Sonic Unleashed

by Sega Of America, Inc.

Product Features

• Sonic the Hedgehog returns in this platform for Nintendo Wii with 2D and 3D elements
• Different style of gameplay depending on whether it is day or night
• Nine beautiful levels based on real-life locations
• Sonic changes from a Hedgehog to a Werehog
• Classic elements including loops and corkscrews

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0017HIIWW
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches ; 2 pounds
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: November 18, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (156 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,091 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

  #40 in

  Video Games > Wii > Action

• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: Nintendo Wii

Amazon.com Product Description

Transformed and unleashed, Sonic races to save the world...and himself. Sonic the Hedgehog is on an adventure unlike any other. Powered by an all-new engine, Sonic Unleashed blends classic Sonic gameplay with a variety of in-game perspectives to create an entirely new and unique gaming experience. Merging blistering 2D action with meticulously rendered 3D environments, players race through intriguing locations across the globe as Sonic to save a chaotic world.

The other side of Sonic

Sonic and his alter ego Werehog. View larger.

Collect rings for Ring Energy. View larger.

Swing into action with Werehog. View larger.

A New Sonic a New Story
On a quest for world domination Sonic nemesis Dr. Eggman has managed to steal the chaos emeralds once again and this time drained them of their power. As a result not only has the Earth split into distinct sections, so has Sonic. Now he is two beings. During the day he is the usual speed-addicted hedgehog players will remember, but at night he becomes Sonic the Werehog. In either form it is the player's ultimate goal to find the missing chaos emeralds and return them to their proper place in order to set the world and Sonic himself, back the way he should be.

Gameplay: The Two Sides of Sonic
Like nearly all Sonic games, Sonic Unleashed is platform-based. The game combines the feel of 2D side-scrolling that fans of the Sonic series love, with sharp 3D graphics, and throws in an over the back third-person perspective reminiscent of FPS gameplay for good measure. And just as in earlier games, as players race through and explore the expansive world before them, using auto lock to hone in on enemies and areas of interest, they will rely on the power they gain from the rings they collect for a variety of things, but with the new twist of Sonic's split personality, things are a little bit different.

Playing during the day, as you race across the world in the form of Sonic, speed is the main goal. Collecting rings fills you with 'Ring Energy,' which not only provides extra life, but also the advantage of 'Sonic Boost.' With this players can travel at speeds that approximate 300 MPH. In addition, Sonic Unleashed introduces two new features: the 'Speed Drift' and the 'Quick Step'. Speed Drifting is similar to drifting in racing games, allowing players to slide around corners at high speeds, while Quick Stepping is a sidestepping maneuver allowing Sonic to avoid enemies with quick steps to either side. Both keep you moving as fast as possible, so you can get as many rings as possible, which again keeps you moving as fast as possible.

As night falls and Sonic assumes his Werehog form the rings provide a different kind of power more suited to his more menacing appearance. Much slower, but also much more powerful, the Werehog relies on the rings to provide life as well as strength to shield himself from the attacks of enemies. This is necessary because Werehog gameplay, although based in platforming, incorporates significant levels of combat as well. Red orbs gathered as enemies are defeated allow the player to unlock additional combo moves that will supplement the hack and slash and arm stretching abilities that the Werehog always possesses. Whether Hedgehog or Werehog, no matter which form players prefer they will get ample opportunity to explore the two sides of Sonic since each area in the game contains both night and day segments where each form must be played.

Key Game Features:

• Sonic’s World Transformed - 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.
• Tight Navigation and Speed Control - 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.
• Powerful New Engine and Cinematic Graphics - With its new modified game engine, Sonic Unleashed enhances the classic 2D perspective with mind-blowing 3D stages. Other technology capabilities include global illumination, grid computing, continuous data streaming and an intricate path finding system.
• Enhanced and Expanded Environments - 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.

Whether it's the updated graphics that retain the side-scrolling feel of classic games in the Sonic franchise, an expansive world to race through and explore or the multiple and new ways to play, Sonic Unleashed offers something for players of any age or level of ability.

Product Description

Take an unforgettable journey around the world in Sonic Unleashed! With seamless 3D to classic 2D perspectives, new speed capabilities, and an all new proprietary engine, as well as new combat, movement, functional abilities and platforming, Sonic is UNLEASHED like never before!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hedgehog up, Werehog down., November 23, 2008

By	Anand Jagota "gamer kid" (bethlehem, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Sonic Unleashed (Video Game)

I was looking forward to this game for a while, and it met my expectations. The hedgehog levels are awesome, they're high speed, and plain awesome, and they're genuine Sonic. Five stars for the hedgehog. However, the place where this game falls is the Werehog. For me, the werehog was just to slow. And like other people said, I noticed there's a lot more werehog than hedgehog. I think Sega should make the werehog action just a little bit faster, so it's actually Sonic. They should also balance the stages a little. If I got a little more hedgehog, this would have been five stars. However, The game still deserves a Bravo, Bravo. I say you buy it.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sonic's back!, November 24, 2008

By	M. Girardin (NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Sonic Unleashed (Video Game)

I have to start off by saying Sonic unleashed is what many have been waiting for in a Sonic game, platforming mixed with speed and cool new things with less focus on side characters like Shadow and whatnot. I was both excited and dreading the release since the last few 3D games have been disappointing with gameplay and the number of glitches I encountered (specifically the Next Gen Sonic the Hedgehog game and Shadow the Hedgehog).

