Guess what? Dr Robotnik hasn’t actually stolen the Chaos Emeralds this time! But wait, he still needs them. Damn it. Robotnik has lured Sonic along with the Emeralds onto his beacon which he then uses to channel a beam of energy into Sonic’s planet (still no idea whether it’s supposed to be Mobius or Earth) awakening Dark Gaia; the apocalyptic monstrosity that Robotnik plans to harness in order to create Eggman Land. This action also split’s the planet into pieces; It’s your typical, lighthearted nonsense. Thankfully, Mike Pollock’s portrayal of Robotnik is brilliant entertainment and he certainly brings his character out as a crazy, evil genius.

Sonic’s body is altered thanks to the Doctor’s experiment and he turns into a “Werehog”. More about this pointless addition later. He is then dropped to the planet below from Robotnik’s beacon and accidentally lands on a little, flying dog-thing which loses its’ memory. Sonic names him Chip and decides to help him get his memory back whilst restoring the planet back to its’ natural form and seal Dark Gaia within. He doesn’t make things easy for himself, does he?

In order to do this, Sonic traverses the globe to find the Gaia Temples where the Emeralds must be placed in order for their power to be restored and the continent to move back into place. Each continent contains a variety of day and night action stages for Sonic to proceed through. This forms the main bulk of the game with the odd boss battle thrown in for good measure.

Day stages are the big draw of Sonic Unleashed. Dimps has taken the premise from the PS3 and 360 versions of Unleashed and refined it to make a more stable gameplay experience that is both fun and exhilarating. The big difference in how the day stages play in regards to their next-generation counterparts is the use of the boost gauge. It is filled the same way (by collecting rings) but it cant be exploited in the same way. Pressing the boost button uses a small section of the gauge allowing a temporary boost which slows down the ridiculous pace of the 360/PS3 versions and gives the boost gauge a more strategic use. Doing this, Dimps have been able to develop more interesting stages which you can appreciate more because you’re not hurtling past the scenery at 300 miles per hour.

This idea of controlling the game’s pace has been applied to everything making the Wii/PS2 versions of Unleashed the superior ones. Village stages have been removed completely and been replaced by a Village menu where you simply select the people you want to speak to or go straight to the Gaia gate to select the next stage. Gone are all the silly side-quests and time-wasting exorcism missions. All the focus has been placed on the gameplay with the Village screens acting as a chance to take a breather before you attack the next stage.

But let us not forget the night stages as these play out with the Werehog character. Okay, so the Werehog isn’t a separate character and is technically still Sonic so the developers have avoided any argument that the Sonic series has too many sidekick characters. But, the way he plays certainly destroys everything you know and love about Sonic making the whole concept a pointless endeavour.

Night stages play like your typical beat-em-up. Progress slowly through different sections of the stage, destroying all manner of beasties to get to the next bit. There’s some plat forming and key-finding to be done for good measure. These stages would be an awful lot easier to handle if it wasn’t for the fact that you have to destroy every enemy in each section in order to go to the next. This adds unnecessary time to the stages making them overpower the day stages making for a much more mundane, run-of-the-mill gaming experience. There also appears to be a lot more night stages than day stages which (considering this is a Sonic game) is not good.

In traditional SEGA fashion, the sound and music department is absolutely fantastic. The Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra give this game a feel of its’ own and the themes for each stage make the gameplay all the more better. The music never feels like it’s trying to fit into a particular category either with stages showing rock, pop and Eastern influences. It’s just a fantastic soundtrack that makes a pleasant change from the usual angst-driven rock we’ve come to expect from a Sonic game. If you appreciate this type of gameplay, consider trying out and สัมผัสประสบการณ์การเดิมพันออนไลน์ที่ดีที่สุดกับ UFABET.

So what version do you go for; Wii/PS2 of PS3/360? It’s incredibly easy for me to recommend to the Wii and PS2 versions of Unleashed over the others. Gone is all the tedious side missions that detracted so much from the game’s main story and premise. I’m so happy that Dimps have put the effort to focus on day stages and refining their gameplay to the extent that it shines brighter than the night stages. If you can overlook the night stages and the Werehog as a bit of a silly accident than you’ll find a Sonic game that is certainly on the right path back to platform glory.


7/10 

Written by Sonic Yoda on 30/05/09