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Sonic Unleashed
Sonic's latest adventure leaves us scratching our heads and gritting out teeth.
December 4, 2008 | 6:10 PM PSTby: Jeff Rivera
Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.
What the Game's About
Sonic the Hedgehog exploded onto the gaming scene back during the 16-bit era when he became Sega's official mascot on the Sega Genesis. Gamers loved the sheer speed the game provided, the interesting level designs, and a simplicity that allowed gamers to focus solely on getting from one end of the level to the other without complicated mechanics or unnecessary fluff. As time has gone on, Sega has strayed from Sonic's original path as they've added hub world levels, multiple characters, more involved storylines, and a whole bunch of new gameplay mechanics. Despite the fans cry for a return to form, Sega and Sonic Team continue to alter the Sonic formula in hopes that gamers will appreciate a new breed of Sonic. Sonic Unleashed is a strange beast, however. On some levels it brings things back to basics for a portion the game (see: good), but for the majority the game is decidedly very far from the original spirit of the franchise (see: bad). Like a carrot dangling in front of the donkey cart, we think we're getting close to the prize, but Sega's not quite letting us have it yet.
What's Hot
As mentioned briefly above, part of this game is pretty good. The game is split into a day/night sort of manner and when it's day you play as the regular old Sonic we've known and loved for several console cycles. You'll blaze through huge loops, trigger pop bumpers, and avoid pesky spikes as you gather rings, hidden medallions, and various other rewards. While this part of the game isn't perfect (more on that later), it is very fun to play and it feels a lot like Sonic should feel. For those willing to stick out the night levels, there is a lot of enjoyment to be had with the day levels.
The boss battles in the game, for the most part, are challenging and fun. There are a couple where the camera or an odd level design choice might hinder your enjoyment a bit, but usually the bosses will provide a satisfying and worthwhile experience. Some of the bosses are huge, and will require a bit of platforming to access weak points while others are more demanding of your twitch skills.
Visually the game looks very, very, nice. This is exactly how Sonic the Hedgehog is supposed to look in the current generation. Colors are bright and vivid, characters are very animated, and the environments have a distinct charm to them that meshes well with the Sonic franchise. The game at times is insanely fast, but the framerate rarely dips. Sonic and the rest of the character models are nicely detailed, and the character animation is really very well executed throughout the game.
What's Not
Unfortunately, there is a lot to complain about when you start spending some time with Sonic Unleashed. It seems like Sonic Team just can't let Sonic be himself these days, as there always has to be some sort of gimmick or nonsensical hook to the game. This time around, Sonic transforms into a "Werehog" when the sun goes down. Rather than being fast and nimble, Sonic becomes a lumbering heavyweight that relies on combo-driven attacks and slow, methodic platforming. If we're being kind, we'd simply call the Werehog stages atrocious, but the game infuriates you so badly during these sections that it's hard to be even the least forgiving. The pacing in these levels is so terrible that a 15-30 minute run through one will feel like hours. After zooming around as "normal" Sonic, you'll dread these moments. Unfortunately, the Werehog sections make up roughly 70% of the play time. This might have worked as a level or two, but when it's the larger portion of the game, things get depressing.
The platforming in the Werehog stages is also very poor. Many, many, times you're asked to make repeated jumps that, if you fail, will lead to an instant death. This in itself isn't a bad thing, but when you couple it with a camera that is reluctant to give you a good angle and spotty controls, you've got a a recipe for pure and unbridled anger. Don't even try to count how many times you die due to something that wasn't your fault at all, because it happens often enough that you'll eventually give up on it. There is a bit of this in the day sections, but it's minimal in comparison to the night sections.
Combat can best be described as Devil May Cry: Sesame Street Edition. As you rumble through the levels in Werehog form, you'll tangle with a very repetitive set of enemies and make use of a simple button-mashing combo system. Each encounter feels the same as the previous, and the quick time events that pepper the experience only make matters worse as they come up far too often. The combat isn't satisfying, and it eventually feels about as enjoyable as yard work on a Saturday morning. You know you have to do it, but you'll give anything to get past it as quickly as possible.
