Why do some people 'round here not like Sonic Unleashed?

[brobotnik]

Eh, as long as a boss plays well I really don't give a damn if it's flamboyant or badass or whatthefucknot. But maybe we just have different tastes as far as the matter's concerned. I just feel something shouldn't need to have some great big backstory or well-written personality to be an enjoyable and/or memorable boss fight, particularly when said entity only actually appears just this once in the entire game.

Or maybe Iblis is too large to grasp a tennis racquet.

Either way, I felt it was more because they're generally unsuited to spinoffs like these as opposed to them being, erm, "unmemorable". Expecting them to make an appearance is like expecting Sonic 2's Eggsterminator to show up - as if size and power isn't an issue, you still have to take into account the themes which a light-hearted spinoff is supposed to stand for.

My real point there is that these boss characters aren't revered by many (if any) fans, for failing at being both fun to play and, yes, memorable.

Perfect Chaos actually makes an appearance in the Mario/Sonic Olympic Winter Games

which shows that fans DO remember that boss fight fondly. I can't imagine anyone going "oh, cool!" if that had been Iblis or Dark Gaia, as they just continued a trend they inadvertently started with PC.

I agree with you that a fun-to-play final boss fight should be the major concern going forward for Sonic Team, but their reliance on colossal monsters as the game's major baddie always seems to sabotage that right out of the gate... as if they get to the end, realize they don't have a good climax for the action, then just plug in the same fly-towards-the-monster-in-the-diastance-as-Super-Sonic boss fight mechanic that's been used by the series for ten years, now. And that has *always* sucked.

[The-Master-Board]

Unleashed seemed to be the least realistic, from the 3D games minus Heroes to me. I like the realism from the Adventures more, though.

Hardly. While I know alot of SA2 was based on San Fransico, I don't remember there being a gigantic forest with springy vines and loop shaped fauna on Alcatraz.

I know the Adventures took the series in a more realistic direction, but there was always a level of surrealism still present in the games. Whilst I prefer the Sonic Heroes style; that being a truly unique world unto the Sonic series, I still don't mind the Adventures.

In SA1 a volacnic level was situated right next to an ice level, and that was close to a rainforest...that's what I liked about Sonic games, the truly oddball style like back in S3&K where ancient aquatic ruins could be next to a desert or a beach next to a snow slope...all these "zones" were housed on the same island: Angel island, it was sure like nothing that could happen in our world, hell even Sth'06 managed to get this weird terrain placement right. In Unleashed they make you travel to different continents just to get that variety...and even then it's boring. If I wanted to see New York, sorry "Empire City" I could book a holiday or get on the internet and look at pictures. Fact is I can't see some floating island, or whimsical checkered terrain in real life, but I can in a game, it's called escapism and games are one of the greatest forms of escapism.

I really can't see how people can claim that Unleashed is the least realistic of all the 3D Sonic's, I really can't

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Cue in apocalytpically long post from moi.

Professor Pickle and Chip combined render Tails moot of any worth as they both fill the roles of Genius helping the hero and Sidekick respectively.

Tails is just the same old guy that carries around gadgets and flies your plane, and nothing else, whenever Chip had nearly all the qualities Tails used to have as a tag-along, childish best friend/sidekick. Tails, while still needing to fly Sonic's plane around sometimes, should go back to being what Chip basically was, except maybe a little less cartoony.

The Tails/Chip factor was one of my bigger beefs with the game. Chip was an important aspect of the game's (largely lackluster) story, but you're absolutely right: everything he did-- from hovering near the start of daytime stages and "rooting" for Sonic to kick ass, to floating in the background of cutscenes and providing "funny" antics-- should have been handed to Tails during the planning stages.

The Tails and Chip comparison again, huh?

Not to be rude, but you three are either failing to realize or neglecting to acknowledge some pretty BIG traits of the characters that separate them from each other.

First and formost, while disregarding the whole Light Gaia thing, is that Chip is not the only character who flys around rooting for Sonic and providing comic relief, nor is Tails the only one who flys or roots for other characters. As a matter of fact, Tails has not provided any kind of "funny" antics in this series, or atleast to my knowledge. The only character who Chip would really be copying would by Charmy the Bee, as he is the only one aside from Chip who floats around, roots for other characters, and provides comic relief. He's also not the only character who Sonic has tagging along with him, and by these four traits just about any other character before Chip would be considered a Tails clone.

