Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 50 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 110 Ratings

  • Summary: Having been broken apart by the evil Dr. Eggman, it's up to Sonic to put the pieces of the world back together again by retrieving the power of the chaos emeralds! In doing so, Sonic finds himself in a race against time and faced with an unusual situation that challenge hims in ways never before seen. Both day and night play different, yet important, roles in Sonic's newest quest... as the sun sets, a new adventure awakens. By completing a wide variety of action-packed stages, spanning the seven broken continents of the world, gamers unleash Sonic’s amazing abilities to save the world, and himself! In addition to running at high speeds, which is highlighted in four new speed mechanics, combat fighting now becomes possible. New combat, movement, functional abilities and platforming are introduced to offer increased depth and variety. Sonic Unleashed offers a re-defined experience for fans and newcomers of the franchise alike by combing picturesque & detailed scenery, an expansive world with multiple paths to choose from and dynamic viewpoints for an immersive and renewed gaming atmosphere. Along with seamless 3D to classic 2D camera transitions, the game is built on a powerful, new proprietary "Hedgehog Engine," which introduces impressive lighting abilities and new technology tailor made for Sonic’s new speed capabilities. [Sega] Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 50
  2. Negative: 10 out of 50
  1. Sonic Unleashed is a glorious return to true console form for Sonic.
  2. The game is stunning, the sound is great … some aspects worked so well but then a few glaring flaws popped up. A few more months in development and this game would have received my highest praise. But this is still a very solid game to share with those young gamers close to your heart.
  3. A slightly smaller game would have been preferable to one padded out with Werehog.
  4. 48
    It's too fiddly and obtuse to appeal to children, and too generic and tacky to cater towards the discerning taste of a gaming adult. The only possible reason you'd have for wanting this game is because it's cheap.

See all 50 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 35
  2. Negative: 5 out of 35
  1. 10
    A much better game than the reviews suggest. Loads of secrets and replay value, fantastic graphics and music. If you love sonic you'll love this. Hell, you may even learn to like the Werehog. Expand
  2. 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
  3. 7
    While the hub worlds are annoying, the medal collecting tedious, and the Werehog stages plain frustrating, the daytime stages are well worth the frustration. While it's nowhere near as good as the recently released Generations, for $10-$20, it's well worth it. Expand
  4. 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. Collapse

See all 35 User Reviews

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