The Warehog bits maybe arn't as bad as some reviewers have said but it's glaringly obvious that they pale in comparison to the brilliant Sonic bits. Why then do the Warehog bits and the even more tedius RPG bits make up more then half the game Sega? I must stress though that Sonic bits are a genuine return to form and for the the first time in years i'm hopefull for future Sonic games.… Expand

Its hard to imagine how this was a "good" Sonic game back in 2008. I loved Sonic Unleased on the PS2, I thought it was simple, and easy to navigate. This game... is broken. Its hard to ignore the fact that the controls are extremely touchy, depth perception is difficult to master, and an unfriendly camera makes the experience a mess. Compounding on that... framerate drops are present in cutscenes and night scenes. The Werehog is a love it or hate it relationship. I am honestly not a huge fan of it, but I can deal with it. It however is frustrating that you spend as little as 1 or 2 minutes on a day stage and spend as little as 6 to 7 minutes on a night. It is a jarring change in pace. If you see this game marked down... leave it now that it is 2011. Sonic Unleashed on the PS3 is Okay. It is not the most spectacular experience of Sonic you have available today.… Expand

When I first saw gameplay footage for this game (aka. the daytime stages), I rushed to get an HD console.

The daytime stages, although platforming-devoid and linear, are so thrilling and fun, complete with gorgeous environments, ear-climaxing music, and a ton of cinematic camera angles, switching from the 3D to 2.5D perspectives. It's everything that made Sonic Adventure famous back then, except on complete overdrive. Although the controls were a bit unresponsive, it was a thrilling part of the game that impressed nearly every person I showed.

Then, *sigh*, we get to the Werehog stages. Why is there a Werehog? Don't Know. However, while it's not as bad as people made it out to be, it certainly is a below-average combat experience. Think God of War, except a hell of a lot easier with an annoying combat music (that comes on EVERY TIME you encounter an enemy). It tries to be cool by being completely different from the daytime stages, but it just comes off as completely flow-breaking and unneccessary.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the game despite that. The hub worlds feel like they have been done right, and they're a hell of a lot better than the ones in Sonic 06 and Sonic Adventure. While people have been annoyed with the mandatory medal collecting, it honestly never bothered me until I got to the Adabat daytime stage, and even then, I only had to play a few of the optional stages to easily collect the medals I need (the majority of them being in the Werehog Stages).

There are a few other setbacks like the frame rate (although I heard that the Xbox 360 version had less framerate problems), but other than that, this is generally a good game. Not great, but simply good. My suggestion is to download the demo and try out the first daytime stage to get a good glimpse at the gold mine of speed and excitement, then look at the Werehog Stages. If you're still cautious, then I suggest renting it.
Overall Rating: 7.5/10… Expand

I am not a man of big words... so i could review this game just whit 4 and a half Words.......
THIS GAME IS F****ING AWESOME! But I cannot do that since my review has to be 150 characters long....
Yeah This game is one of the most fun loaded games i have ever played! The Storyline, The Graphics, The Details... everything well done! yeah what more can i say? i don't know...
well it would be cooler if there was more playable characters, for example blaze, silver etc. but besides that i still love the game! and it was worth trading it for CoD-MW2, Big Time!!! : P… Expand

Sonic Unleashed seemed to continue the downward trend of modern Sonic games.

OK, I will admit - it's a step forward from 06, but that doesn't automatically mean it's great. What people overlook so damn much is that: 1) The MAJORITY of the game is played as the Werehog, which is absolute CRAP. I can't believe people can be so blind and brand this as 'such a great game' and yet they themselves had a horrible time with this disgusting gameplay style. 2/3 of the game is played as this piece of crap, which automatically makes it a bad game. But no, SEGA had to make it even WORSE! Let's go deeper, shall we? 2) Surprisingly, the incredibly overrated daytime stages are bad as well. At first, you'll be in love with them, because of their insane speed, seemless gameplay and literally effortless fun. But once you decide to play them again... the fun is gone. Why? Because you're constrained in a tight hallway surrounded by invisible walls and doing nothing but plough through everything at breakneck speed with no thinking required. I really don't understand what the hell is so fun about this turdfest. It's WAY too easy and gives nothing for the player to do but RUN. Sounds fun, right? 3) Pace... ugh. Remember the good old days, where simply beating a stage would lead you onto another? Well, Sonic Unleashed throws all of that away and forces you to explore hubworlds, talk to random people, wait through loading screens to access ANOTHER hubworld and as soon as you reach the level gate, you're prompted by this annoying pest known as 'Chip' that you haven't collected enough sun or moon medals. This means that you have to replay the crap you've just played to collect more medals hidden throughout the stages in order to progress. It enhances replay value, but then again, why 'enhance' replay value on something that nobody would enjoy (well, at least the Werehog, anyway)? It's just a stupid gimmick to pad the game out.

