Hit and Miss

Author's Rating:

Pros: Amazingly fast gameplay, great graphics and music, easy to pick up

Cons: Night stages get tedious, short game w/o much to do after story is completed

The Bottom Line: 
Sonic Unleashed is an okay game. A must have for Sonic fans, but others should consider renting or borrowing it.

Author's Review
The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has always had trouble making great games since they started to make 3d titles. They have been trying to recreate the speed that classic Sonic fans always loved. They may have found a working formula in this game, however that good formula is broken up by levels where the player is required to play as the "warehog", a slower and more bulky version of Sonic. As the player goes through the game the focus of gameplay shifts from level to level. For instance, the day stages are extremely fast paced with the goal being to complete the level in the shortest amount of time while dodging obstacles and defeating enemies. The night stages are more about defeating a lot more enemies at a slower pace.

The day stages are amazing; the crazy fun every Sonic fan desires from a Sonic game. You simply run through the stage at a high velocity while navigating through the stage with simple controls. The night stages don't stand up to the day stages. They are more based on platforming and defeating enemies with a somewhat more complicated control scheme. The night stages take Sonic Unleashed from being a great game to being just a good game.

Sonic Unleashed is relatively short with not much to do after beating the story other than trying to beat the day stages faster and collect things in game. Collectables such as artwork or movie clips can be obtained.