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Sonic Unleashed Review for Nintendo Wii

Sonic Unleashed Review for Nintendo Wii

Poor Sonic. The speedy blue hedgehog has had a bit of a bumpy transition from the 2D days of old to more modern 3D adventures. That hasn’t stopped the Dimps and the Sonic Team from attempting to introduce new gimmicks in a bid to solve design flaws plaguing previous console entries in the time-worn series. You’d think tinkering with the formula enough would eventually produce a winning result. That may very well be, but the series still has further to go before it once again attains greatness. Sonic Unleashed is a mixed bag that will please some fans and greatly anger others.

Sonic Unleashed screenshot

Most will agree: the foundation of what makes Sonic the Hedgehog games so fun is the speed. When the original game came out years ago, it was competing with lots of other titles with stronger platforming elements. Being able to curl up into a spiky ball, build momentum, and literally blast through levels in a furry blur set it apart from other games of the time and established Sonic as a tour-de-force. Throwing unnecessarily sluggish platform aspects into a game that prides itself on speed tends to muck up the entire design. Sonic fans that have been itching for more of a successful return to the form of the classic games will get half of their wish granted in Sonic Unleashed. The other half, while interesting, is a sizeable disappointment.

The opening cinematic looks amazing on the Wii. It’s packed with plenty of action to setup the plot for Sonic Unleashed. After explosively battling his way through an armada of ships containing evil robots and massive munitions, Sonic confronts Dr. Eggman and gets him to agree to put an end to his nefarious ways. Of course, this lasts about five seconds. In one fell swoop, Eggman catches Sonic in an energy beam that blasts down to the plant. The beam awakens Dark Gaia, cracks the planet surface like a giant jigsaw puzzle, whacks out the Chaos Emeralds, and transforms Sonic into a werehog. Switching back and forth between his new beefy form and his plain old self as the sun rises and falls, Sonic joins old pals in globetrotting to restore power to the gems and put the world back together.

Sonic Unleashed screenshot

In many ways, duality plays a big part in the game. Unfortunately, this is the very thing that’s going to divide players’ opinions about the hedgehog’s latest outing. Split between daytime and nighttime levels, the gameplay changes substantially in each. When the sun is up, Sonic’s adventure is speedy and joyous. You’ll race through levels at breakneck speed, collecting coins, leaping around, pummeling badguys, zipping through the trademark loops, and navigating the crazily winding courses in a way that almost perfectly nails the marriage between the classic 2D levels and 3D. The perspective begins in a third-person view with the camera sitting just behind Sonic. However, it also frequently changes during some portions of the course to offer a more traditional side view of the fast-paced platforming action. The transition is seamless, and it works beautifully.

At nighttime, Sonic transforms into his werehog form, and the gameplay undergoes drastic changes that almost completely grind the fun to a halt. In the nocturnal levels of the game, of which there seem to be many more than necessary, Sonic is a sluggish, hulking beast that relies on his big, dumb fists instead of any semblance of speed. Exploring levels at a snail’s pace, you’ll hunt for items, break a lot of stuff, navigate some platforming obstacles, layout baddies, fiddle with some minor puzzle solving, and muscle your way through areas that feel like they take twice as long to complete as the daytime levels. Along the way, you can collect energy from enemies and broken objects to level-up and earn new attacks, which is at least one cool addition.

Sonic Unleashed screenshot

While brawling and exploring in werehog form is initially fun, and it introduces some unique control changes, it doesn’t take long before the rote smash-and-grab gets tiresome and begins weighing down the rest of the game. The more time you spend in the werehog levels, the more you’ll crave the speed and excitement found in the game’s sunnier regions. This might have been less of a misstep, if the contrast between the two styles wasn’t quite as stark.

Sonic Unleashed screenshot

In between missions, you’ll spend time traveling to different towns located on various continents scattered around the cracked planet. The rotatable world map is a nice touch, since the planet will slowly begin to reform as you progress through the game. Making pit stops in towns is a tedious necessity. You’re forced to needlessly scroll through short chats with lame characters to unlock new sections of town that reveal additional levels. Visually, these brief NPC interactions with townies don’t really mesh with the rest of the game, which is very highly polished. The frequent cutscenes are an impressive treat for Wii owners who’ve grown accustomed to less than stellar graphical performance. Things look great when the scenery is blasting by or when you’re mucking around punching the roses.

The Wii Remote and Nunchuk scheme offer a good level of control over Sonic in the speed levels. Subtle button pushes and a small amount of waggle allow you to send him drifting around corners, sliding under obstacles, hurdling at enemies, and dishing out his trademark buzz-saw speed blasts with relative ease. In werehog form, you’ll be shaking your left or right hand to deliver punches from Sonic’s corresponding burly limbs or flinging them both to deliver special attacks. Waggle also comes into play quite a bit, when interacting with elements requiring swinging or climbing. Like the rest of the game, the control styles differ between day and night, but they generally work well in either case.

Plenty of fan service and unlockable goodies offer reasons to keep coming back to the game. The faster Sonic levels are a real treat, and Sonic Unleashed has many high points to balance out the lows. The real bummer is not so much the concept of the werehog sections as it is how these portions of the game painfully drag the rest of the game down. They pale in comparison to the more classically-minded stretches that come close to bringing back the charm and excitement of the olden days. This is a good, solid Sonic adventure, but it’s still not great.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.0 Graphics
Sonic offers a nice level of polish for Wii owners to enjoy. 3.5 Control
Initially interesting motion controls grow tiresome in some areas, but the camera can occasionally end up in awkward places. 4.0 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The dialogue itself borders on lame at times, but the voice over work and music are excellent. 3.3

Play Value
The daytime levels are a blast, but they’re too short. In contrast, the nighttime areas are lengthy and sluggish.

3.5 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • Sonic maintains his high-speed abilities during the day, but at night he is transformed into a mysterious dark form with incredible never-before-seen abilities including 3D-action brawling and amazing agility.
  • Players accelerate to super speed with ‘Sonic Boost’ by collecting rings to increase Sonic’s ‘Ring Energy.’ Using ‘Quick Step,’ players will quickly move left or right to avoid obstacles instantly. Additionally, ‘Speed Drift’ allows players to rocket through turns without slowing down.
  • With its new propietary “Hedgehog Engine,” Sonic Unleashed enhances the classic 2D perspective with mind-blowing 3D stages. Other next-gen technology capabilities include global illumination, grid computing, continuous data streaming and an intricate path finding system.
  • Many unique and fascinating continents offer the player an opportunity to save the world in a dynamic, high-speed experience. In addition to exploring exciting unlockable areas, players dash through up to nine locations resembling real-life destinations including the Great Wall of China, Arctic Pole glaciers and many more.

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