Second, and probably the biggest one concerning Tails, is that Tails can actually go out into combat and field work. Tails has shown that he is more than capable of going hand-to-hand (or tail-to-hand if we want to get that deep) with much stronger characters such as Knuckles, and is even capable of going against Eggman's deadly machines by himself. And this is without any gadgets. If he does have a gadget, be it a small handheld device or a large mech like SA2's Tornado, you can bet he will have some great use for it in the game when he uses it. Not a lot of gadgets are useless in his hands, which adds to his performance in field work.

Chip on the other hand is barely capable of field work, with the only thing close to it would be providing tips like Omochao and Tikal, and pretty much every character has done that as well. That and aside from being in the Gaia Colossus, Chip has not shown any combat potential at all. Even Charmy is capable of some form of combat with his own body, and he's practically the same size.

Floating around, rooting for characters, being "funny" and a tag-a-long does not a Tails clone make. These are two mighty big differences between the two characters that vastly set them apart.

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You're joking, aren't you?

May I remind you that Sonic Adventure 1's Mystic Ruins were inspired from the Mayan Temples, or that City Escape in SA2 is similar to San Fransico and Metal Harbor similar to a real world naval fleet? Not to mention that Sonic 06's was directly inspired from the city of Venice in the real world.

Here's a literal classic example. Many of Sonic 3 and Knuckles stages: Angel Island is pretty much a stylized tropical beach/forest, Sandopolis to Egyptian deserts and pyramids, Marble Garden has a Greek-like aesthetic to it, the Ice Cap to Antartica.

While Sonic Unleashed has landmarks and settings that are remeniscent of the real world, it is no more realistic than a number of the previous games before it. Anything real world inspired is stylized to fit the aesthetics of Sonic himself, unlike Sonic 06 which completely contradicted it.

I suppose we'll make a picky scene over everything.

Hardly. While I know alot of SA2 was based on San Fransico, I don't remember there being a gigantic forest with springy vines and loop shaped fauna on Alcatraz.

Well Chun-nan is based on China, but I don't remember there being roads shaped like Dragons floating in the air or a large Pheonix being around except from mythology. And that's not even the tip of the iceberg in comparison.

If I wanted to see New York, sorry "Empire City" I could book a holiday or get on the internet and look at pictures.

What in the hell is with these "If I wanted to see X I would do Y" analogies on why some stuff is bad? That's just too silly.

I really can't see how people can claim that Unleashed is the least realistic of all the 3D Sonic's, I really can't

Well first off there's the humans. Compared to the Adventures and Sonic 06, they're more like something you would see in a Pixar film, and in no way are realistic.

Then if we want to take cues from you in how you claimed SA2 is less realistic than Unleashed and look at what's in the levels, the architexture in some of the levels is not exactly something you would expect to see in real life. Empire City had a few loops in it's roads, just as Green Forest had in it's plants.

Then there's the arrangement of the contenients on the Earth. No where near the position of our real world continents.

If you can dig through past games and make a bold claim that Unleashed is more realistic than they are, we can surely do the same and say that you're wrong. I honestly can't see how you can claim Unleashed is more realistic, when previous games have taken similar cues before it. But hey, I don't share your vision of things, so I don't think I will be able to see it.

Edited December 14, 2009 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Frozen Nitrogen]

While Sonic Unleashed has landmarks and settings that are remeniscent of the real world, it is no more realistic than a number of the previous games before it. Anything real world inspired is stylized to fit the aesthetics of Sonic himself, unlike Sonic 06 which completely contradicted it.

You are quite mad, old bean.

[Octarine]

You are quite mad, old bean.

Feh. They're about equally realistic if the giant turtle's out of the equation, and Unleashed has a few giant monsters of its own... the Chun-nan Phoenix, for one. '06 and Unleashed are about even on that scale, really, but Unleashed still feels less realistic. The stylization made its real-world-ish settings a lot more palatable.

Not that I wouldn't have appreciated some outlandish locales in Unleashed, mind. If Mazuri or Chun-nan had been swapped out for South Island or something, I'd have been very happy.

[The-Master-Board]

Cue in apocalytpically long post from moi.

The Tails and Chip comparison again, huh?

Not to be rude, but you three are either failing to realize or neglecting to acknowledge some pretty BIG traits of the characters that separate them from each other.