The game is fast fun and definitely polished, there's no glitches or agonizing load times seen in the next gen Sonic the Hedgehog, they took out the serious story with realistic looking characters and replaced the story with one of more fantasy with more fitting cartoonish characters. The levels go flawlessly from the behind the back running to 2D style running and they've added a few moves like drifting, boosting and quick dashing and thankfully removed the repetitive talking in the levels. The werehog was a big thing I feared from the start but it turns out it's like a less violant God of War (Literally down to the way he attacks, opens doors and finishes off enemies) and it still manages to be fun, though not as fast but it's okay and I'll say why later. You have to level Sonic and the Werehog up separately, though not to the extent of Sonic and the Secret Rings where you're running horribly slow, you go from fast to mach ten. Sonics day levels are pure speed and fun much like Sonic Adventure just MUCH faster when they have to be and more polished so to speech, the werehogs levels are slower but also more focused on combat and some light puzzles, where leveling with Sonic would get you more speed and boost, the werehog gets more attack moves, power and health, and there's also the Tornado levels where you fly with Tails to take down Robotniks (Eggmans) army which is more or less press a certain button to blow up a certain enemy..

The 360/PS3 versions are almost completely different from the Wii/PS2 in every way, the levels are the same theme but are completely different in design, there is no leveling for Sonic and it's done automatically for the werehog. The werehog is more of a button masher than it is the 360/PS3 version where they have a long move list. There's more of an even spread between Sonics and the Werehogs levels, while the Wii/PS2 seems to focus more on the werehog. There is no towns to explore in the Wii/PS2 version, which is more of a picture/text adventure rather than running around, which is fine, but it's fun to see Segas new art style with the human characters that actually fit in this time around.The 360/PS3 version seems to be larger in scale to the Wii/PS2 versions but that's not to say the Wii version isn't good, it's just not as large as the 360/PS3.

I'm so happy with this game, even if you're not a big fan of the werehog levels, there's enough fun in Sonics levels to keep you coming back for more. They don't try to over complicate a story with characters wierd events and certainly no Final Fantasy looking characters. It focuses on Sonic and his Werehog form and has a very fantasy/silly story, but it's very fitting for Sonic I must say. The game is the best Sonic game I've played in along time, and though I expected it to be not great, it turned out to be my favorite 3D Sonic game.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unleash Sonic, but leash the Werehog., November 23, 2008

By	Daniel Warren (Sacramento California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Sonic Unleashed (Video Game)

I was really - really hoping this game would be awesome. Let's face it, there hasn't been an awesome Sonic the Hedgehog game in almost two decades. Ultimately, this game turned out to be only mostly awesome; but that's good enough for me, and certainly more than we've gotten in years.

The daytime levels are just as incredible - if not more incredible - than anything I ever played in the original Sonic games. These are the reason I bought the game, and none of them disappoint. You've got all the classic Sonic stage elements here; bumpers, loop-dee-loops, and rails. This part of the game feels like a strange combination of Super Mario Galaxy and Excite Truck, and for me, that's a good combination!

During the day, the world fly's by and looks great doing it. The game moves only at 30 frames per second, but it is a very colorful, vibrant, and beautiful 30 frames per second. The speed is also complimented by excellent level designs. With the rare exception of a few poorly placed obstacles here and there, there is never a time where you feel that dying is just part of the game (as it occasionally did in Sonic and the Secret Rings).

They haven't gotten the controls perfect yet. There were a few times I inadvertently flung Sonic over a cliff through no fault of my own (most especially in the Adabat stage), but the control this time is a solid 90% as opposed to the 60% in Secret Rings and the flat out 0% in 2006's Sonic the Hedgehog disaster. For the most part, Sonic Unleashed is very playable.

If the daytime racing stages were the whole game, this would have been a five star review. Unfortunately Sonic Unleashed is actually two games. One is during the day when Sonic races around like mad; the other is at night where Sonic lumbers around as the Werehog.

Sonic the Werehog is essentially a platforming tank, able to bash enemies, climb up polls, and...bash enemies some more; its not that the Werehog is necessarily bad, just pointless and overused. The nighttime stages can be fun, but unlike the daytime stages I can't imagine ever playing them more than once, and what's worse is that you get three Werehog stages for every one hedgehog stage. The game simply never strikes a balance; the Werehog to Hedgehog ratio should at least be 50/50. Instead, the game is roughly 70% Werehog, 30% Hedgehog, and personally, I would have easily settled for just the 30%

Again, its not that the Werehog or the nighttime stages are bad - they're not - the problem is that no one is playing this game to do anything but speed through the courses. The Werehog levels simply don't amount to anything more than a decent platformer, and if it's platforming you're looking for, I say play Super Mario Galaxy, not this.

Still, everything that was great about Sonic the Hedgehog is great again here. This is ultimately what I like to call a good game plus. It's a good game, plus a bunch of other things that not only did we not particularly want, but that we never even asked for.

Don't get me wrong, Sonic Unleashed is a great game. But if you play, play for the racing stages, and leave the Werehog on the leash.

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