Sonic Unleashed

"If you rated this game low, it doesn't mean there's something wrong with the game. There's something wrong with you."

I was skeptical even from the first leaked preview of this game. And even further skeptical when I saw pictures of Sonic's 'wereform'. However I am very pleased with what Sega has given us. And I'm incredibly annoyed by the influx of silica vagititus that surfaced in concerns to this game.

Graphics - Either you're blind, or still have a hateboner for the franchise because of the last few games if you can't admit the graphics are BEAUTIFUL. The characters, the levels, EVERYTHING.

Gameplay - From the beginning there is one HELL of a learning curve in concerns to the day stages. However if you have the sense to listen to the tutorials and in-game tips and get a feel for the controls, Sonic handles very nice at high speeds. The levels are understandably difficult, but not because of the controls: They're MEANT to be difficult. It's called making a game challenging. And boy do I love a challenge.

The Werehog gameplay, though it is definately NOT Sonic gameplay is incredibly fun. The battles play out incredibly well. The level-up system is a bit of a pain in the neck, however I would consider that intentional.. This is not meant to be an easy game. The hub worlds can be boring, and (at times) frustrating. I'm willing to overlook that for the added content that they provide however.

Story - Slightly better than Sonic fighting God and macking it up with a human princess? Actually much better. Worlds better. It seems as if they actually got a good writer for this one. In concerns of both the plot and the characters' dialog.

Sound - The music is awesome and catchy. The voice acting (in concerns to the main cast) is much better than the last few Sonic games. There are some.. iffy points. One example being the Mazurians, who sound like extras in a bad Anime rather than the Kenyans they're based upon. It's still leaps and bounds away from Sonic 2006's voice acting.


Overall - Hands down, this IS the best Next Gen Sonic game ever made. Up until this point the last Sonic game I had fun playing was Sonic 3 & Knuckles, which was over a decade ago. When you actually take the time to get the hang of the controls and play more than 10 minutes into it, it's a good game. To reviewers that disagree: get off your period or get yourself some Midol.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/08/08

Game Release: Sonic Unleashed (US, 11/20/08)