Customer Reviews

Sonic Unleashed

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the version no one ever seems to talk about...the lowly PS2 port of Sonic Unleashed.

And, having never played the other versions, I must say I'm pretty impressed. Perhaps my lack of experience with the PS3 and Xbox versions allows me a truly unbiased perspective...allowing me to evaluate the PS2 on it's own merit. And, it has a lot of merit.

The daytime speed levels are really fun. Never before has a sonic game truly captured the feeling of BEING Sonic the hedgehog. Phases melt seamlessly into each other as first person perspective shifts to side view to front view and back. These levels have mastered the concept of "flow" that the original Genesis Sonic games made famous.

What many people don't seem to realize is that the controversial night levels (featuring Sonic the Werehog) are just as reminiscent of the old Genesis games as the daytime levels. NONE of the original 16-bit Sonic games was 100% speed. In fact, a large fraction of the average Sonic zone was PLATFORMING. And, that is precisely what the werehog levels offer. Platforming, puzzles, and some Streets of Rage style beat 'em up action. If games like God of War and Heavenly Sword can receive widespread acclaim, I don't see why the werehog levels should offend anyone...because they're the same thing.

Plus, the werehog levels provide balance for the frenetic pace of the speed levels. Just as the original 16-bit Sonic games were balanced between speed and platforming, Sonic Unleashed is balanced between daytime levels and night levels. This is nothing new people. I don't see why the official game reviews are so bothered by a concept introduced by Sonic the Hedghog 1: "balance".

The levels (both day time and night time) are well designed and engaging. Victory is very satisfying. Werehog levels, while slower than the speed levels, are not really THAT slow (he can run by double tapping a direction). The semi-frequent fights may become repetitive to some, but honestly, the Final Fight fan in me enjoyed them.

And, besides, if you absolutely HATE the werehog levels, you only have to play them once. After encountering a stage, you are free to choose it again from the menu. So, feel free to replay those unlocked daytime stages exclusively. Even alone they're worth the price of admission.

Bottom line: The game is fun. Colorful and energetic, while paced between high speed excitement and methodical exploration.

An impressive PS2 game. And, hopefully (if enough people give the game a try) this will be the first step towards Sonic's long overdue rebirth.

This game is awesome and has become one of my most favorite Sonic titles. People have complained about the graphics, but they look fantastic! It's not fair to compare it to the ps3 or 360 because the ps2 can't handle it, so for what it got it's excellent. Besides, it's not graphics that make a game fun. Another complaint people have made is that there are too many werehog levels. I am having lots of fun playing as the werehog, I love platformers. When you play as regular Sonic, the levels are well crafted and loads of fun, and as the Werehog I have fun bashing enemies and exploring. The thing I love the most so far is the story. It's crazy! And Chip is one of the cutest things I've ever seen, I hope they make a plushie for him! Dr. Eggman is back to his evil self, and also has a lot of funny moments. I've seen Tails and Amy so far, but where is my favorite, Knuckles!? He takes forever to show up it seems. Also, I like how it's not about 'finding' the chaos emeralds, but about 'restoring' them. Controls are the thing I was worried about the most (if you have experience with games like Shadow the Hedgehog -_-; ), but they work fine, just like they should. The only thing I've noticed is that there aren't as many bosses as in previous games, but maybe I haven't gotten all that far. Continent levels are also replayed quite a bit, but they vary each time, and the missions can be chanllenging. Highly recommended if you like your action with a bit of humor on the side.

This is the newest Sonic game from Sega and in my opinion is the best Sonic game since the hedgehog's Dreamcast days (Sonic Adventure 1 and 2). The daylight levels are great, tons of fun to play, the graphics throughout the game are gorgeous, and the game maintains it's classic cartoon-ish feel including some fun humor throughout. This game has received some unfair reviews from critics, they say the werehog stages are dull, and slow. While they are slow, I do not find them boring at all. They are very combat oriented, similar to hack and slash style games. This is a new concept for Sonic the Hedgehog, and I think it's nice to do something a little different from time to time. Is this the best Sonic game of all? No, but if you have always enjoyed Sonic games, then this one will be no exception.