While the visuals are quite nice, the music selection in the game is poor. After a little bit of time with the game, you'll come to notice that the tracks loop a lot. In some instances, tracks are under a minute long and they loop endlessly until you exit the stage. If you spend a lot of time in the hub levels, and you will because of the tacked on adventuring, you're bound to grow tired of the same tune over and over and over again. Also, when you are near enemies in your Werehog form, a track kicks in that's full of brass instruments that come together to create one of the worst battle themes in gaming history. You'll hear this track a lot, and many times only a few seconds of normal music will separate it from starting up again when the next enemy approaches. Whoever made the call on how to handle the music in the game dropped the ball big time.
Another annoyance is the inclusion of a leveling up system in the game. When you defeat enemies you'll gain XP, which can be applied to Sonic in a variety of ways. For Sonic in his normal form, you can increase his speed or his boost. For the Werehog form, you can increase his power, health, attack variety, defense, and more. This becomes more of a chore than anything else, because the improvements just don't seem to matter much when you're just button mashing with the Werehog and you don't really notice the increase to Sonic's speed all that much. Leveling up is fine, but it should have been handled automatically over time.
Hear us, Sonic Team. We want a fully 3D Sonic game, but we want it kept simple, fast, and fun. Cut out all the silly distractions and gimmicks and you'll have a good thing on your hands. The day sections are very fun, even if they still have a few nagging issues, but the night sections of this game automatically relegate this title to something that should be avoided until it can be had for very cheap.
Final Word
Sonic Team has talent, we know that they do, but the Sonic series on consoles has been terrible for a while now. It's time that the developers hit the drawing board once more and look for a way to properly translate Sonic into the 3D world for the current generation. It's really hard to recommend a game like Sonic Unleashed when other platformers like Ratchet and Clank Future or Super Mario Galaxy are doing so much better of a job in the genre. It's a safe bet that hardcore Sonic fans will enjoy the day sections of the game, but nobody out there is going to have fun with the Werehog stages. It almost feels as if the game was handled by two different teams, both with very different levels of talent and completely conflicting gameplay philosophies. If you're a true hardcore Sonic fan, give the game a rental and enjoy the day stages. Otherwise, don't bother.
What the Game's About
Sonic the Hedgehog exploded onto the gaming scene back during the 16-bit era when he became Sega's official mascot on the Sega Genesis. Gamers loved the sheer speed the game provided, the interesting level designs, and a simplicity that allowed gamers to focus solely on getting from one end of the level to the other without complicated mechanics or unnecessary fluff. As time has gone on, Sega has strayed from Sonic's original path as they've added hub world levels, multiple characters, more involved storylines, and a whole bunch of new gameplay mechanics. Despite the fans cry for a return to form, Sega and Sonic Team continue to alter the Sonic formula in hopes that gamers will appreciate a new breed of Sonic. Sonic Unleashed is a strange beast, however. On some levels it brings things back to basics for a portion the game (see: good), but for the majority the game is decidedly very far from the original spirit of the franchise (see: bad). Like a carrot dangling in front of the donkey cart, we think we're getting close to the prize, but Sega's not quite letting us have it yet.
What's Hot
As mentioned briefly above, part of this game is pretty good. The game is split into a day/night sort of manner and when it's day you play as the regular old Sonic we've known and loved for several console cycles. You'll blaze through huge loops, trigger pop bumpers, and avoid pesky spikes as you gather rings, hidden medallions, and various other rewards. While this part of the game isn't perfect (more on that later), it is very fun to play and it feels a lot like Sonic should feel. For those willing to stick out the night levels, there is a lot of enjoyment to be had with the day levels.
The boss battles in the game, for the most part, are challenging and fun. There are a couple where the camera or an odd level design choice might hinder your enjoyment a bit, but usually the bosses will provide a satisfying and worthwhile experience. Some of the bosses are huge, and will require a bit of platforming to access weak points while others are more demanding of your twitch skills.
Visually the game looks very, very, nice. This is exactly how Sonic the Hedgehog is supposed to look in the current generation. Colors are bright and vivid, characters are very animated, and the environments have a distinct charm to them that meshes well with the Sonic franchise. The game at times is insanely fast, but the framerate rarely dips. Sonic and the rest of the character models are nicely detailed, and the character animation is really very well executed throughout the game.
