Unfortunately, a lot of Sonic games are hit or miss and SEGA promised that Sonic Unleashed would emphasize speed, action and the needs of the retro gamer. Did it achieve its goal?

Sonic Unleashed for the Sony PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 2; Publisher: SEGA; Developer: Sonic Team; Release Date: November 20, 2008; ESRB Rating: E10+; Genre: action / adventure; Players: 1; Support: N/A; Online: N/A

Sonic Boom
Gamers look fondly on the blindingly fast, blue and prickly rodent that filled their childhoods with super fast action and scrupulous ring collecting. That's because Sonic the Hedgehog is awesome! Unfortunately, a lot of Sonic games are hit or miss and so many of them haven't really given the Sonic name the awesomeness that it deserves. He's been treated very well on the Sega Genesis, Sega Dreamcast, the GameBoy Advance and the Nintendo DS, but not so well on the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360. SEGA promised to release a new Sonic game with more emphasis on speed, action and the needs of the retro gamer in mind, so Sonic Unleashed is what we got.

Where Does Sonic Get His Shoes?
Unleashed carries the same classic story of any Sonic game: Dr. Robotnik has built a gigantic robot army to take over the world and Sonic tears through them to stop Robotnik. This time Ol' Eggman has caused a problem so catastrophic that it is tearing the planet apart and has turned Sonic into a werehog. Sonic then befriends a flying, little, mouse, poodle type creature that has lost his memory so Sonic gives him the name Chip. Later in the game familiar faces like Sonics old fox buddy Tails show up to help Sonic through his adventure as well as some new faces, animals and humans alike. So basically, it's up to Sonic to put the world back together.

SEGA is really close to making that one epic Sonic game that we have all been waiting for and Sonic Unleashed gives you just enough to whet your appetite. © SEGA.

The gameplay in Sonic Unleashed starts you off with some awesome speed. New maneuvers have been added like quick strafing; quick strafing is done with the left and right shoulder buttons and makes dodging hazardous obstacles at high speeds much more intuitive. Attacking enemies with the air dash technique has made a return and is not only used for attacking enemies but also for reaching hidden areas and crossing large chasms. Sonic now also has the ability to wall jump to get through tight areas; the wall jump kind of slows things down but it feels like a really solid trick. In addition to burning through speed filled levels while Sonic is in his normal form, Sonic can also play through action filled levels while in his were-hog form. While in this much darker form Sonic can now punch, kick, claw and slam his way through enemies. The only thing that doesn't make sense is why can Sonic's arms stretch when he is a werehog? I don't remember seeing any werewolves with stretchy arms so it kind of throws you off. Sonic's arsenal of attacks and combos while in his beast form is actually pretty impressive and kind of resembles the amount of combos that can be done in God of War except much tamer.

I Bet They Think That Talking Humans are Weird
Sonic can't very well run across the world while it's all broken so he needs Tails to fly him from place to place. While flying on Tails' plane Sonic mans a turret and can shoot down any enemy planes you encounter. This part feels kind of like a mini-game and can sometimes be a little frustrating; each enemy plane appears with an icon that looks like a button on your controller so you have to hit the right button to shoot them down. The only problem is that some icons have to be pressed in the order that they appear and some don't but you can hardly tell which ones do or don't so you'll often make mistakes in this area. That's probably the only gripe that you will find in Unleashed. As far as playing as Werehog Sonic goes... it's not that it isn't fun -- because it is -- it's just not what you would expect. Imagine going to a restaurant and ordering a steak but instead they bring you a barbequed chicken. It's a really good chicken; it's juicy and it tastes great but what you really wanted was a steak. You see, the fighting is nice but what would really be nice is more of the speed.

Every version of Sonic Unleashed controls the same way except for the Wii version. Using the Wii remote and Nunchuk can sometimes be a pain so you might want to use a Wii classic controller instead. Nyko has actually developed a wireless classic controller for the Wii called the Nyko Wing; it is an absolute godsend and makes playing Unleashed so much more pleasant. Sonic Unleashed isn't exactly a great game but it is very good; SEGA is really close to making that one epic Sonic game that we have all been waiting for and Sonic Unleashed gives you just enough to whet your appetite. Here's hoping for some serious awesomeness when Sonic and the Black Knight is released a few months from now.

Peter Rizkalla is a life long enthusiast of videogames and the videogame industry. He has worked in various videogame companies such as THQ, Namco and 2K Games and avidly attends many game conferences and events. Rizkalla can be reached at PRizkalla@gmail.com.