Sonic Unleashed

"Here we...GO!"

Sonic Unleashed is the perfect example of what a Sonic game should be nowadays.
It is without a doubt, one of the best, if not the best, Sonic games I have ever played.
Sega really went in the right direction with this game. Our furry blue dude with the cheesy jokes
has had rough games in the past, but boy, this game works wonders, and is highly over-rated.


Story: 8/10
The game starts out with Sonic on Eggman's ship infiltrating and destroying his to way Eggman.
Eggman then captures Sonic, only to force Sonic to use the Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Sonic. He chases Eggman down, only to be trapped and having the Chaos Emeralds' power drained. Eggman uses the energy to split the world into pieces so he can summon a monster known as "Dark Gaia," within the Earth. Sonic absorbed some of Dark Gaia's energy, causing him to transform into Sonic the "Werehog." Sonic then crash lands back to Earth only to meet up with a new companion, Chip, a "thing" who has seemed to have lost his memories. Sonic takes Chip along to help him regain his memories and to fix the jigsaw puzzle that is the Earth. Kinda cheesy story, but hey, I thought the name Chip was too when Sonic first gave him that name.

Gameplay: 10/10
Aw yeah, this is where it gets fun. You have two types of gameplay. The fast paced, dazzling Daytime stages, and the slow, action-packed Nighttime stages. In the Daytime, you play as the normal Sonic. Let me tell you now that these levels are so sexy. You'll be ramming enemies, sliding under small spaces, running over water, and tons more with the Sonic Boost. At night, you play as the Werehog, the guy with the rubbery arms. These levels are the longs one that take up about 15-35 minutes.(Sometimes longer) You'll be smashing enemies, throwing them, slamming them, and other violent, yet funny things. But t's not just about brute force. Use those stretchy arms of his to reach poles, swing around, and pick up far objects. (And would you believe they're used for fighting too?) There are a few frustrating levels in both sections, but you'll do it...eventually. Hey, at least the game gives us a challenge.

Graphics: 9/10
The graphics for the 360/PS3 differ from the Wii/PS2 games because the 360/PS3 versions use the hedgehog engine, so the ones in this game are better. I must say, BEAUTIFUL CG scenes I tell you. If there's one thing about sonic games, it's that they don't play when it comes to CG. The in-game graphics are good too. Rushing through levels as Sonic gives you nice 3D and 2.5D views, while Wherehog levels have detailed objects in them. There's really no complaints here in this category. The best thing is that you can buy/find tapes in this game that allow you to watch scenes in the game. (with extra scenes as well)

Music: 9/10
Yeah, the music has speedy, fast paced songs at day, and jazzy songs at night. The music is very well made and sometimes fun to listen to. The songs with vocals are also pretty good. You can collect the music from the game in the levels, so you can listen to the game music sometime early in the game.

Sound: 7/10
Yeeeaaahhh, the sound has its ups and downs. Nce sounds effects, althought some of the nightime enemies had annoying sounds, and hearing Sonic go "WHOO" or "FEELIN' GOOD" every time I boosted didn't help. The voice acting is good, for the main characters at least. It's almost like there was no effort put into citizens of the games. I was expecting them to sound like how they would talk in real life in their country. In my opinion, they sound generic. The voice was characters like Sonic and Tails were fine, but Chip....I don't know if I hate his voice or not. It's like a mixture of annoying, yet adorable for his size.

Replayability: 9/10
Okay, so you know that usually once you beat a Sonic game, you never pick it back up. (Unless it's the fun multiplayer ones, the old ones, or SA/ SA2)
I'm telling you right now that there is so much to do in this game. You've got your standard levels, missions, medal collecting, shopping, and tons more. There are many levels for both night and day. That's one thing I worried about for this game too. If you're trying to S-Rank all levels, and complete every task in this game, be prepared to be playing for a while.

Overall: Sega, Sonic Team, keep it up, keep the hedgehog engine,(I know it took a while) and make a sequel, because you've got a Sonic Unleashed fan right here. If you keep doing what you're doing, then Sonic could possibly rise back up to the top and compete with all of these other franchises. This game is the best damn Sonic game in years, and I highly recommend checking it out.

Overall Score: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/08/09

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