Review of Sonic Unleashed(PS2, PS3, Xbox 360/BC, Wii)

Rolling around at the Speed of sound! (bet you guys were singing along in your heads)

 In this extra review, I revisit another Sonic game from the Xbox 360 era. Does this game deserve the negative press it's been getting? Let's find out!

First off, a big shout-out to Hayden for requesting this game.


                                              (best enjoyed with headphones on)

Sonic the Hedgehog has been an icon of the videogame industry since it's first outing in 1991. To date, it has shipped over 80 million units. After Sonic 2006, which was rushed out the door, due to it being released in time for Sonic's 15th Anniversary. The franchise was in somewhat of a downward sp.iral. In 2008, the renaissance began with this game.

The story takes place in an Earth-Like planet which comes under attack by Dr Eggman. ( over a decade later, Eggman still is alive at this point *DING*). In the Egg Carrier, Sonic gets infested by Dark Gaia which transforms him to a Were Hog. As a consequence, the planet breaks apart and the Chaos Emeralds loses their power. It is up to the Blue Blur to travel from temple to temple restoring the Chaos Emeralds, thus, restoring the planet, and Sonic himself!

The accessibility scores are as follows

Visibility 10
This game is accessible for colourblind players, as there are no colour-coded elements that can cause serious issues for colourblind players.

Audibility 10
This game's cutscenes are subtitled, and in-game dialogue is all text-based. So you should be able to understand what's going on in the story.

Mobility 8
There are no changeable control options in this game, but the game's controls are easily playable with a mobility impairment.

Gameplay 8

This game is an all-round better game than Forces, as Sonic has a finite number of lives. This game is pretty good. Especially in the daytime stages.

But it's the nighttime stages is where the criticisms lie. In Nighttime stages, the buttery smooth, fast-paced gameplay you'd expect in a Sonic game gets replaced by a slowed down, Streets of Rage-esque, button mash fest, which in my opinion, feels unnecessary.

 Now, don't get me wrong, I do like Streets of Rage, Streets of Rage 4 will be a day one purchase and a review will be a launch day review. But the nighttime stages does feel monotonous, mashing attack buttons every time an enemy appears.

The game's focus on exploration makes this game feel fresh. To access a level in this game, you need to collect a certain amount of Sun or Moon medals, depending on the stage.  These are hidden in the level, so like in the games of old, you need to thorough with the exploration of the levels In order to progress. This adds lifespan into the game, but it does get boring playing the same level over and over to find more medals hidden in the levels.


In summary,  when compared with 06, this game is two steps forward, one step back. The daytime stages are very good. But the nighttime stages feel unnecessary and cumbersome. This game is backwards compatible on Xbox One, so if you have an Xbox One, you can play this on Xbox One. If you plan to buy an Xbox Series X, you'll be able to play that game as well, right out of the bat!



    OVERALL SCORE 90%

See you guys in the next review

SpartanCommander1990 out!

Roll out, Spartan Company!