find oneself dying multiple times because of the limited vision.

     The boss battles are where the game does actually shine; they remind me of the old school 16bit games and are actually very fun to play. I was able to beat most of the day and night bosses with little trouble if any.

     There are also collectable items that boost experience, unlock music, movies, and artwork from the game. The game is mostly linear as it does provide some freedom of choice for stages, but they require a certain amount of collectable day and night coins to access certain areas. Completing stages and defeating enemies gains Sonic experience that can be used to increase skills such as energy level and speed for day Sonic, and power and life for the werehog.

     Controls for Sonic Unleashed are not polished at all. I spent many times trying to jump as a werehog, only to find myself falling to my death many times. As Sonic in the day stages, the problem became going too fast in a stage and the game not responding to button press input for jumping or steering through tight turns. I believe the controls could have been tightened a bit more to compensate for the speed of Sonic and the jumping delay for the werehog.

Overall thoughts:

     The game is a decent attempt at trying to relive the magic of the old games through the use of the hybrid 2D/3D Sonic day stages, but falls short with the limited camera and loose controls. I also do not understand the purpose of the werehog feature. Sonic was always a game of rushing through the stage as fast as one could while racking up a high score. Sonic is not meant to be a slow platformer and this game showcases that fault completely. The Sonic team needs to take the 2D elements of this game and make a new game without the platforming. Also, please no more childish characters or voiceovers, I want to play the game, not be annoyed to the point of tossing the game out the window. I recommend this game as a rent and stick to the day stages.