What's Not
Unfortunately, there is a lot to complain about when you start spending some time with Sonic Unleashed. It seems like Sonic Team just can't let Sonic be himself these days, as there always has to be some sort of gimmick or nonsensical hook to the game. This time around, Sonic transforms into a "Werehog" when the sun goes down. Rather than being fast and nimble, Sonic becomes a lumbering heavyweight that relies on combo-driven attacks and slow, methodic platforming. If we're being kind, we'd simply call the Werehog stages atrocious, but the game infuriates you so badly during these sections that it's hard to be even the least forgiving. The pacing in these levels is so terrible that a 15-30 minute run through one will feel like hours. After zooming around as "normal" Sonic, you'll dread these moments. Unfortunately, the Werehog sections make up roughly 70% of the play time. This might have worked as a level or two, but when it's the larger portion of the game, things get depressing.
The platforming in the Werehog stages is also very poor. Many, many, times you're asked to make repeated jumps that, if you fail, will lead to an instant death. This in itself isn't a bad thing, but when you couple it with a camera that is reluctant to give you a good angle and spotty controls, you've got a a recipe for pure and unbridled anger. Don't even try to count how many times you die due to something that wasn't your fault at all, because it happens often enough that you'll eventually give up on it. There is a bit of this in the day sections, but it's minimal in comparison to the night sections.
Combat can best be described as Devil May Cry: Sesame Street Edition. As you rumble through the levels in Werehog form, you'll tangle with a very repetitive set of enemies and make use of a simple button-mashing combo system. Each encounter feels the same as the previous, and the quick time events that pepper the experience only make matters worse as they come up far too often. The combat isn't satisfying, and it eventually feels about as enjoyable as yard work on a Saturday morning. You know you have to do it, but you'll give anything to get past it as quickly as possible.
While the visuals are quite nice, the music selection in the game is poor. After a little bit of time with the game, you'll come to notice that the tracks loop a lot. In some instances, tracks are under a minute long and they loop endlessly until you exit the stage. If you spend a lot of time in the hub levels, and you will because of the tacked on adventuring, you're bound to grow tired of the same tune over and over and over again. Also, when you are near enemies in your Werehog form, a track kicks in that's full of brass instruments that come together to create one of the worst battle themes in gaming history. You'll hear this track a lot, and many times only a few seconds of normal music will separate it from starting up again when the next enemy approaches. Whoever made the call on how to handle the music in the game dropped the ball big time.
Another annoyance is the inclusion of a leveling up system in the game. When you defeat enemies you'll gain XP, which can be applied to Sonic in a variety of ways. For Sonic in his normal form, you can increase his speed or his boost. For the Werehog form, you can increase his power, health, attack variety, defense, and more. This becomes more of a chore than anything else, because the improvements just don't seem to matter much when you're just button mashing with the Werehog and you don't really notice the increase to Sonic's speed all that much. Leveling up is fine, but it should have been handled automatically over time.
Hear us, Sonic Team. We want a fully 3D Sonic game, but we want it kept simple, fast, and fun. Cut out all the silly distractions and gimmicks and you'll have a good thing on your hands. The day sections are very fun, even if they still have a few nagging issues, but the night sections of this game automatically relegate this title to something that should be avoided until it can be had for very cheap.
Final Word
Sonic Team has talent, we know that they do, but the Sonic series on consoles has been terrible for a while now. It's time that the developers hit the drawing board once more and look for a way to properly translate Sonic into the 3D world for the current generation. It's really hard to recommend a game like Sonic Unleashed when other platformers like Ratchet and Clank Future or Super Mario Galaxy are doing so much better of a job in the genre. It's a safe bet that hardcore Sonic fans will enjoy the day sections of the game, but nobody out there is going to have fun with the Werehog stages. It almost feels as if the game was handled by two different teams, both with very different levels of talent and completely conflicting gameplay philosophies. If you're a true hardcore Sonic fan, give the game a rental and enjoy the day stages. Otherwise, don't bother.
November 20, 2009