OK, so, I don't like this game, which is pretty clear. But is there ANYTHING that this game did right? Hell yes.

1) The graphics are stunning, especially in HD. It makes the pain more bearable to see all these pretty landscapes that you wish you could explore but can't because the stupid game won't let you. 2) The music is fantastic. The daytime music is usually more fast and upbeat, featuring some catchy tunes packed with variety. These just give me a feel-good feeling. The nighttime music, on the other hand, is much slower, somewhat orchestral and relaxing. Personally, I prefer the daytime music, but there's no denying that both types of track are just great. 3) While I do NOT like the daytime stages, I can praise it for at least one thing: the technical achievement. Even though ploughing mindlessly through everything is NOT my kind of fun, you've got to admit that it's pretty darn stunning to see Sonic run that fast with incredible graphics to boot. There's not a single slowdown issue while doing any of this, either. There are a few framerate dips, however, espeically in the later stages.

So, all in all, I would recommend Sonic Unleashed ONLY to diehard Sonic fans who want to 'check it out'. Otherwise, (send me death threats for saying this, I don't care) Sonic Unleashed is a smelling piece of crap and it should never have been released in such a state.… Expand

This game is EXTREMELY overrated. The daytime stages are linear, claustrophobic, and overall boring. The game just holds your hand and just has you keep going, and going, and going, and then occasionally quickstep, drift, and jump to prevent getting hit. This game has you do SO little. In the daytime stages, that is. In the nighttime stages, while they ARE too slow, they actually have you DO something, and their is ACTUAL platforming. But despite these nighttime stages being the best part of this game, they just DON'T belong in a Sonic game. These nighttime stages have you constantly fighting hoards of enemies like a Kratos from God of War. So with the boring, linear, and overall uninspired level design that just holds your hand the whole way through, and the slow, out of place brawling sections, this game is officially my LEAST FAVORITE SONIC GAME. I know Sonic 06 sucked, but at least you DID something in that game, and it was designed LIKE a platformer, (Although they failed) Now that the gameplay is out of the way, let's move on with the story. Sonic crashes Eggman's party once again, and chases the big bad Doctor to his interplanetary space ship. After transforming into Super Sonic with the mystical gems known as the "Chaos Emeralds" and destroying Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik's robots, Eggman begs for forgiveness, leading Sonic into a trap. Eggman drains the power of the Chaos Emeralds, reverting Sonic back into his normal blue self. Eggman uses the Emeralds power for his laser which he uses to crack the world into seven sections. The Earth's core is exposed, and an ancient creature who was trapped in the Earth escapes. This creature is known as "Dark Gaia". Eggman's plan is to harness this creature's power, (Considering how WELL that plan worked before) and rule the world in order to build his Evil utopia, "Eggman land". (Creative name, I know) However, Sonic absorbs Gaia's energy and transforms into a werehog. Yes, a WEREHOG. As in, whenever he sees the moon, he turns into this strong, furry, huge beast with stretchy arms. After falling to the Earth and surviving, he finds out that a little flying fairy dog, thing, has been knocked out. Sonic wonders if he has knocked out this tiny creature, and proceeds to try to wake him up. Startled by Sonic's strange appearance, the strange creature runs away. Sonic tells the creature that there's nothing to worry about, and this creature decides to trust him. Soon, the Sun rises, and Sonic is reverted back to the blue form that we're all familiar with. Sonic says that he will help this creature, and after walking around town for anyone who might know him, Sonic decides to name this tiny thing "Chip". After exploring the town and it's incredibly linear and confined areas, Sonic and Chip find out that in order to restore the continents, they must place the Chaos Emeralds in shrines all around the world. After realizing this, the two find Tails the Fox, Sonic's long time best friend, who tags along for the ride, and travel all around the world searching for these shrines to stop Dr. Eggman's plot, defeat Dark Gaia, and restore the world to it's original state. I can see a LOT of effort and thought put into this story. Although I prefer Sonic storylines to be a bit more simple, a bit of seriousness can never hurt, and there are a few Comedy scenes that balance out the seriousness. Finally, the graphics and visuals. The visuals in this game are STUNNING. The humans aren't realistic, and don't TRY to be realistic, so they feel a bit less out of place with the Giant mutant animals. The stages are beautiful to look at, and the character models are very polished, and this game looks beautiful in HD. But despite the stunning visuals and amazing storyline, the gameplay is just too shallow and too out of place to make this game any fun. Sonic's levels shouldn't be confined, they should be open and free. You should be able to fully EXPLORE the world around you, and not be trapped on ONE path which will occasionally branch out into two or three pathways. The funny thing is, that the HUB WORLDS in this game allow more exploration then the actual levels themselves. In conclusion, this game, while the story had a lot of effort put into it, and the visuals are very pretty to look at, the gameplay, and the level design is just shallow and boring in the daytime stages, and out of place during the Nighttime stages. This is, in my opinion, the WORST Sonic game in terms of level design and gameplay. While the story is a grand step up from games like Sonic 2006, and Shadow The Hedgehog, this game just offers you nothing to do half the time, and the brawling sections in the Nighttime stages can get very repetitive after a while. This is the most overrated, over-hyped, and overly loved game in Sonic history. If you're looking for a Sonic game with some thought put into it, DON'T get Sonic Unleashed. I'd suggest getting Sonic Generations or Colors. I give this game a 2 out of 10.… Expand

I'm a long time Sonic fan, since Genesis, and I absolutely LOVE this game. It's alarming to see so many giving it so little credit, and highlighting their woes about certain aspects. Personally I had a fun time playing as Sonic the Werehog, but more than that, the speed levels are utterly incredible. Spectacularly crafted, graphically too. Couldn't be more pleased with the outcome!

This game is a pretty big disappointment. I actually thought this game was the next Sonic Adventure but I was wrong...for the most part. Don't get me wrong, the day stages are AMAZING! But getting the medals & playing as a "werehog" is what made me hate this game! Sega, please make a tue sonic game! Like *cough* Sonic Adventure 3 *cough*

I can't put my finger on why exactly this game has received such poor reviews. Personally, I thought this was the best Sonic game since 'Adventure' on the Dreamcast. I know people weren't crazy about the Werehog idea (and I admit I'm not exactly a fan of Sega's Sonic gimmicks, either), but it seems as though they wrote their negative opinions about it before they even tried it. Sure, it's a lot different from the 'regular' levels, but it's not bad. I actually found it to be a nice contrast. Anyhow, I think this is the best Sonic game this decade, and one of THE best Sonic games, PERIOD. Buy it if you love the Blue Blur.… Expand

When it plays like Sonic Rush it's great. But once the Sonic Adventure formula kicks in you wonder why Sonic Team just doesn't accept that 3-D Sonic games simply don't work.

The best 3D Sonic game since Sonic Adventure 2 on the Dreamcast, playing the day levels with Sonic is fast (FAST) and fun, frustrating at times but very regarding as well, great locations and amazing graphics... sadly the same can't be said about the clumsy and ugly night levels with the Werehog, bad concept and execution, totally unnesessary. I hope SEGA to listen to their fans and keep Sonic and only Sonic for the next game.… Expand

Sonic Unleashed is simply the best Sonic game released this generation. Reviewers need to stop comparing this game against previous Sonic games and review it on its own two legs.

This game is pretty great. If people could just get over the stupid "OMGZ WEREHOG!!??" mentality they'd realize that even the werehog portions of the game is a good, challenging platformer. The Daytime levels are perfect and amazing. So amazing day levels + rewarding and fun night levels = Good game.

Just as maniy other reviews state, 1/3 of this game is amazing(the sonic daytime levels) 1/3 of it is Decent (that being the were hog night lvls) and the other 3rd is completly slow and un needed (the town exploration areas)

The Sonic levels are fast furious and amazing, I can say that for the time being this is the fastest sonic game ever made up to this time. They make the game worth playing for any fan .

The were hog lvls are not horrible. They are a blend of combat (which is really dull and under developed) and platforming/ puzzle solving, almost remenescent of early crash bandicoot games. The problem is that while they are not horrible they just drag the game down from the amazing Sonic running stages and last well over 4 times as long (which is being generous, it could be more than that.) The only portion to fall flat are the towns, the controls are crappy and loose though that isn't really relevant as much as it is just a minor annoyance. What is terrible is that they are slow and filled with retarded diologue form deformed retarded and generic human characters that are totally out of place and really with the overall structure of the levels, this portion didn't need to be there in the first place, a menu to select stages would have been sufficient with a cut scene between stages here or there ala sonic adventure 2. Bottom line, chances are, if your a fan and still curious about the game at this point, then chances are, you will enjoy it enough to overlook its shortcomings.… Expand

