Sonic Unleashed

Sonic Unleashed (see GAMESPOT Review) is the next installment of the very popular and long lived Sonic the Hedgehog series. (Who would’ve thought a hedgehog would ever become so popular!) When compared to games like Super Mario Brothers – Sonic games were fast and action packed. If you played Sonic the Hedgehog then played Super Mario Brothers immediately after, Mario would seem even slower, I imagine.

That was back then, though, in the 1990s. Ever since Sonic made the leap from a side scroller to a 3D virtual environment, the game just hasn’t been the same. Maybe it has something to do with it being more awkward to move so fast in a 3D environment or that it takes more wrangling of the controls to get Sonic to go where you want, but whatever it is, the recent incarnations of Sonic the Hedgehog just do not match up to the Sonic side scroller games from the 90s.

Beyond the controls or other problems in this latest incarnation of the game, it’s been said that the gameplay just isn’t up to par. From enemies that stand around absentmindedly until you attack them to repititious levels, there seems to be more frustration than fun in Sonic Unleashed. There are two styles of gameplay in the latest Sonic game – platforming (where Sonic used to shine, running fast, fast, faster!) and combat (beating up monsters.) Unfortunately, both types of gameplay have more things wrong than right, which makes for a not too fun game, especially when you add all the problems with controlling Sonic in a 3D environment.

All that said, if you’re a Sonic fan, you’re going to want to have this in your collection. If you agree that the creators of Sonic need to get back to basics with the game, email or write them a letter. Or better yet, send them many letters begging them to take a little more time and talking with gamers about what used to make Sonic the Hedgehog such a great game.