Sonic Unleashed
Systems: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii
Price: $59.99
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega
Released: November 20, 2008
Sonic Unleashed is definitely different than other Sonic games. Sonic Team has made changes to how Sonic controls. They even added in a God of War clone.
First off, the story. Dr. Eggman is up to no good again and Sonic goes to thwart his plans. You will notice just how beautiful the cut scene looks. Sonic turns super and chases Eggman into a trap. Using the chaos emeralds, Eggman prematurely awakens Dark Gia and sends Sonic hurtling toward the earth. There Sonic meets who he calls Chip. Chip has lost his memory and Sonic is trying to help him regain his memory. On top of this it is up to them to stop Eggman. Overall, the story is not exactly dark or lighthearted. It falls somewhere in between and it?s not bad.
Now for the gameplay. The gameplay is split up into two parts. The fast pace daytime stages and the God of War nighttime stages. The daytime stages are fast pace, more traditional Sonic stages. Now there has been a huge change in how Sonic controls. Instead of playing like Sonic Adventure, he controls more like he did in Sonic Rush. Meaning that the boost was added and it is fueled by rings. So you will blaze through most of the levels. Other than that, Sonic still has some of his old moves. The light speed dash and the homing attack. He also has new moves that require upgrades to use. Which are the wall jump and the ground stomp. The nighttime stages have sonic turn into a warehog as a result of Eggman awakening Dark Gia. Sonic now much fight his way through stages in a God of War clone. I?ll leave it at that.
Now for the level design. Act 1 of each daytime stage is linear. Sometimes I feel like I?m trapped in a hallway. However, act 2 and 3 of each stage are well designed platforming stages. Only down side is it?s only required to complete act 1 of each stage. So acts 2 and 3 are completely optional unless you don?t have enough day and night medals to progress. The nighttime stages are spacious. They take a bit of doing to get through. Areas to beat up enemies in order to progress, basic puzzles and basic platforming. It plays so much like God of War, but somehow it just isn?t as fun. The warehog stages can be really fun, but it becomes a bit repetitive. Also at times feels like a downgrade from God of War. So overall the daytime stages are good but, a bit too linear and the nighttime stages are a downgraded God of War. There are also hub worlds. They serve as a way to get from stage to stage. They are rather small in design and because of this; Sonic?s speed is reduced while he travels through them.
Now let?s talk about the graphics. The graphics are crisp and rich with detail. There is also a dreamlike feel with the graphical style, and it works for this kind of game. You feel like you are playing a Sonic the hedgehog game.
Now for the sound. The music in this game is a bit of a mixed bag. The orchestral pieces are well put together but, they just don?t belong in the game. Most of the stages needed some rock tunes or something more upbeat. The only orchestral piece I felt fit with the game was during the final boss and the town themes. So the music is good but, at times unfitting. Now for the voice acting. Jason Griffith does a good job as sonic, but Mike Pollock steals the show as Dr. Eggman. Other than that, the rest of the voice cast does their jobs fine and I have no complaints.
Now for the things I liked about the game. I liked the daytime stages for the most part. I liked the sense of speed that the game provides for you. I did enjoy the story and the voice acting. I also loved the graphics.
Now for what I didn?t like. I didn?t care much for the warehog stages. After I completed the game, I never wanted to go back to any of them. I hated how you had to collect medals in order to progress with the story. It felt like unnecessary padding. Also, the hub worlds bored me.
Overall, Sonic Unleashed is a fun game with some problems. I would recommend that you rent it first before you buy it.
Video Review:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNx-Qe8shnM
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x18hfo2_jmack-reviews-sonic-unleashed-360_videogames
Systems: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii
Price: $59.99
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega
Released: November 20, 2008
Sonic Unleashed is definitely different than other Sonic games. Sonic Team has made changes to how Sonic controls. They even added in a God of War clone.
First off, the story. Dr. Eggman is up to no good again and Sonic goes to thwart his plans. You will notice just how beautiful the cut scene looks. Sonic turns super and chases Eggman into a trap. Using the chaos emeralds, Eggman prematurely awakens Dark Gia and sends Sonic hurtling toward the earth. There Sonic meets who he calls Chip. Chip has lost his memory and Sonic is trying to help him regain his memory. On top of this it is up to them to stop Eggman. Overall, the story is not exactly dark or lighthearted. It falls somewhere in between and it?s not bad.
Now for the gameplay. The gameplay is split up into two parts. The fast pace daytime stages and the God of War nighttime stages. The daytime stages are fast pace, more traditional Sonic stages. Now there has been a huge change in how Sonic controls. Instead of playing like Sonic Adventure, he controls more like he did in Sonic Rush. Meaning that the boost was added and it is fueled by rings. So you will blaze through most of the levels. Other than that, Sonic still has some of his old moves. The light speed dash and the homing attack. He also has new moves that require upgrades to use. Which are the wall jump and the ground stomp. The nighttime stages have sonic turn into a warehog as a result of Eggman awakening Dark Gia. Sonic now much fight his way through stages in a God of War clone. I?ll leave it at that.
Now for the level design. Act 1 of each daytime stage is linear. Sometimes I feel like I?m trapped in a hallway. However, act 2 and 3 of each stage are well designed platforming stages. Only down side is it?s only required to complete act 1 of each stage. So acts 2 and 3 are completely optional unless you don?t have enough day and night medals to progress. The nighttime stages are spacious. They take a bit of doing to get through. Areas to beat up enemies in order to progress, basic puzzles and basic platforming. It plays so much like God of War, but somehow it just isn?t as fun. The warehog stages can be really fun, but it becomes a bit repetitive. Also at times feels like a downgrade from God of War. So overall the daytime stages are good but, a bit too linear and the nighttime stages are a downgraded God of War. There are also hub worlds. They serve as a way to get from stage to stage. They are rather small in design and because of this; Sonic?s speed is reduced while he travels through them.
Now let?s talk about the graphics. The graphics are crisp and rich with detail. There is also a dreamlike feel with the graphical style, and it works for this kind of game. You feel like you are playing a Sonic the hedgehog game.
Now for the sound. The music in this game is a bit of a mixed bag. The orchestral pieces are well put together but, they just don?t belong in the game. Most of the stages needed some rock tunes or something more upbeat. The only orchestral piece I felt fit with the game was during the final boss and the town themes. So the music is good but, at times unfitting. Now for the voice acting. Jason Griffith does a good job as sonic, but Mike Pollock steals the show as Dr. Eggman. Other than that, the rest of the voice cast does their jobs fine and I have no complaints.
Now for the things I liked about the game. I liked the daytime stages for the most part. I liked the sense of speed that the game provides for you. I did enjoy the story and the voice acting. I also loved the graphics.
Now for what I didn?t like. I didn?t care much for the warehog stages. After I completed the game, I never wanted to go back to any of them. I hated how you had to collect medals in order to progress with the story. It felt like unnecessary padding. Also, the hub worlds bored me.
Overall, Sonic Unleashed is a fun game with some problems. I would recommend that you rent it first before you buy it.
Video Review:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNx-Qe8shnM
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x18hfo2_jmack-reviews-sonic-unleashed-360_videogames