First and formost, while disregarding the whole Light Gaia thing, is that Chip is not the only character who flys around rooting for Sonic and providing comic relief, nor is Tails the only one who flys or roots for other characters. As a matter of fact, Tails has not provided any kind of "funny" antics in this series, or atleast to my knowledge. The only character who Chip would really be copying would by Charmy the Bee, as he is the only one aside from Chip who floats around, roots for other characters, and provides comic relief. He's also not the only character who Sonic has tagging along with him, and by these four traits just about any other character before Chip would be considered a Tails clone.

Second, and probably the biggest one concerning Tails, is that Tails can actually go out into combat and field work. Tails has shown that he is more than capable of going hand-to-hand (or tail-to-hand if we want to get that deep) with much stronger characters such as Knuckles, and is even capable of going against Eggman's deadly machines by himself. And this is without any gadgets. If he does have a gadget, be it a small handheld device or a large mech like SA2's Tornado, you can bet he will have some great use for it in the game when he uses it. Not a lot of gadgets are useless in his hands, which adds to his performance in field work.

Chip on the other hand is barely capable of field work, with the only thing close to it would be providing tips like Omochao and Tikal, and pretty much every character has done that as well. That and aside from being in the Gaia Colossus, Chip has not shown any combat potential at all. Even Charmy is capable of some form of combat with his own body, and he's practically the same size.

Floating around, rooting for characters, being "funny" and a tag-a-long does not a Tails clone make. These are two mighty big differences between the two characters that vastly set them apart.

That still doesn't change the fact that the role was clearly Tails'. Write out the whole "light Gaia" crap and what is the character description? A sidekick to Sonic who flys and helps him out. In fact, Tails could provide the comic relief too as you claim that this is a defining characteristic Chip has that Tails doesn't, and if you could call Chip "funny".

Tails' comedy could come from being the voice of reason to Sonic's impetuousness. ie: something like in a cutscene Sonic rushes off to the next objective and Tails waits on the spot with a smirk on his face as Sonic rushes back a second later realising he's gone the wrong way. Tails' humor playing off of Sonic's personality by being an "odd couple" of sorts.

In any case you've reminded me of another reason I hate Unleashed. Chip. Worst character ever. Annoying as hell, unfitting in character design to the rest of the cast, and his beyond lame supposed "humor" only made me feel like Sonic Team had finally decided to blatenly point out that Sonic is only made for kids under the age of 8.

You're joking, aren't you?

May I remind you that Sonic Adventure 1's Mystic Ruins were inspired from the Mayan Temples, or that City Escape in SA2 is similar to San Fransico and Metal Harbor similar to a real world naval fleet? Not to mention that Sonic 06's was directly inspired from the city of Venice in the real world.

Here's a literal classic example. Many of Sonic 3 and Knuckles stages: Angel Island is pretty much a stylized tropical beach/forest, Sandopolis to Egyptian deserts and pyramids, Marble Garden has a Greek-like aesthetic to it, the Ice Cap to Antartica.

While Sonic Unleashed has landmarks and settings that are remeniscent of the real world, it is no more realistic than a number of the previous games before it. Anything real world inspired is stylized to fit the aesthetics of Sonic himself, unlike Sonic 06 which completely contradicted it.

I suppose we'll make a picky scene over everything.

Inspiration for, or basing something on is alot different than directly ripping off.

To make a comparison, the Adventures are like Sonic's design: it was based on a hedgehog - as in he's got quills, but ask someone who's never heard of Sonic and I'm sure they won't be able to pick that he's a hedgehog. However Unleashed is like if we were to take the exact image of a hedgehog, maybe add some googly eyes then rename it a bushhog.

Sure the adventures based themselves on a few traits of the real world, but Unleashed practically said "this is our world, we just changed a few names and land formations".

Well Chun-nan is based on China, but I don't remember there being roads shaped like Dragons floating in the air or a large Pheonix being around except from mythology. And that's not even the tip of the iceberg in comparison.

What in the hell is with these "If I wanted to see X I would do Y" analogies on why some stuff is bad? That's just too silly.

Chun-nan is based on China, yes. And Prison Island is based on Alcatraz, yes? But see the difference here is, while chun-nan took all of China's architecture, mythology, natural landscape, cultural ideas, ethincity of the people and basically everything that is China bar calling it "Chuna" ~ Prison Island did not. It is merely an island in a bay resembling San fransico. Did prison island have any flora and fauna unique to alcatraz? No, it had a whimsical jungle with trees and vines way too big to seem realistic in our world at all and definetly not something associated with Alcatraz. Chun-nan may have had slight fantasy with it's dragon roads, but that all just plays into the "Chinese" steroetype, Prison Island doesn't seem like it's blatently ripping off Alcatraz because its terrain isn't something linked with Alcatraz.

And no, my "If I wanted to see X I'd do Y" analogies are not silly. I don't know why you play games, maybe for the "epic storylines" or to feel like you've beaten a challenge or maybe cuz you've got no life and thats more fun then sitting about doing nothing. I play games to do something I couldn't do in real life. I play Oblivion or a fantasy RPG because I can't live in a world with sword fights and magic and dragons that has countryside unspoilt by modern cities. I play fighting games because I'd love to be able to be acrobatic and kick arse like they do but I am not that awesome. I play games where I assassinate people because, well you'd get in trouble for that in real life! and I play Sonic because I'd like to escape the real world and know what its like to be fast and cool and live in a strange whimsical colourful world.

Games are an escape, somewhere to let yourself experience awesome things that aren't possible in our world. I don't want to see a cartoonish hedgehog in a world mirroring our own, running through "Greese" or "Africo" or "Thaiplace", I want Sonic in a made up world of his own.

[brobotnik]

Floating around, rooting for characters, being "funny" and a tag-a-long does not a Tails clone make. These are two mighty big differences between the two characters that vastly set them apart.

I'm not calling Chip a clone of Tails, I'm saying that (1) Tails has become boring and glassy-eyed and (2) creating a new "best friend" character to follow Sonic everywhere does him a further disservice.

I could write an entire thesis on the slow but steady dissolution of Tails as an interesting character, but the only important thing worth mentioning here is that he was used so poorly in Unleashed that he might as well not have been included at all. I liked Chip, personally, as I think Sonic works well with a light-hearted sidekick. I just think that sidekick should always be Tails, if Sonic Team ever gets around to pulling him out of mechs and making him more than tech support.

(Ugh, edited to get rid of an unintentional smiley.)

Edited December 14, 2009 by bro-botnik

[Adamis]

Hardly. While I know alot of SA2 was based on San Fransico, I don't remember there being a gigantic forest with springy vines and loop shaped fauna on Alcatraz.

I don't remember there being loops, rails, springs, giant rolling barrels (Spagonia), roads that high in the sky (Empire City...), roads made of ice (where you can do bobsleigh), and many other things in the real world.

The thing is, each (or almost each) Sonic games takes inspiration from real places and add some things to them. SA2 is no exception, no matter what you say about Alcatraz and other things. We know you hate this game, MB, but don't hide the truth from yourself.

In any case you've reminded me of another reason I hate Unleashed. Chip. Worst character ever. Annoying as hell, unfitting in character design to the rest of the cast,

He's not more unfitting than the old animals friends. Heh, he's based on them. So when you say that he's unfitting, that's like saying Ricky is unfitting.

[cause_of_chaos]

Sonic '06 sucked! All it did was glitch constantly, it had a horrible storyline, it had horrible gameplay, and SonicXElise was the worst couple ever. The music was good though.

Anyway, the reason why some people didn't like Sonic Unleashed was basically the Werehog and the medals. Personally, I thought Unleashed was OK, but I mainly liked the daytime stages. I hated the Werehog.

That's you opinion on Sonic '06 and I respect that. I agree that the controls were iffy, partly because of the pad (playing it on PS3 is much more pleasurable than on X360 as it feels more responsive). I also agree that the whole Sonic X Elise thing wasn't all that great either (though I didn't have a problem with it - Sonic clearly has no interest in Amy . )

The storyline was a little OTT and there were plot-holes everywhere. But I didn't care. Sonic '06 looked good, played well, and generally kept my interest until I finished it. The Eggman fights also were memorable.

The music in Sonic '06 was indeed great (I remember most of the music in the game, as I do the music from the previous Sonic titles).

However I didn't like anything about Sonic Unleashed apart from that very nice-looking opening. The day stages reminded me too much of the Sonic Advance / Sonic Rivals games (Hold right / up until you hit a wall, then jump). The trial and error approach to the level design didn't interest me in the slightest.

