Review: Sonic Unleashed

Russ Pitts

The Boss of You
May 1, 2006
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Review: Sonic Unleashed

Russ Pitts wonders why we even bother playing the Sonic games anymore.

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sirdanrhodes

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Nov 7, 2007
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I say sonic team should just do one game where story or five year old acting talents don't exist and just focus on running and killing baddies in lush colourful environments. After expecting this to be good, and playing it, I do have to agree it did insult my intelligence.
 

Jursa

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Oct 11, 2008
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Awesome review of a bad game, nice job Russ. Not that I'd actually throw my money off the cliff on games like these but...
 

Virgil

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Jun 13, 2002
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Sonic Team should spend some time hanging out with Capcom. With Bionic Commando: Rearmed, the "re-mix" of Street Fighter II, and the upcoming Street Fighter IV they seem to have gotten the hang of restoring classics to their former glory recently.

Take the classic side-scrolling Sonic games. Put them in a 3D engine. Re-master the audio. Add achievements, save points, and the other conveniences of today's games. Release. Bonus Points: online co-op using Tails or Knuckles (any other characters should be deleted).
 

KarmicToast

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Nov 11, 2008
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What? They are still making Sonic games? Oh sorry, I have been in a pain-staking state of self-denial for ten years. In my lonely little world of Sonic denial, void of all hope, Sonic actually died along with tails while fighting Robotic in Sonic 2. My world may be filled with way too many little half robot/half bunny rabbits, but at least it doesn't include a "werehog."

Nice review Russ.
 

PedroSteckecilo

Mexican Fugitive
Feb 7, 2008
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I've never been a big fan of Sonic myself, I found the original sonic games lacking in... something.

Still I'm giving serious though to picking up Sonic Chronicles...
 

milomalo

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Mar 29, 2008
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good review you have very good points there and i do still play sonic games on my old GBA every now and then and from the latest, once i had the bad luck to see sonic and Mario at the Olympics and that was pain to my eyes and to my hearth :(
 

KarmicToast

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Nov 11, 2008
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PedroSteckecilo said:
I've never been a big fan of Sonic myself, I found the original sonic games lacking in... something.

Still I'm giving serious though to picking up Sonic Chronicles...
I have to admit...Sonic Chronicles was a lot of fun. It isn't really a sonic game though, regardless of the hero :). I guess they chose the franchise to map it in because of the killer story line! I mean, Chaos Emeralds???? That there is Shakespeare my friends.
 

nick2150

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Dec 17, 2008
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I actually do not agree with this review, although the warehog sections are tedious and detract from the action the speed sections keep me so absorbed that I don?t even notice the passage of time. yes some of the characters are irritating though every game has them (special mention: commander Miranda Keys nearly ruining the entire Halo franchise- even halo 1). I really don?t mind the adventure bits, although I can see why they irritate everyone so much. Same goes for the cinematic sections.
I?m not saying it?s a great game just that I think the review is jumping on the old ?sonic is crap? band wagon.
P.S. Sonic and the Secret rings sucked balls, there was NOTHING good about it.
 

ReverseEngineered

Raving Lunatic
Apr 30, 2008
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When are video game producers going to learn? Cut scenes and cinematics are fine, but they have to be used appropriately. If this is anything like the old Sonic games (fast ring-collecting platform action), then their target audience isn't about to sit through 30 minutes of cinematics before they get to play their game.

Games like Sonic were great because you could make a lot of fast-paced progress in a short amount of time, then come back and play it again later. It would be like going to watch a porno, but having to sit through 30 minutes of car and cellphone commercials -- you'd lose any excitement for the material before the show even started.

Action games are all about speed and adrenaline. Either give that to your customer or don't bother making an action game.
 

PedroSteckecilo

Mexican Fugitive
Feb 7, 2008
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This must be a truly crushing blow to Russ after he worked so hard to BECOME Sonic on last weeks Escapist show.
 

Ranooth

BEHIND YOU!!
Mar 26, 2008
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Sad Ash is sad, i was really looking forward to Sonic Unleashed but i do agree with most reviewers. Its a brillaint game lost in a sea of rubbish and poorly implemented ideas.

COME ON SONIC TEAM! MAKE SOMETHING EPIC!
 

incal11

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Oct 24, 2008
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A sort of improved remake of sonic 3 + sonic&knuckles
that's how "the one" could be like.

I guess anyone who hasn't started gaming with the first sonic games can't really understand... but that's understandable.
 

PedroSteckecilo

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Feb 7, 2008
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Russ Pitts said:
PedroSteckecilo said:
This must be a truly crushing blow to Russ after he worked so hard to BECOME Sonic on last weeks Escapist show.
You have no idea.
Okay...

Now I'm picturing Russ in the rain, clutching an opened and finished copy of Sonic Unleased, falling to his knees screaming "WHY!WHYYYYYYY!" at the heavens.

... I have a twisted mind.

EDIT: Also, what was Kanashe's problem, that is a really inappropriate way to react to anything, especially a videogame review.
 

Susan Arendt

Nerd Queen
Jan 9, 2007
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PedroSteckecilo said:
Russ Pitts said:
PedroSteckecilo said:
This must be a truly crushing blow to Russ after he worked so hard to BECOME Sonic on last weeks Escapist show.
You have no idea.
Okay...

Now I'm picturing Russ in the rain, clutching an opened and finished copy of Sonic Unleased, falling to his knees screaming "WHY!WHYYYYYYY!" at the heavens.

... I have a twisted mind.
No, that's pretty much how it went, really.
 

geldonyetich

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Aug 2, 2006
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I like that you had a second perspective on this.

Looks like a kid's game to me. They'd get pretty damn excited about roleplaying Sonic the Hedgehog in what looks like a pretty graphically impressive world, and often aren't adequately burned out to notice bad gameplay when they see it.
 

Graham

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Dec 5, 2008
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Okay, I downloaded the demo of this game off of Xbox LIVE and thoroughly enjoyed it. But after reading a myriad of reviews it seems that I enjoy it simply because it's a single day-time level that cut all the cinematics and werehog sections.

So, am I to believe that just downloading the demo and playing it a few times is the way to truly appreciate Sonic Unleashed? Or is that just a cheap gamer's dream?
 

Super Racer Z

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Dec 17, 2008
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I will say one thing. you played the first real level in the game. here is the amount of levels:

Day (21)
-Apotos, Mazuri, Spagonia, Chun-nan, and Adabat have three acts
-Holoska, Shamar, and Empire City only have two acts

Night (12)
-Apotos, Mazuri, Chun-nan, and Adabat have two acts
-Spagonia, Holoska, Shamar, and Empire City only have the one

And a lot of those are optional, so you can easily break even or better playing sonic to werehog. And the cutscenes are a little kiddish, but not in the way that Sonic Heroes was (which was cheesy). And the opening cinematic is gorgeous. Also, there aren't very many (can't think of any at all) xbox 360 games that look this good. And there is no glitches except for the kind you have to hunt for. Hubs will only be played for a total of about five minutes if you talk to no one and just rush through them (does not count the special area for entering the stages, but you have full speed and power in them). Basically, if you love the demo level, you will most likely love this game. Hell, you spend more of the duration of the game playing as cobalt blue sonic than in any other 3D sonic game except for Secret rings (never played).