Sonic Unleashed for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

Sonic Unleashed presents itself much the same as its predecessors - full of fast action gameplay, short cutscenes, and a ridiculously bad plot.
However, considering that the sonic team has failed gamers with their past output, (Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog [360], and Sonic Heroes, to name a few) Sonic Unleashed is a welcome change. For the first time in a long time, the protagonist is Sonic and Sonic alone. There's no switching between the other anthromorphic tag-alongs which helps maintain a sense of good solid continuity. However, sonic team can't seem to let go of the switch out system entirely as Sonic transforms into a musclebound beast at night, creating two distinctly separate styles of play. The original, being speed based, is the better. No surprise there. Sonic now moves at a speed previously unattained, rocketing through the levels and leaving the scenery just a blur. While this might seem irritating or inconvenient, it becomes rather the opposite, providing for a relatively thrilling and satisfying feeling. It's how Sonic was meant to be played. In addition, this feature is paired with frequent switches between the 3D run-in-all-directions approach and the classic 2D move-in-a-straight-line style. Again, a feature which might sound unappetizing but upon experiencing it, the sensation is really quite enjoyable. Sonic's alter ego however does not quite make the cut. The levels revolving around the night time romps focus heavily on button mashing and simply fighting your way through hordes of enemies while occasionally stopping to climb some tedious wall or other obstacle. The experience leaves you feeling somewhat irritated and simply wishing to get through said levels so as to return to the speedy ones as normal sonic. The track list remains traditionally unspectacular in 3D sonic games as does the plot and NPC interaction. The focus is simply playing the game. In that sense, it's a worthwhile try, though, definitely NOT a buy. Give it a shot.