The night stages (warehog) weren't THAT bad apart from all that "tight-rope walking". The gameplay was again extremely "trial and error". I agree with others in saying that players should have been given control of Knuckles instead. If the warehog had a glide feature the levels probably wouldn't have felt as tedious / long. 

The music in Unleashed was not bad (in a forgettable way), but I cannot remember any tracks apart from the World Map off the top of my head.

Finally, I have no problems giving Sonic a new side-kick for a game. Just not Chip. If Chip was more useful (like if Sonic could use Chip's annoying features to bore / provoke enemies), it would have at least justified his existence...

cause_of_chaos

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

You are quite mad, old bean.

I can do it too, ya know.

That still doesn't change the fact that the role was clearly Tails'. Write out the whole "light Gaia" crap and what is the character description? A sidekick to Sonic who flys and helps him out.

A role as a 1 foot tall, flying dog with a mentality akin to a child tagging along with Sonic?

Yes it does, by the fact that Tails was clearly not for the role that they gave Chip, and the fact that Tails, by the director's allowance, can do more than be a flying sidekick if we were to use the Adventures as an example.

Tails may have been reduced to a chauffuer in the game, but just because another character flies around Sonic and goes with him everywhere he goes does not mean he is Tails' replacement. Tails has done way more than that since Sonic 2.

In fact, Tails could provide the comic relief too as you claim that this is a defining characteristic Chip has that Tails doesn't, and if you could call Chip "funny".

I claimed that comic relief is Chip's defining trait? I'm pretty sure I pointed out an older character who Chip is exactly like, bar the Light Gaia stuff.

Regardless, the fact that Tails hasn't shown any sign of comic relief throws a monkey wrench at your whole comparison of Tails and Chip. You're saying that Chip has everything Tails does, but when I say Tails doesn't have the comic relief that Chip was suppose to provide, you admit this yet say that they could give Tails some. By giving Tails a trait that Chip has over him, you'd be making Tails more like Chip if anything.

Inspiration for, or basing something on is alot different than directly ripping off.

Sure the adventures based themselves on a few traits of the real world, but Unleashed practically said "this is our world, we just changed a few names and land formations".

But you do realize that that was the freaking point in part of the game's theme, yes? It's like the approach Disney took in designing the world for Lion King, there are some elements stylized from the real world, but it is not realistic in comparison to our world.

Just like there are no talking lions or animals in real world Africa like in Lion King, there are no Giant Pheonixes or Dragon roads, rails outside of the Big Ben, or 2 mile high skyscrapers in reality like it is in Unleashed. For it to be realistic, it would have to be 100% like our real world, and there are plenty of elements that deeply separate our world and Unleashed.

Chun-nan may have had slight fantasy with it's dragon roads, but that all just plays into the "Chinese" steroetype, Prison Island doesn't seem like it's blatently ripping off Alcatraz because its terrain isn't something linked with Alcatraz.

You keep giving me the simplest examples, and I keep giving you similar ones. You're picking our vines and other vegetation, I'm picking out Dragons and Pheonixes

What you're telling me right here is that even if it's mythology is in the game, which is something that can't exist in real life except as a myth, that makes the game more realistic? That makes absolutely no sense.

If anything, a giant Pheonix and Dragon roads, even a hedgehog running around these places is proof enough that the game isn't realistic than it is just based on the real world. If Sonic 06 isn't too realistic by your standards when it's hub is based off Venice, I'm not exactly seeing how Unleashed steps it up to actual pure realism, especially when the them behind Sonic 06 was "What if Sonic was real?" Realism is something you would see in games like Halo or Call of Duty, and surely Sonic Unleashed doesn't come to their level.

And no, my "If I wanted to see X I'd do Y" analogies are not silly.

Just because Empire City resembles New York, that doesn't mean it's unnessecary because you can look at New York on the net or book a holiday. It doesn't work that way for any video game realistic or not.

I don't know why you play games, maybe for the "epic storylines" or to feel like you've beaten a challenge or maybe cuz you've got no life and thats more fun then sitting about doing nothing.

Excuse me? Do you really want to sink this into personal attacks? Nothing called for this little fit right here.

I play games to do something I couldn't do in real life. I play Oblivion or a fantasy RPG because I can't live in a world with sword fights and magic and dragons that has countryside unspoilt by modern cities. I play fighting games because I'd love to be able to be acrobatic and kick arse like they do but I am not that awesome. I play games where I assassinate people because, well you'd get in trouble for that in real life! and I play Sonic because I'd like to escape the real world and know what its like to be fast and cool and live in a strange whimsical colourful world.

