Sonic is rightly considered one of the all time classic video game characters, and arguably the most legendary of them all, but since the demise of the Sega Dreamcast all those years ago he has never quite been the same. Does Sonic Unleashed put the spiky guy back on track?

The answer to that depends on you as an individual gamer, as Sonic Unleashed throws up some stuff that most gamers will love but also has a lot of flaws and annoying things about it to put a lot of gamers off - and potentially damage Sonic’s ever more fading reputation even further.

With the ability of today’s consoles there should be no excuse for such a classic character to appear in a video game title that is anything less than phenomenal, but all too often these iconic figures like Sonic, Mario and even slightly lesser iconic stars such as Lara Croft are being rushed into a game which does not truly deserve their presence within it.

One good thing about Sonic Unleashed is that the gameplay heads back to the series’ roots of racing across various landscapes at intense speed whilst collecting as many golden rings as you possibly can - why break a winning formula? Why indeed. It is a shame, but Sonic Unleashed chooses to stray too far from this simple concept at times with frustrating results.

Though when it does stray, it is to content that you will not have come across before in a Sonic title which can be argued as a good thing, the implementation of the new experiences within Sonic Unleashed looks and feels unfinished. You will encounter various enemies as you go about your standard coin collecting business, enemies you must literally fight your way through - these come during the Werehog levels of the game, in which Sonic mutates into what can only be described as half Hedgehog, half Werewolf. Who thought that up I do not know, but it pongs of a brainstorming session about the next game to feature Mario.

During the game you will play roughly the same amount of standard sprint-themed Hedgehog levels as you will the twisted Werehog levels but of course you make progress through the Werehog levels far slower than the sprints, and of course it means you will spend most of your time playing in night settings during your time playing Sonic Unleashed. This is where the game goes wrong in my opinion, as it is the Werehog levels which let the entire package down.

Yes it is different, but once again I go back to asking why break a winning formula? There was never any need to turn a legendary video game character into a cross-breed with a wolf and it does Sonic only damage. If Sonic Unleashed featured far more of the brilliantly playable sprint races, playing as a Hedgehog as Sonic is meant to be played, then the awful Werehog aspect of this game may have been overlooked but unfortunately that is not the case and the Werehog side of the game brings what little good there is about it crashing down.

One thing you can not fault in Sonic Unleashed are the visuals - they, unlike other parts of the game, certainly were not rushed. Everything from the surroundings you play within to the detail on Sonic himself is impeccable, and the frame rates impressively keep up with the speedy action throughout the game which is something other games with fast action involved struggle with, such as Wipeout HD.

If you are a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog, which millions of gamers across the globe are, I am afraid to say you would be best served steering clear of Sonic Unleashed, as there is a good chance it will leave you feeling let down by the little blue guy - when it is really not his fault! Pull your finger out next time, Sonic Team!

• Social Bookmarking
  
  • Subscribe
  • Blinklist
  • Bloglines
  • Blogmarks
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Furl
  • Ma.gnolia
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati