1. rbee

   8

   First my take, then my 10 year old son's take. We bought an Xbox 360 very, very recently and loaded up on a few essential dad-kid games before leaving the store, unconcerned about reviews or seeing gameplay in action. For me, a few red flags were raised during the opening sequence and later in the game was a bit bored by the nighttime werehog elements but so far have not been troubled by them beyond fact they are different. It is certainly true that I would have passed on the game had I see those elements in action at the gamestore or online, and especially if they were not plastered with the Sonic brand. My son, on the other hand, is still thrilled. In fact, he preferred the slower and what he called "Kingdom Hearty" gameplay as werehog Sonic, and felt more like he was progressing in a game with a character he could build. Speeding through levels hje gets flustered and disinterested, gains and loses coins at random, and has no reason to feel nostalgic. His first exposure to Sonic in game form, beyond images of older Sega titles in magazines, was actually Super Smash Bros (Wii). (His first exposure to Mario was Galaxy, as well.) I feel that this Sonic game is a fantastic balance. The developers have gotten their slaps on the wrist in sales and are making up for things bit by bit to classic gamers by releasing DLC, but I don't think they've put a foot wrong here. Another thing to consider about my review: we live in Japan, and the Japanese release of the game is in both Japanese and English. Perhaps so are other versions. This makes the game particularly exotic to one or both of us, as having the ability to log in under two gamertags with save games in two languages and spice up the experience. It's rather like watching a classic Disney film get remade in a foreign language -- interesting and bizarre and much easier to accept.… Expand

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     3 of 3 users said yes
2. litb007

   6

   Sonic Unleashed is half n' half. The daytime stages are very fast and completely redone to make a great Sonic game experience. Enemies only hurt you when they attack you, rail-switching locks onto available rails even when they curve off and the homing attack comes with a lock-on graphic to help players land attacks without flying off into the distance by mistake. Sonic's 'Sonic Boost' lends him the ability of high-speed when you want it and the ease and satisfaction of smashing enemies at the speed of sound, Quick-step helps greatly in avoiding incoming objects but I feel the Sonic-Drift is annoyingly too slippery in turns. Despite the controversy with the Night-time Werehog levels, it offers a new fighting experience that tends to run on for a long time and tedious when you don't level-grind stats well. The second werehog level is downright difficult for first-time players and my god, the checkpointing they did for the Werehog levels was unbearable! The town hubs used in the game work out pretty good! Obviously based something like Sonic 06' but less crappy, the NPC townspeople look and emote like characters you would see in Pixar movies, very emotional at times to fit the text dialogue. The voice-acting for Sonic Unleashed has said to be 'improved' though I honestly couldn't tell the difference, it's okay to me, though Chip has a voice that's very different I must say. One big drawback is the medals system they put in place, requiring to collect Sun medals to unlock Daytime stages and Moon medals for night-time stages, for those trying to get to the end quickly will end up getting stuck because they didn't slow down to find them hidden throughout the stage, and towards the end of the game, the requirement gets irritatingly high. It would've been more suitable to just make it optional for extra powers or unlockables instead. Despite the crap reviews this game gets, I feel it's only because the Werehog wasn't just a strange gimmick but was poorly executed, much like a downgraded version of 'God of War'. What Sonic Team did with the Town hubs and especially the daytime gameplay was truely spectacular, it could've toned down the Quick-time events bit but a whole game involving the daytime gameplay would be a true revival of the Sonic series. In short: Daytime levels rocks, please do more. Werehog levels are occasionally fun when you max stats but so very tedious. It has some gems of awesome Sonic gaming but just has a whole load of boring crap strewn around it.… Expand

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     1 of 1 users said yes
3. GodBleeder

   4

   If you are looking for a fun platformer, look somewhere else, anywhere else. As for getting your nostalgia fix, you're better off watching a worn out VHS of Power Rangers with the sound off.… Expand

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     2 of 4 users said yes

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