Games are an escape, somewhere to let yourself experience awesome things that aren't possible in our world. I don't want to see a cartoonish hedgehog in a world mirroring our own, running through "Greese" or "Africo" or "Thaiplace", I want Sonic in a made up world of his own.

Okay, so? I play games because I like to have fun to, not because I have no life. So stop guessing about what you don't know. You could actually learn a lot more about them than insulting them. kthx.

When I play Sonic games, I like the feel of making the world a giant playground for me. I couldn't care less what world he's running around it as long as Sonic himself fits in it. And when I look at Sonic Unleashed real world inspired landmarks and locations, I don't see too much of a contradiction in a hedgehog running around those places when the aesthetics fit the main hedgy himself.

Edited December 14, 2009 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Frozen Nitrogen]

He's not more unfitting than the old animals friends. Heh, he's based on them. So when you say that he's unfitting, that's like saying Ricky is unfitting.

The analogy would work if Chip, like Ricky, wasn't a cute animal friend crossed with Go Go Power Rangers Megazord crossed with GOD.

Sadly, this is not the case.

[Solid SOAP]

Sonic Unleashed is probably the most realistic looking Sonic game as far as locales go, but the art is much more appealing than pretty much every 3D Sonic game that came out before it, except maybe Heroes. It's more colorful with a lot more vibrant shapes with cartoonier features. The areas might all be based on real-world places but the characters and aestetics are extremely exaggerated and cartoony, almost like something out of a Dr. Suess book or Pixar movie, in my opinion.

[Adamis]

The analogy would work if Chip, like Ricky, wasn't a cute animal friend crossed with Go Go Power Rangers Megazord crossed with GOD.

Sadly, this is not the case.

I was talking about his look, obviously. We don't care about the story here

[The Tenth Doctor]

My problems besides the Werehog and the medals? Lets see......

Music

I like the Sonic Adventure games, Shadow the Hedgehog and even Sonic 06 soundtracks. These all had catchy tunes. Hardly any in Sonic Unleashed gripped me as like these games. For example. Perfect Dark Gaia tries to do what Solaris Phase 2 did. Though it was all done on a Synthesiser compared to a full orchestra. Why couldn't the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra do that too? Also the Werehogs battle theme. Why does it need to play every time we see an enemy? I like the Werehogs music, but want to enjoy hearing it. Not having this tune blast me evry 5 seconds.

Gameplay

Unleashed was sparkling in many fronts here. I generally believe if they polish up the Day stages they could have a future. The Night stages too where fun except for the reason stated above. Then what where the flaws? Medals? No, this made it last longer and psychs out bad gamers. Mo what got me is the difficulty. People have been moaning for years about how the games are too easy. Well SEGA bitch slapped us all with this game. Its welcome in some areas, (I quite enjoy EggmanLand now) but I'm sorry Adabat can be quite evil sometimes. Except from the difficulty they got it pretty much right.

Others

I personally didn't care for the story. It was Sonic Adventure mixed with Sonic Advance 3. Thats it. Also Dark Gaia was just lacking in the creature feature department. We've seen it all before. After Final Hazard they've milked the beasts (cept Solaris if done right!). Lastly the lack of characters. Many people see this as a blessing. I like various characters in a game and I was disappointed that they left Shadow and Knuckles out. They promised they where in it. Ah well, can't be helped. Oh, also Ergo bugged me cause he's just a blabbering smart alec.

All said, it had its up points. Visually stunning, Chip was cool, characters where acting right and great locations. Sonic Unleashed had its ups and downs, but the difference, in the end, is Night and Day....

[Phos]

I don't remember there being loops, rails, springs, giant rolling barrels (Spagonia), roads that high in the sky (Empire City...), roads made of ice (where you can do bobsleigh), and many other things in the real world.

All the other Sonic games have these as well, what they don't have are photo-realistic landmarks in almost every level. Note that I don't necessarily dislike SU for doing this, I'm just saying that it's the case.

[Adamis]

Could they do photorealistic levels in the classic games anyway? They tried to have a CG look with Sonic 1 but that's it.

