Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-24012316-20141003031016

 Sonic and the Secret Rings, love it or hate it, was received very well amongst critics. The game had lots of missteps, but in the end, it’s a solid action-platformer that is loads of fun. If it wasn’t for awkward mission based gameplay, it could’ve easily been my favorite Sonic game.

             But I assume you’ve already read my review of that game coming into this. 2007 was a nice refresher from 2006, and soon, Sega was ready to launch forth another game, this time, a mainstream entry. Enter Sonic Unleashed, spoiling this right now, is the hedgehogs first good game in a LONG time. Secret Rings was cool and all, but I had to say, fully playing it through was more chore than fun. In 2008, Sega released Sonic Unleashed, one of the most polarizing Sonic games in a long time. There are two versions. I like to think of it like Castlevania Dracula X; Rondo of Blood. Rondo of Blood was released on the PC-Engine CD as a block-buster title, and Dracula X, was released as a version on the SNES, which was the system kids most likely owned. The same can be applied here. Sonic Unleashed for Xbox 360 and PS3 is pretty different than Sonic Unleashed for Nintendo Wii and PS2. I only have played Sonic Unleashed for Nintendo Wii, and judging by all these reviews, it looks like it’s gonna stay that way. Don’t worry; I’m getting a PS3 soon, though SONIC THE HEDGEHOG takes priority over Unleashed. Let’s begin, with

 SONIC UNLEASHED

 For Nintendo Wii





 Story Isle; Hit and Miss

             Sonic Unleashed certainly isn’t terribly written, and it isn’t anywhere as strange as Secret Rings, but it’s not winning best story awards. But frankly, this is quite possibly the best Sonic story yet. The game begins with a glorious CGI opening that really makes me feel nostalgic. It’s Sonic facing off with Eggman, one-on-one. Eggman actually manages to seize Sonic, but the blue hedgehog already had collected the Chaos Emeralds, and transforms into Super Sonic, demolishing most of Eggman’s fleet. However, suddenly Eggman… traps SUPER SONIC, SUCKS THE EMERALDS OUT (gee, remember who else did that?), TRANSFORMS SONIC INTO A MANHOG, USES THE CHAOS ENERGY TO SPLIT THE EARTH, LETS THE DREAMCAST MAKE A CAMEO (I still love that guy), AND EJECTS SONIC TO OUTER SPACE.

             Actually, Sonic’s pretty lucky to have landed on a piece of land. Do you know how hard I’d be laughing if Sonic had fallen into the lava? Anyway, Sonic re-enters, face flat, and is practically uninjured. However, upon sharpening up, he meets this… thing, who doesn’t remember who he is. Sonic feels guilty, as he thinks he landed on him. After talking around, Sonic decides to name him Chip, after seeing him go into a complete orgasm when it sees a Chocolate Chip Sundae. After a lot of events (I don’t feel like summarizing like Sonic Adventure), we learn Chip is the opposite of the evil Earth entity, Dark Gaia, who Eggman wishes to seize. Sonic and Chip fight Eggman, Dark Gaia turns on Eggman, strips Sonic of the Were-Hog form (THANK YOU!), Chip pulls off something that could only be best paired with the Power Ranger’s theme, Sonic transforms into Super Sonic, Chip sacrifices himself to save Sonic, and the game ends with a shot of Sonic running side by side with Tails. You know, that just reminds me of Sonic 2 and Sonic 3&Knuckles.

             Overall, this story is enjoyable, and I think it’s a well written story. The graphical prowess of the cutscenes also stuns me. This is right up there with the HD variant.

 Presentation Run;

 I’m Loving It (Bring on the Copyrights!)

             Sonic Unleashed is a damn fine looking game. The character models animate very smoothly, the models themselves look fantastic, the framerate is pretty constant, and overall, I feel like this game is one of the best looking Sonic titles to date. Before ANYONE says that the HD version is better, I personally disagree. But both versions look gorgeous.

