Sonic Unleashed (Xbox 360) Review

Posted by Greg Bruno on 02.07.2009

Sonic needs a speeding ticket.



Title: Sonic Unleased Xbox 360
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Team Sonic
Genre: Platform
Players: 1
Rated: E for Everyone
Also available on: PS3, Wii

As a product of the 1980’s, I grew up with the 8-bit mascot. I considered Mario one of my best friends. Soon, the consoles took a dive into the bright lit and colorful 16-bit era. As I got older and wiser, so did the consoles. I found myself wanting more than just to be shooting fireballs and searching for princesses who always seemed to be in another castle, leaving behind one lone talking mushroom who would inform me of my wasted time. The Sega Genesis and Sonic the Hedgehog came to my rescue. The speed! Mario never moves this fast! It was a nice change of pace; literally. Since his initial release on the little black box, Sonic has seen some changes in his line-up, some good and some bad. And then there’s Sonic Unleashed. A game that breaks the mold when it comes to Sonic games. It’s not good. However, at the same time, it isn’t bad. It’s much, much worse than bad. It’s horrific. Let me break this down for you.

Graphics

When you first put this game into your system, you’re going to say “Wow! That opening CG cut scene was incredible!” However, it was a CG cut scene. The rest of the game is looks mediocre. Don’t get me wrong. Sonic games have never intended to push any system to any breaking point. Character models look good and move smoothly. The levels and texture work for each stage is also well done. From the bright green grass that most Sonic games incorporate to the metal walls of Eggman’s lair, it looks pretty good! The Hedgehog Engine (yup, that’s a real thing) does a good job in making Sonic Unleashed look like it belongs in this generation of gaming. I did, however, notice some frame rate issues during the first few levels of the game.



Gameplay

So after plummeting from space and losing the power of the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic finds that he can now transform into a Were-Hog at night. “That’s weird” you say. Oh, but it gets better. His arms are stretchy, allowing him to hit enemies from a bit of a distance. Let’s also add on a Navi style guide to annoy you throughout the game. Chip, as he’s named, alerts you to things. All things. Things like “Hey push that button and maybe the door will open.” Sure enough the door opens. It’s as if the team behind Sonic Unleashed doesn’t think their audiences to be smart enough to do such things on their own. I can understand how this game might be geared for little kids. Even so, anyone with the ability to read (which is required for this game) has the ability to look to the left to see the button to open the door.
Before beginning a stage, Sonic must walk through a town. Usually, you’re going to have to talk to the townspeople, who don’t have audio, only text (which I find unforgivable in a current-gen game). They’ll have you go about town doing various missions in order to obtain medals and such. So when you finally get to the actual game stages, you’ll be thinking “sweet, finally some speed!” Well, you’re wrong.

We’ve all gotten frustrated at a video game at some point in our gaming careers, but Sonic Unleashed takes the cake. Not only does it take the cake, but it smashes it in your face and kicks you in the balls (if applicable) while doing so. The Sonic levels are awful. You hold the “Up” direction on your controller for 99% of the stage you are playing through. Once or twice, you may be called upon to jump or crawl. Yes, crawl. They expect you to go from a blazing gazllion miles per hour to crawling in a split second. No, I am not exaggerating in the least. The same goes with jumping across a bottomless pit or ever-so-cleverly placed spikes (which any Sonic fans know that Sonic is deathly allergic to gravity and spikes). You will be close to the end of the stage when you suddenly will have fallen off a ledge or run into wall spikes and died, having to restart from the nearest check point. All the while you’ll be trying to figure out how that just happened. If Sonic was moving as fast as he seems to be, I figure he’d float over pits or pass through the spikes.

But at night, Sonic turns into a Were-Hog with stretchy arms…because that makes sense. The Were-Hog levels are less annoying. This doesn’t make it better, just less bad. These levels have a more beat’em up style. Sonic uses his stretchy arms (which, at first sight, I sighed and rolled my eyes) to defeat enemies across the level. There are various puzzles and bosses to fight as a Were-Hog, some of which can be pretty entertaining. If this was the entire aspect of the game, it would have been an entirely different experience.
To simplify all of this, the controls are difficult, the speed is too fast, and the levels are too inconsistent to hold your attention.



Sound

The sound and music of Sonic Unleashed is nothing short of an auditory raping. At one point, I wanted to rip my ear balls out and I don’t even have ear balls. The music is reminiscent of big-band swing music, which is awful for both running fast and using stretchy arms. It just doesn’t seem to fit with the game. I tried playing my own music through the dashboard, but even this wouldn’t cover up the obnoxious sound effects. After defeating an enemy, Sonic collects orbs or crystals. These give you the ability to use your Unleash power and upgrade Sonic at the end of the level. Ok, that’s fine. But why do you need to punish me with nails-on-a-chalkboard sound effects while collecting them? And you will collect them; hundreds of them per level. It’s possibly one of the worst sounds to be included into a video game.

The voice work is as campy as ever. I think we need to sign a petition to Sonic Team to have Tails finally get through puberty. The voice work is forgivable. There are many games in which the main characters sound like complete tools. I complained earlier that the townspeople didn’t have voices, but I think this is a blessing in disguise. I realize now that I don’t want to hear them anyway.

Also, is it just me or does Sonic as a Were-Hog sound like a 4-year old trying to sound like Clint Eastwood?




Lasting Appeal

I cannot fathom even putting this back into my Xbox 360 for any reason. I suppose if you are severely desperate for achievement points, you may go back again. Sure there are medals to collect that could warrant another run through, but the U.S. Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

Fun Factor

The initial excitement of playing a new Sonic game with the prospects of some classic gameplay wears off in the first 4 seconds. It’s not that it’s boring; it’s that it isn’t fun. It comes off as more frustrating and annoying than a game made for enjoyment should. For me, the fun stopped after the CG cut scene ended, and that was before I even got to play. The Were-Hog levels are more fun than the Sonic levels, however, that doesn't mean they are good.

The 411

If you are a fan of the original Sonic the Hedgehog games, leave your nostalgia as it is. This game will only taint the memories you have of running through the Emerald Hills saving helpless woodland animals. If you’re desperate for a current-gen Sonic game, download Sonic 2 on the Xbox Live Arcade if you can. Sonic needs to be remembered as he was, not a constant “re-invention” of the series. The best Sonic game is a 2-D side scroller with great level design. The worst Sonic game is Sonic Unleashed.

Graphics	6.0	Nothing incredible, but nothing terrible. Just as you'd expect Sonic to look and move.
Gameplay	2.0	Inconsistent and frustrating.
Sound	2.0	Turn off the voices, music, and sound effects and you'll thank me.
Lasting Appeal	2.0	The achievements will be the only reason you'd go back to this game. Even then, I don't see that happening.
Fun Factor	2.0	The Were-Hog levels were more exciting than the Sonic levels, but that's like saying the Dentist was more exciting that getting punched in your teeth.
Overall	2.8   [ Very Bad ]