Edited December 14, 2009 by Adamis Fox

[Mort]

I've recently just bought this game and am playing through it on the Wii (just hit Eggman Land Day). I think its fine. I have a few problems with it, but its a step in the right direction imo. The speed levels are a huge step up in design compared to other 3D games, and the shifts to 2d were fun as well.. I like the multiple routes you can take, harking back to the 2d era. I do feel that it felt very input starved, Sonic almost played himself. I think if they combined the level design of Unleashed, with the control of adventure, there'd be a great Sonic game in the making. The Werehog was fine, if they do another 3d game with other characters in addition to Sonic, I'd prefer Knuckles to have levels like that as opposed to treasure hunting. I really liked Robotnik's characterization this game, aside from the whole hijacked by dark Gaia thing at the end. I also dislike Sonic's day time boss fights.

So in my opinion, solid game, has a few problems.

[Djawed]

360 version is worse. It may be on a more superiour console that gives more oppertunities, yet i think the wii versions more polished and more "fun" in the end. Id rather have straight forward empty stages that give me a nice feeling goign through them instead of exagurating brainless TOO-fast gameplay with unexpetable pits that will kill you most of the time.

Game-design and direction choices are awfull

Edited December 15, 2009 by Jaouad

[Silencer226]

Gameplay

Unleashed was sparkling in many fronts here. I generally believe if they polish up the Day stages they could have a future. The Night stages too where fun except for the reason stated above. Then what where the flaws? Medals? No, this made it last longer and psychs out bad gamers. Mo what got me is the difficulty. People have been moaning for years about how the games are too easy. Well SEGA bitch slapped us all with this game. Its welcome in some areas, (I quite enjoy EggmanLand now) but I'm sorry Adabat can be quite evil sometimes. Except from the difficulty they got it pretty much right.

Not really... some of us just find that to be boring, like they couldn't think of something I don't know more fun to do... though I did collect all the lightseeds in prince of persia but that was oddly more enjoyable.

And the difficulty like most Sonic games is only temporary, a couple of runs through a stage and it's easy, EGGMANLAND became my bitch. I just didn't like the game after a while it got boring the same shit over and over again, now if they were smart they would allow you to race online with other players, that would solve the replayablity problem for me anyway.

And what's up with the rankings... since SA2 I have despised those things, such a cheap way of "extending" gameplay.

Edited December 15, 2009 by silencer226

[Frozen Nitrogen]

360 version is worse. It may be on a more superiour console that gives more oppertunities, yet i think the wii versions more polished and more "fun" in the end. Id rather have straight forward empty stages that give me a nice feeling goign through them instead of exagurating brainless TOO-fast gameplay with unexpetable pits that will kill you most of the time.

Game-design and direction choices are awfull

SWEET

[Candescence]

Oh, boy, here it comes. Get ready, everyone, because I'm gonna explain again why I hate the 360 version.

The day stages start off okay, but as you progress, the difficulty then shoots up without warning and the stages begin to get plagued with fake difficulty, and you can tell the designers were being lazy by leaving easily-accessible 1-ups right in front of places where you will die a lot. There are stages which are almost impossible to survive without memorization. Eggmanland is the epitome of this, the art design and music does not save it from being a complete and utter hell. Not to mention there's limited platforming, the game encourages you to boost all the time, and the levels are very much linear except for short detours. "Multiple paths", my ass.

tl;dr, the day stages are frustrating, quite often railroaded, and just not fun.

The QTEs also get worse. At a certain point, they start killing you if you screw up. And they also get harder to the point where you will die multiple times on the same bloody QTE, because they're random, assume you have incredible reflexes, and the designers made the baffling decision to use more than three buttons. The third part of the final battle is nothing but these. Also, once again, Eggmanland. And that's just the day stages.

tl;dr, Press X, A, B, Y, and the shoulder buttons with absurd timing to not die.

The Werehog stages? They ripped off God of War's battle system completely, not even the swinging mechanic is original, and they somehow managed to leave out everything that made God of War interesting in the first place. They could've ripped Devil May Cry, which would've suited Sonic better and is simpler, but no. Plus, the Werehog stages lack challenge altogether (except for Eggmanland and that one bloody optional balcony on Abadat, for all the wrong reasons), unless you actually try and do QTE finishers on the Titans. The Werehog is a disgrace to the beat-em-up genre. The platforming is nothing special, either.

tl;dr, the Werehog is a terrible rip-off that is a disgrace to the beat-em-up genre.