             The music is one of the best in the franchise. It strays from the rock/pop songs the franchise became renown for ever since Crush 40, and instead, we’ve got a kickass orchestrated soundtrack, that in my opinion, is just as good if not better than previous soundtracks. Overall, the presentation is top-notch.

 Gameplay Edge

 50/50

<p class="MsoNormal">             The game reintroduced the multi-style aspect that Sonic game’s for a long time have been trying to sustain. However, even from day one, it’s never worked perfectly. So does Unleashed break that trend? No, it doesn’t.

<p class="MsoNormal">             The daytime stages are the ones you’ll want to play over and over again. They have (kinda) reverted back to the Adventure style of gameplay. Sonic’s stages resemble the platformer side of the Adventure games and Heroes (later), but now bear some resemblance to the fantastic Sonic the Hedgehog 2. This is practically how I think a 3D Sonic game should be. The 3D stages are without a doubt very speedy and overall, extremely fun. You’ll find yourself drifting, sliding, and quickstepping yourself through the face of danger. The stages now feel like obstacle courses, where Sonic is required to tackle a number of athletic challenges. Frankly, this is something I feel fits with the Sonic franchise. Now and then, you’ll switch to a 2D perspective, and deal with things with a different angle. I’m all for, and I found these sections really fun.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> It’s not an accurate depiction of Sonic, but I feel that they are some of the most fun, better than the Adventure games in certain regards in terms of stability, certainly right up there with the classics.

<p class="MsoNormal">             Of course, Sega just HAS to piss me off. We have the Were-hog to deal with, and boy is he… not terrible. Ok, lemme get this straight, I don’t hate ALL of the Were-hog’s aspects. The worlds are gorgeously open at times, with a feeling of exploration really being instilled. However, that’s where it ends, as the Were-hog has B.S. puzzles that include incredibly stimulating segments of move this block two feet to the left. Wow, I really think this slows the pace down unnecessarily. Combat is another big let-down. Here’s an example of combat I wouldn’t mind; the enemies are scattered across the stage, and each provide a variety in fighting styles, providing a wholesome experience. They should be a slightly optional threat, as while it’s EASIER to simply put them down then and there, you can ignore some of them.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> I’d like to use Skyward Sword as an example of this. Those enemies were placed there as options. Fighting them is fun, as they don’t overwhelm you, and if you stun them or simply don’t give a crap, they can be ignored. The enemies are not intrusive, and so I welcome it. Except that isn’t the case. The Were-hog has some spectacular level design in the later stages, especially in Chu-Nan and Adabat, but they are all terrible simply because of the fact the game FLOODS the screen with enemies, and you cannot PROGRESS UNTIL ALL THE ENEMIES ARE CLEARED! THIS IS JUST AS BAD SONIC HER- Oh, better wait.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> If I have to give credit to where credit’s due, the combat system itself isn’t that bad. Simply sliding my thumbs across the X and Y button un-controllably and FEELING the impact of Sonic’s claws sinking into the enemy is simply AWESOME. However, this isn’t a simple brawler, and we have some sh*t like unreliable barrel tossing, an awful dash attack that really should be mapped to the A button, bland or cheap enemies, and the SHEER AMOUNT of enemies. If the were-hog stages didn’t have the awful puzzles and forced combat, I’d actually love the open, vast levels. I still do enjoy Chu-Nan’s Great Wall level, where I feel combat isn’t too forced near the end, and the vast, open level design is really fun. But other than that? I’m sorry, but I absolutely hated the were-hog.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"> So, overall, Sonic Unleashed, like Secret Rings, is a step in the right direction. Daytime stages that bring the house down, engaging story, awesome graphics, and a kickass soundtrack, if it wasn’t for the outnumbering Nighttime stages, and the Nighttime stages themselves, I would REALLY, REALLY like Unleashed. But as of now, it’s simply good. Not great, but not terrible at all. <ac_metadata title="Reviewed; Sonic Unleashed for the Nintendo Wii"> </ac_metadata>