When I first encountered "Sonic Unleashed", it was in a videogame store in a local mall. I saw the box, then said to myself, "Nah." Well, a few months later, I found a playthrough of the game on YouTube and watched it all the way through...and it looked fun as heck!! So, one day at the mall, my sister picked it up for me and I started playing. Suffice to say, I think this game is about as fun to play as it is to watch in action.

The daytime levels are super fast and super fun, switching seamlessly between 2D and 3D gameplay. Though the controls are a little challenging to get used to at first for someone who normally doesn't play action games, with practice (and the help of the tutorial levels) they quickly become second nature. I especially enjoy moves like the Homing Attack and Quick Step (which, along with the Sonic Drift and the Sonic Boost, is the newest addition to Sonic's arsenal of high-speed abilities). I certainly think that these new abilities add a new level of awesomeness to the gameplay and should reappear in many, many new Sonic titles to come. Many people have complained in the past that 3D Sonic games were too slow and laiden with too many slowdowns, but I think that as far as speed goes, "Unleashed" has finally perfected it.

Now, on to the contraversial Werehog stages. I actually don't mind the fact that the pace of the game slows down for the night time levels. Really. A lot of people have said that it kills the game, but that's not so. OK, so you're not effortlessly zipping through the levels anymore, but these levels are designed more with platforming and puzzle solving in mind. Yes, it means you have to take time out to think and explore sometimes, but that's not necessarily a bad thing unless you have the problem solving skills and patience of a 3-year-old. I also love the combat element that these levels have. It reminds me very much of old Genesis "Beat-'em-up" titles like "Streets of Rage" and "Golden Axe". The stretchy arms are odd...but quite useful. Also, I like werewolves anyhow, so that's also a big draw for me. The only problem I have with the werehog levels is that the controls for grabbing and holding are a little clunky to get used to (you have to hold down L1 to grab as well as hold on to something which, while realistic, isn't very intuitive) and the camera can't be manually adjusted, which can lead to a few frustrating jumps when it's positioned directly behind Sonic since it makes it harder to guage just how far a gap is. Those two snags aside, the werehog levels are an interesting addition.

On to the superficial bits of the game, graphics, sound, and packaging. Now, to me these things aren't ultra important, but in a review they're still worth going over. "Sonic Unleashed" has very nice visuals. The colors are vivid and never dreary or dull like many games on the market today which try (probably too darn hard in my oppinion) to appeal to older gamers (with more disposable income). Unlike the previous "Sonic '06", which juxtaposed the more cartoony visual design of Sonic and his allies with very realistic human characters (a juxtaposition which was intended to show off the power of the PS3 and 360, but ultimately just created a strange stylistic clash), "Unleashed" has a much more uniform visual style to it with both humans and anthromorphic animal characters being rendered in the same cartoony style. Some people complain about it, I think it looks much, much better than a cartoony Sonic standing right beside a realistic Elise as it gives the game a sense of stylistic unity (ie., Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Chip don't look out of place within the environment).

As far as sound goes, the music is very, very good and so are the sound effects. Smacking into a robot with your homing attack or boost yeilds a satisfying metallic thud. The music for all of the stages is well written and fits each setting nicely...and is actually worth listening to for your own pleasure to boot! The game's theme song, "Endless Possibilities", is also quite enjoyable and pretty catchy too...and by catchy I mean, it gets stuck in your head and you find yourself randomly humming it at the oddest times. The voice acting is actually not half bad either. Not Oscar calibur, but not so bad you want to just mute your TV when the cut scenes start up either.

The box are is pretty OK. You've seen it. Sonic in a dynamic running pose, one half normal and the other werehog. The back of the box is even better. But, I was disappointed when I saw that the manual was printed in black and white. Yes, not all titles have manuals in color, even in this day and age, but...it would have been nice.

Some people have complained also about this game being skewed more toward younger players. I think it's a dumb complaint. In this day and age, where a large percentage of games that come out are geared toward players 17 and older, it's refreshing to see a game that's made with younger kids in mind. Is it so wrong to make a game that's not made with 20 and 30-something grown men in mind? No. In fact, I think there should be more titles that are appropriate for younger kids and accessable to more casual gamers. Not everyone wants heavy atmospheres, bloody murder, and photo-realistic graphics every time they pick up a controller.

