Sonic Unleashed (PS3)

I’ll get this out of the way quickly, Sonic Unleashed is not a return to form for the series. Neither is it an awful game. It’s a decently made game, built on poor ideas, lingering annoyingly between good and bad in the ‘average’ department. Now, when you consider the pile of garbage that the last main Sonic game, 2006's "Sonic the Hedgehog" was, this is nothing but a good thing. It’s clear to see when hearing about the Hedgehog Engine, or how Sonic Team spent months designing Sonic stages that cover hundreds of virtual miles that Sonic Team haven’t lazed about this time. They definitely needed to prove after Sonic 2006 that they can create a well-produced, non-glitchy game and on that note, they succeeded. As well produced as Sonic Unleashed is, however, it can’t escape the fact that it’s concept, ideas and design are flawed. The game begins with an astoundingly beautiful opening cinematic in which Sonic and Dr. Robotnik are busy having their final showdown. As Sonic corners the Eggman and is about to bring him down, it turns out that the whole thing was a scam by the good doctor, who traps Sonic, corrupts the Chaos Emeralds, turns him into a werewolf and wakes up yet another Sonic Team-created Final Fantasy monster, Dark Gaia. It's as absurd as any other recent Sonic plot, but the difference here is that it never takes itself too seriously, using some childish slapstick and a more cartoon-like approach overall. While not exactly engaging, I enjoyed it...kinda. The new sidekick, Chip, is pretty likable even though his singular gimmick of perpetual hunger gets grating after a while.

Gameplay is roughly split in two halves, with Sonic the Hedgehog performing speed runs through daylight stages, and Sonic the Werehog tackling Gaia monsters in a platform brawler style at night. The Sonic levels are similar to most Sonic games. Sonic will smash through enemies, jump from rail to rail, home in on airborne enemies to cross chasms. It's all somewhat enjoyable once you get used to it. Smashing the square button to ram Sonic through a pile of enemies was a real rush, and being able to drift properly (when I was actually able to do it without dying) is a great accomplishment. However, irony rears its head as Sonic actually runs too damn fast sometimes and as a result, you’re not able to see obstacles and bottomless pits in time to react, unless of course, you know it’s there in the first place. It doesn't help that the levels suffer from poor design choices that hold the speed stages back (and get progressively worse as the game goes on).

The controls were not designed for intricate platforming, and the piss-poor design of some of the stages doesn't help matters. In fact, just after checkpoints one of the more broken levels (Spagonia's Rooftop Run Act II), you are given an extra life that appears every time you restart. The very fact that Sonic Team had to put that life in indicates that they knew how broken the stage was. Covering your own ass like that doesn't make up for the fact that the whole level is shattered in terms of design. Yet the game is able to make up for itself with such stages at Rooftop Run Act I, which is, to be honest, beyond breathtaking. There are moments in Sonic Unleashed where I felt absolutely magnificent, and as Sonic hits 300 in-game miles-per-hour, blasting through stages, leaping from spring to spring and running along walls, I found it hard to stay mad at the game. Until, of course, yet another broken section rears its ugly head.

As for the Werehog, he actually isn't too bad. Like Sonic's gameplay, The Werehog's game is also roughly split between enjoyment and hatred. At its core, the nighttime stages make for some simple but pleasant brawling, with Sonic able to pull off some great moves. However, the Prince of Persia like acrobatics simply don't work. The controls aren't responsive enough for these platforming sections, and I often found myself falling to your death thanks to sluggish movement, poor camera angles, or both. More often than not thought, the Werehog stages work pretty well as a brawler. The Werehog has access to some powerful and impressive moves, and also has an "Unleash" meter which, when filled, gives him a little extra edge in battle. It's certainly not as much fun as something like Devil May Cry, but it's fundamentally solid action.

I think I covered everything I wanted to. I had a lot of complaints but I was hoping not to sound like I completely hated the game. Odd mistakes and ignorant design choices have dashed this game's hopes of being anything more than a decent outing at best. By all means, I'd say play this game just to experience the high points, as they are worth experiencing. But this is one of the most Bipolar games I've played in recent memory.