GENRE
	Action
	DEVELOPER
	Sega
	PUBLISHER
	Sega
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	No
	DS COMPATIBLE
	No
	BUY NOW AT

The Sonic franchise has been schizophrenic for years, so it’s nice to see Sega finally come out and admit it with Sonic Unleashed. Sonic has come down with a severe case of lycanthropy while trying to thwart Dr. Robotnik’s (never call him Eggman!) scheme to tear apart the planet and harness the powerful spirit within its core. By day, Sonic's the same old, speedy blue hedgehog he’s ever been. By night, though, he turns into a giant werewolf to administer some God of War-inspired beatdowns. The two halves peacefully co-exist but never combine to form a cohesive or entirely satisfying experience.

visuals

Sonic Unleashed doesn’t look anywhere near as good as its next-gen counterparts, but it’s a pretty good approximation. Sega seemed to just turn down the texture resolution to accommodate the Wii’s less powerful capabilities. As a result, the graphics look great zoomed out, but any close-ups of Sonic or the scenery are jaggy, blurry messes.

Sega has found an ingenious way make the graphics seem much better than they actually are. In between nearly every level is an absolutely beautiful rendered cutscene. Towards the beginning of the game the cutscenes almost outnumber gameplay sequences, making it surpsingly easy to forget what the game actually looks like. These little diversions do little more than drive the Saturday morning cartoon plot forward, but they look absolutely spectacular, especially the game’s opening movie. They're so well done that the rest of the game is invariably a bit of a letdown, especially when compared to this teasing glimpse of all the things a next-gen Sonic title could and should be.

audio

If the opening cutscene didn’t make it immediately obvious, Sonic Unleashed’s music will make it clear that Sega intended this game to be Sonic’s answer to Super Mario Galaxy. The title screen music is almost identical to Galaxy’s sweeping orchestral themes, as is much of the in-game music. Fortunately, most of the music within the levels themselves is surprisingly good, featuring influences and styles from all over the world. It’s a wonderful change of pace from the generic rock music that has plagued the series for years and is almost as good as the music from Sonic’s Genesis days.

gameplay

The two halves of Sonic Unleashed are literally as different as day and night. By day, Sonic remains his loveable old self in speed-oriented stages that will be immediately familiar to fans of both the newer Sonic games and the Sonic Rush series on the DS. Blasting though levels as Sonic is exhilarating and much more interactive than it has ever been before. In addition to being able to rapidly dodge left or right and perform massive bursts of speed, Sonic is now able to drift around corners and curves. This new mechanic makes these stages take on a racing game feel, while making it much easier to maneuver difficult twists and turns.

Much to the delight of old school Sonic fans, stages will often switch to a 2D sidescrolling perspective. While these segments are far more Sonic Rush than Sonic 2, they are still an excellent and refreshing callback to the days when Sonic was pure platforming and no filler. It’s a shame these portions are so few and far between.

The nighttime sections are Sonic Unleashed’s biggest point of contention. As a massive hulking brute, there is less emphasis on speed and more focus on exploration and combat. The controls are heavily motion-based. Swinging the remote and nunchuck will swing Sonic’s right and left fists respectively, allowing for some slightly difficult-to-execute combos. This usually amounts to flailing both hands around until all the enemies are dead. Depite this, the werewolf sections aren’t bad. In fact, they can often be quite fun and a decent break from the unadulterated speed of the daytime stages. Unfortunately, the nighttime stages outnumber the daytime levels almost 2 to 1, placing Unleashed’s emphasis squarely on Werehog beatdowns. And again, while these sections are not bad by any means, they are not Sonic. In purchasing Sonic Unleashed, you have purchased a Sonic game which essentially does not allow you to play as the titular character for nearly two thirds of the game.

multiplayer

N/A

overall

The best praise that can be given to Sonic Unleashed is to call it a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, the game is heavily weighted towards its werewolf stages. The ever-so-brief opportunities to play traditional Sonic levels capture the feeling of speed that made the series so enduring in the first place. With a bit more polish, the daytime stages could easily carry a game on their own and be the definitive Sonic title fans have been craving for years. Take heed, Sega: shine up the Sonic levels, ditch the gimmicks, and Sonic can finally have a game worthy of his 16-bit heritage. Wait, what’s that? They already announced another Sonic game? And this time he has a sword? Oh...

6.0/10