Oh, and the medals. The 360 version was essentially made into a collect-a-thon through the requirement of collecting medals. This is a serious problem when it comes to the day stages, which were clearly designed in a way that pretty much limits exploration, and prevents you from backtracking if you go too far. It's maddening, to say the least.

tl;dr, Unleashed fails at collect-a-thons forever.

Also, the HD version of the final boss sucks balls. All three portions.

Honestly, the only thing it has going for it is the visuals, the music, and some of the story.

Now, the Wii/PS2 version? I liked it. No, seriously. More than the HD versions, no lie. The day stages are actually fair (Eggmanland is still hard, but fair), they've pretty much give focus to the drift instead of the quick-step, which I prefer, and they've made the QTEs fair. The Werehog is actually a challenge here, and more fun, too. And they did the smart thing and made the medals both optional and earned through performance in the stages. And the final boss is much better than the HD versions, partly because you actually fight Dark Gaia with none of that QTE crap. It still has some things to be desired, but it leaves the HD versions in the dust, IMO.

tl;dr, the Wii version is better.

[Frozen Nitrogen]

And the difficulty like most Sonic games is only temporary, a couple of runs through a stage and it's easy, EGGMANLAND became my bitch. I just didn't like the game after a while it got boring the same shit over and over again, now if they were smart they would allow you to race online with other players, that would solve the replayablity problem for me anyway.

The QTEs also get worse. At a certain point, they start killing you if you screw up. And they also get harder to the point where you will die multiple times on the same bloody QTE, because they're random, assume you have incredible reflexes, and the designers made the baffling decision to use more than three buttons. The third part of the final battle is nothing but these. Also, once again, Eggmanland. And that's just the day stages.

I'm with Silencer on this one, I must say. Anyone who complains that Eggmanland is too hard 1) has missed the point, and 2) is a lilly-livered gamer in a little pink dress.

Eggmanland is SUPPOSED to be hard, and I loved it for it. The first time since Sonic 2 (back when my button-mashing skills were child-like and unformed) that I've been gripped by the genuine, exhilarating terror of watching my mountainous pile of lives dwindle from 30+ down into single digits, with the fearsome mystery of a prospective Game Over hovering over my head.

You're supposed to be tired, drained, and overall relieved when you finally clear it for the first time. And it's supposed to be a bloody challenge to do it again for the hot dog trails. But if you actually deploy some practice and skill at it, Eggmanland is as masterable as any level. As with Silencer, Eggmanland is my bitch now, and complaints arise only from those with too much ADHD to get good at it.

[Phos]

You're supposed to be tired, drained, and overall relieved when you finally clear it for the first time.

Are you talking about Sonic or Demon's Souls?

But seriously, I don't think that it's a good idea to make parts of a Sonic that are simply arduous to complete. Why is that? Having so many ways to die discourages exploration. Straying from the beaten path is much less appealing when it comes with so many unknown risks, see Sonic 06.

[Solid SOAP]

Are you talking about Sonic or Demon's Souls?

But seriously, I don't think that it's a good idea to make parts of a Sonic that are simply arduous to complete. Why is that? Having so many ways to die discourages exploration. Straying from the beaten path is much less appealing when it comes with so many unknown risks, see Sonic 06.

I'd agree with this if not for the fact that Eggmanland is the final level of the game, it should be the hardest in the game and you should to keep your utmost wits upon you to complete it, I think it's awesome that Sonic Team decided to put an absolutely dastardly final level in a game during a generation where most platforming titles are piss-easy, even ones I love like Super Mario Galaxy.

[Phos]

I'd agree with this if not for the fact that Eggmanland is the final level of the game, it should be the hardest in the game and you should to keep your utmost wits upon you to complete it, I think it's awesome that Sonic Team decided to put an absolutely dastardly final level in a game during a generation where most platforming titles are piss-easy, even ones I love like Super Mario Galaxy.

Making a game harder doesn't automatically make it better, especially when it's the result of fake difficulty. Having to constantly worry about consequences of speed ruins the fun. There are a few spots in the classic trilogy where you might take damage if you're going to fast, but these seem more like mistakes, and I can't help but think Iizuka was responsible for most of them. The Death Egg seemed to be the perfect lead up to the final boss, and that level didn't constantly have you on the brink of death, but they still made it a lot harder than previous levels. Of course, it was a fair challenge, so you barely notice.