Out of morbid curiosity (it can't be that bad, can it?), I decided to put my newly re-acquired Xbox Live connection to the test and obtained a lot of free demos, one of which was Sonic Unleashed. I'm doing a First Impressions only because I don't have the full game for a fair full verdict.
First off, the demo is astounding in its brevity, to the point of arousing suspicion. I wasn't allowed to peruse menus, I wasn't given any wandering or even pretense of level selection. I was dropped as fast as possible into a "daytime" mission, featuring the Sonic that we know and once had a fling with. (Not really love, I guess.). Once I completed the mission, I was graded, and I awaited to see what the 'were-hog' would be like.
Here's the kicker: I was tossed back to the title screen after a perfunctory "thank you" screen. There is no 'were-hog' here, please return to the title screen, or preferably the arcade. Suspicious that one of the most hyped features would be absent from the demo in any form?
Moving away from hostile suspicion, let's come back to the actual play I was presented. In a a couple tasty sentences:
"Delicious nostalgia, served with a sauce of frustration and a garnish of ease. Comes with a side order of confusion for $0.50 extra."
I cannot deny: the Sonic Team has served up a dish with nostalgia as the main ingredient. The better parts of the mission presented were in 2-D, with familiar elements like the classic 'ring' noise, springs, and curling into a blue ball to destroy things. The potential for fun is there under the sauce, it just needs more cooking to make it into a reduction* of difficulty, not frustration.
Dropping my culinary metaphor, let's talk faults. The gameplay suffered from a mixed use of quick-time events. Some were implemented well, or at least passably: indicators were large, they weren't merciless and unforgiving, and they were common enough to not catch you off-guard. Then there was a peculiar second set of quicktime events mapped entirely to the X button: this button launches you from enemy to enemy, or to whatever a reticule is happening to settle on at this moment in time. You don't control the reticule. Seeing as this mechanic is critical to crossing otherwise impossible gaps, I lost a lot of lives falling down holes when it showed up too late.
Another lapse in quality is the lack of any real difficulty. Aside from periodic perilous pitiful plunges, nothing posed a threat to my well-being. The robot enemies are PATHETIC. I counted one time where an enemy posed any threat at all, and at least three times where a string of helpless onlooking enemies with no discernable attack is the only means of crossing a gorge. Doctor Robotnik would foil me better without any minions, apparently.
I'm sure my dubious writing efforts have left you tired of reading this schlock. My ultimate verdict based on the demo:RENT. Pick Sonic Unleashed up to get a quick zip of fun running around with your old friend Sonic, and then throw it back to the store when you tire of its crap.
*footnote: a reduction is what you get when you simmer a sauce for a considerable amount of time to get something much thicker and better suited to your dish.
First off, the demo is astounding in its brevity, to the point of arousing suspicion. I wasn't allowed to peruse menus, I wasn't given any wandering or even pretense of level selection. I was dropped as fast as possible into a "daytime" mission, featuring the Sonic that we know and once had a fling with. (Not really love, I guess.). Once I completed the mission, I was graded, and I awaited to see what the 'were-hog' would be like.
Here's the kicker: I was tossed back to the title screen after a perfunctory "thank you" screen. There is no 'were-hog' here, please return to the title screen, or preferably the arcade. Suspicious that one of the most hyped features would be absent from the demo in any form?
Moving away from hostile suspicion, let's come back to the actual play I was presented. In a a couple tasty sentences:
"Delicious nostalgia, served with a sauce of frustration and a garnish of ease. Comes with a side order of confusion for $0.50 extra."
I cannot deny: the Sonic Team has served up a dish with nostalgia as the main ingredient. The better parts of the mission presented were in 2-D, with familiar elements like the classic 'ring' noise, springs, and curling into a blue ball to destroy things. The potential for fun is there under the sauce, it just needs more cooking to make it into a reduction* of difficulty, not frustration.
Dropping my culinary metaphor, let's talk faults. The gameplay suffered from a mixed use of quick-time events. Some were implemented well, or at least passably: indicators were large, they weren't merciless and unforgiving, and they were common enough to not catch you off-guard. Then there was a peculiar second set of quicktime events mapped entirely to the X button: this button launches you from enemy to enemy, or to whatever a reticule is happening to settle on at this moment in time. You don't control the reticule. Seeing as this mechanic is critical to crossing otherwise impossible gaps, I lost a lot of lives falling down holes when it showed up too late.
Another lapse in quality is the lack of any real difficulty. Aside from periodic perilous pitiful plunges, nothing posed a threat to my well-being. The robot enemies are PATHETIC. I counted one time where an enemy posed any threat at all, and at least three times where a string of helpless onlooking enemies with no discernable attack is the only means of crossing a gorge. Doctor Robotnik would foil me better without any minions, apparently.
I'm sure my dubious writing efforts have left you tired of reading this schlock. My ultimate verdict based on the demo:RENT. Pick Sonic Unleashed up to get a quick zip of fun running around with your old friend Sonic, and then throw it back to the store when you tire of its crap.
*footnote: a reduction is what you get when you simmer a sauce for a considerable amount of time to get something much thicker and better suited to your dish.
