Sonic Unleashed Review: Unleashing The Beast

I’m certain I wasn’t the only gamer who got their hopes up a few months ago after seeing the first batch of screenshots for Sega’s new Sonic title, “Sonic Unleashed.” For some reason it seemed like there was some extra glimmer of hope this time around, and that we wouldn’t be let down by yet another Sonic game. From the screens there appeared to be some semblance of a return to 2D, and a step away from everything that has caused the series to deteriorate over the last few years. However, after actually sitting down and playing “Unleashed” I can say that anyone that got their hopes up might end up being letdown, yet again. HOWEVER, “Unleashed” isn’t a bad game, it’s just not the game that we were hoping for.

3D is a tough dimensional proposition for any game that established itself as a 2D classic. This goes for all franchises that have been around for the last 25 years, and not just our blue hedgehog friend. Sure, some 2D games have made the jump to 3D successfully, and have continued on in that form for multiple titles, but no matter how well those games have done, there’s still something to be said for their original releases. Those games introduced us to a 2D hedgehog, plumber, and elf (seriously, what the hell is Link?) to an entire generation, and that’s how we fell in love with them. At the same time, I’ve always felt that it’s unfair to hold Sonic to the same standards as we have placed on Nintendo’s titles. Sonic is, was, and will always be different. His games have always been faster, less predictable, and less linear than any Mario title. His 3D games have always tried to reflect those characteristics, and, unfortunately, they’ve never really succeeded, mostly because those mechanics are extremely hard to express in a 3D game. Somehow, despite everything it has working against it, “Sonic Unleashed” manages to be fun, but Team Sonic manages to spread out the fun so much that it’s really hard to enjoy the overall product. [Continue Reading]