After playing the utter disappointment which was Sonic 2006, which followed another horrible Sonic game - Sonic Heroes, I wasn't really optimistic when buying Sonic Unleashed. However I was pleasantly surprised. This game is surprisingly good: the graphics are stunning, Sonic levels are action packed and the gameplay itself looks impressive (my friends like to watch me play them because they look so cool). The Werehog levels are fun too, although sometimes they have frustrating moments - level checkpoints could have been placed more wisely. They have a "God of War"-like mechanic with several different combos and finishing moves. I haven't experienced any major bugs (I was playing the latest update though), although the framerate sometimes drops significantly. The game may also be too juvenile (as compared to e.g. Sonic Adventure 2) and Chip might be the most annoying Sonic character of all time (even more annoying then Amy) but overall the game is very good, probably the best Sonic game after Sonic Adventure 2. Sonic fans can add 1 point to this score.… Expand

Sonic Unleashed is a game where SEGA pulled out all the stops. They worked in an enormous amount of side challenges, including around 30 side missions, a few side levels and hundreds of collectibles. I am not exaggerating with that. There's around 300 things you can collect including a record player and TV which actually have a function. They allow you to listen to soundtracks from the game and view cutscenes.

The gameplay is split between Day and Night levels. Day is full of Sonic's speed gameplay ramped up to never-before-seen speeds. The speed is augmented by the Boost which makes Sonic go faster, but also makes him a speeding bullet, damaging enemies in the way. You gain boost energy by collecting rings and you can upgrade your boost bar and normal speed to go even faster.
The Night stages features the Werehog. This unfortunately controversial gameplay shouldn't be controversial (see below).The Werehog can be upgraded as well, but features more things to upgrade. You can upgrade the life bar, the "Unleash" bar which is similar to God of War III's Rage of Sparta. You can upgrade the Shield gauge; You have a shield/block ability, but it wears out with damage, so you can upgrade your shield gauge to make your block more durable. Now, you see, the reason the Werehog shouldn't be controversial is thanks to how much work was put into it. The Werehog can gain 30 new moves by upgrading. That's more than popular games like God of War and Darksiders. And there's a few additional moves you start out with. This takes a lot of dedication and hard work which sadly goes unappreciated. The platforming in the game is good as well. It's easy to some extent, but it's good and fun to relax with.

You also have excellent bosses which have cinematic quality and are very high-end. The levels have amazing graphics and there's a lot of variety between them. Each new level has many things to do. In fact, the main game will run you around 10 hours, but the entire game, to finish it all, could take 30 hours if you're lucky. Of course it would be less if you know what you have to do, but many levels and challenges are very difficult.

In closing, this is Sonic and Sonic Team's best game and the most underappreciated. It's a shame so much hard work got so much hatred for the sake of the masses' nostalgia. The Werehog didn't ruin the game, it added to it. New gameplay styles shouldn't be hated for trying to refresh the game and make it better. Games are about change and improvement. That's why sequels are made.… Expand

I really liked this Sonic game. Sonic is still very fast hedgehog we all know, but at night he becomes the werehog. Although he travels slower than normal Sonic, Sonic the werehog is actually pretty cool to play as if you want a combat-heavy experience, but it is more diffucult than traditional Sonic gameplay. The game is a mix of hedgehog and werehog levels.

A very good game, not to fond of the warehog; not to hate on it, but for me its just not sonic. Sonic is an icon for speed and agility, a game franchise that requires fast reflexes and pushes one to strive for record times. If speed were not such a trademark of the series I might be alright with a change up like this, I do love the daytime levels! I appreciate that they tried to add something new into the game, but Warehog should be an unlockable bonus mode or something, not part of the main storyline.… Collapse

I strongly believe that Sonic Unleashed does not deserve a 54/100 if the 'average' score on Metacritic these days for games is an 80. This game does indeed have its flaws, such as the nighttime levels being quite tedious, however the day time levels are so good that this game stayed enjoyable for me for quite a long time.

I've been playing Sonic Generations recently and I've noticed that the daytime levels in Unleashed are generally *much* better than Generation's, purely because they are much more fun and feel a lot more fast-paced and satisfying to beat.

I would certainly recommend this game to younger gamers. It's not perfect, but is certainly worth the low price.… Expand

Not the greatest. Not the worst. For the first time ever since his dreamcast days Sonic stands on his feet. The sonic levels are fantastic. The storyline sort of sucks and the wherehog levels are painful. Good improvement Sonic, but not good enough. Mediocre.

a game of two halves. One is an amazing high speed platformer, the other is a mediocre "god of war for kids" type of game melded together with mindnummingly boring hub worlds. Sonic unleashed has so many design problems outside of the daytime levels its insane here's a few examples the final level is horrible, collecting medals to unlock stages is tedious, extra missions are either badly designed or repetitive as all hell. I would say it would be worth it for the daytime levels alone but the game is designed in such a mess you would have to play dozens of werehog stages each around 10-20 minutes long in order to unlock a fantastic but short daytime level (lasting about 4-6 minutes) overall not worth it unless you're a huge sonic fan.… Expand