So, over all, "Sonic Unleashed" for the PS2 is a pretty good game. Better than some of the major reviews have given it credit for. It's by no means perfect, but I think that Sega and Sonic Team have managed to perfect the way that a Sonic game should work with "Unleashed's" day levels and the night levels are something new and different (that won't be seen again due to the "Unleashed" story line obviously being written as a one-shot adventure). The camera sometimes works against you in the werehog levels and the controls for the werehog grab ability are kind of tricky to get used to, but those are the only two true flaws I see in this game. Overall, I give it 8/10. Not perfect, but the flaws are forgiveable and the game is fun as all get out.

I bought this as a gift for my 10 year old nephew. He's enjoyed it a lot and is a good way to spend days when the weather's not suitable for outdoor stuff. Game seems fairly family friendly without the violence/gore of some other games.

The teens LOVE this game, and it's not an easy one either, lots of challenges!! Great game!!!

I gave this game to my son for Christmas and he loves it! Mint condition and fast shipping. Thanx!

A good game, some stages are hard to figure out. - quoted by an 8 year old.

Like the title says, Sonic is finally back! I don't care what any other negative reviewer out there might say, but this game is excellent! When I play this game, I feel like I'm playing one of the great Sonic's from the Genesis alll over again.

The story is aight in it to. The way the story pans out and the cut-scenes look, things aren't to far off from one of those 3D animated Disney flicks.

The game starts out a little slow. For some reason, they have you do like 10 missions where you learn the easily understood basics. Which means you'll have to sit through all these loading screens to learn each separate starter move when you could learn them all in one single mission.

Loading is...okay. Each loading screen is about 5-10 seconds long and if you choose to restart from the pause menu during a mission, everything has to be re-loaded. This is different from some games where restarting is instant and without additional loading. So yea, if want to keep restarting that stage to get that 3rd moon/sun medal, be prepared to wait. You also have to wait about 2-3 seconds to load navigation menus once you've really gotten into the game. But outside of all that, it's nothing that won't drive you to insane.

The city parts seem a little meaningless. I don't know, but these city parts where you talk to people seemed "there" to me. All you do is scroll through these bubbles with the words "NEW" over them and read what people say until one says some crap like, "Oh! That place you need to go is there!" and then after that's been said, the day/night stage's are unlocked. It's still good to do the city parts since you can unlock extra songs/art work/movies from talking to the people and it's also one of the main ways you get the tablets.


The sense of speed is great. I've never been a big stickler about mega fast speed, but I like how it feels very engaging to blast off into turbo through the loops and chain your attacks together without a pause in between.

The Wherehog parts seem to be in heavier supply, but they're okay. I'm not far in the game, but I've only done maybe 3 daytime stages and like 10 nighttime ones. Though not necessarily slow, the where stages can be medium paced next to the daytime ones.

So far, I don't feel to much of a challenge from these Where stages either. I've unlocked a few abilities and skill level ups, but nothing seems to hard. I never get the feeling that I can't get away with running into a group of enemies and in turn receive no damage. The fighting is semi-deep, but I never feel engaged enough fighting the enemies. Perhaps since they come off so small and cuddly....

Daytime gameplay is solid though. Like I said before, the daytime stages really take me back to the old school Sonics. It's a blast to collect the line of rings, shoot off in turbo, smack some enemies, and just keep on going. It's a little difficult to get around corners smoothly sometimes with both sidestepping and drifting, but I'm sure that takes practice.

AH! I almost forgot....the music! I love the direction of music in this game. The music's more orchestrated and lounge-esque than that other (imo) bad rock they were trying to work into the series from SA1 on. I like what they've done with it and I hope they begin to use this sound for the future Sonics.

But chea, great game. Way more fun and less overly forgiving than "Sonic Heroes" and a great distraction. If you've given up hope in Sonic, lift your head up and buy this!!

I am very pleased with the quickness of receiving this product. My son loves everything to do with Sonic the Hedgehog and is very excited with this product as I am too.