Sonic Unleashed?

[Dr. Watson]

How the hell could the makers of the Wii version of this game think it was a good idea to have the player control the Werehog with the wiimotes analog stick, and at the same time shake the wiimote in order to punch!? Man, i pitty the fools who dont own a GameCube controler.

[Owen Axel]

Got the 360 version, and I've got to agree with the previous claims of goodness. This is certainly half of a great game, and the other half is if nothing else tolerable due to the promise of more fun levels to unlock with each shitty level played. I dunno, it's like there's some law against making a new Sonic game that doesn't have at least a dozen retarded design choices, so I'm at least glad they stuffed most of the crap into its own segment and let the remainder shine.

[Dasher]

So that settles it...is this Sonic Adventure 3?

SA3 was their goal after all! hence the "Adventure" in Sonic World Adventure.

I just find it stupid that they always have to throw in a godzilla thing at the end, I mean what are they smoking? the game which made least sense was SA2 and Heroes, I mean bam! there you go a big ugly lizard to fight with.

also...

Chaos: Water
Ibblis: Fire
Gaia: Earth

don't be surprised to see a wind or thunder one next. ugh.

[Owen Axel]

Sonic 06 was Sonic Adventure 3.

The above statement says more than enough by itself.

[(...)]

I bought this for 360 today.

Locit speaks the truth. The game is good (sort of).

It's equal parts "best game ever" and "borderline unplayable".

The graphics are great, the audio is great, the Sonic gameplay is AMAZING, and the hub worlds actually are mostly voluntary. It's just that whenever the game feels like you're having too much fun, it chucks a fighting game level in there. And the fighting levels aren't even bad, they're just REALLY boring. Boring to the point where I almost gave up playing during the Mazuri night stage (which would have been tragic, because I would have missed the awesome Egg Beetle boss stage).

[Esrever]

God, that Egg Beetle boss was FANTASTIC.

It is definitely another Sonic Adventure title. And I mean that in both the good way and the bad way! It almost religiously apes the formula set by the first two titles -- especially those of the original -- and as a result, inherits pretty much all the same strengths and frustrations.

The hubs are straight out of Sonic Adventure. And I mean EXACTLY. Just like the original title, you will be required to spend some time between each action stage puttering back and forth around the different hub areas activating various plot advancing cut scenes, unlocking doors, and occasionally getting totally freaking lost. I guess I can see why the reviewers were so hard on this portion of the game -- after all, they didn't like it in 1999 either -- but I always loved the hub worlds and am glad to see them back.

The Sonic stages also follow the template of the original SA pretty closely. That means they've taken a step or two back from the narrow, elevated highway school of level design that completely took over the series later... but still provide what amounts to a generally linear experience with a few optional sidetracks and the occasional open area or platforming segment. They're really fun, though! And although the loops are still on rails, they do some creative things with momentum elsewhere. The slalom tubes of Holaska are particularly memorable... letting Sonic run up the sides of the walls, but only as high up as his current speed allows.

The controls are pretty solid. Reassigning the homing attack to use the same button as the ground dash just "feels" right and stops being confusing very quickly. And the inclusion of the quick-step/strafe move was absolutely inspired. The places where problems tend to arise are in the low speed 2D platform jumping sections. Sonic accelerates pretty quickly in this game, and as a result, it's pretty easy to overshoot your jumps... you need to learn to have a REALLY light touch when you are trying to jump a short distance.

The werehog is one the part of the game that feels more like Sonic Adventure 2... especially the way his levels alternate with Sonic's instead of being a separate solo adventure. He might have been a worthy diversion if there were less of him -- he controls pretty well, has a surprising deep list of fighting combos, and gets to do some fun little platforming bits. But his stages run long, especially because the checkpoints are too spaced out, occasionally causing a full couple of minutes of replaying whenever you die. And he does feel out of place, moreso than many of the previous alternate characters, because his attacks are so far removed from Sonic's usual one-button controls. I don't hate him, not yet, but I have a feeling that I'll be pretty sick of him by the time the game is over.

Overall, it's almost astonishing how much it feels like the Dreamcast Sonic titles. It's all there... blasting through the SA-esque Sonic stages, grasping with the so-so alternate characters, getting lost in the hubs, enjoying the cool cut scenes, suffering through the terrible cut scenes, searching every nook and cranny for emblems, playing through the occasional clunkily-executed minigame, putting the green stone key in the green key hole, everything! The only thing that DOESN'T feel like Sonic Adventure is the high level of technical polish... the game looks great and is pretty light on buggy weirdness.

It's no masterpiece, just like it's daddy wasn't... but it's a solid B title, and I'm really surprised the reviews have been as harsh as they have.

[CM August]

That's the impression I've got so far. In many ways, it's as if every game beyond SA never happened. And I for one couldn't be happier with that. The elements that drag it down is the mandatory 'alternative' gameplay breaking up the Sonic experience, and all the tacky dark elements that come with it, all of which came into being after SA.

I really adore the level design here, and how it really does feel like you're exploring the landscape surrounding the hub worlds. That's one of the best things it can inherit from SA. And it allows a considerable level of backtracking in many areas, where the camera is very cooperative, and the ability to just stop and admire the gorgeous scenery. Sadly there's no first-person view, but I'm glad there's at least decent control of the camera to start with. All in all it's just a rewarding experience, and I'm still not tired of it yet.

[FlashTHD]

Seriously, if Sega did a DLC patch that removed the fighting levels and hub worlds, leaving only a linear progression through the platforming levels, then the game would be a solid 9/10. As it stands, it's averaging a 64% metacritic. :(

a) metacritic is a statistics tracker. Not the gospel of all public opinion.

a2) Are we to imply here, that averaging 64% on an aggregate website that collects review data/sound bites from a large number of amateur idiots that write for "respected publications" (their words) is such horrible news that you can't rate the game yourself as it stands? Cause, if i'm not mistaken then that's borderline breaking the "referencing outside material" commandment. Or it just is on GP. One of the two.

b) Seriously? Ok, yeah let's try that! Whip out a patch that strips out/sweeps under the rug/verbs of your choice 4/7ths of the game! Make the $50 it costs too much. Waste the budget Sega invested into creating the parts that will disappear, and so totally absolve the staff of any responsibility in creating them and anything else connected to them. Who cares, when I don't have to even look at those parts I thought were ugly!

Seriously? No.

<­/­House M.D.>

[FlashTHD]

Now that that's out of my system, how's the loading on the 360 vers. again? I'm still unsure about that almost preposterous 30-second figure from earlier.

[Esrever]

I've never encountered anything like that. It takes maybe four seconds to load a hub area and six to load an action stage.

I also just wanted to add that the reflections I posted above were written after playing about four proper Sonic stages into the game. Just wouldn't want to discount the possibility that the whole thing might tank further on in!

[Hybrid]

rant

Given you evidently haven't played the game at all yet, I think it is a bit preposterous of you to to assume that the game wouldn't be infinitely better if the werehog levels were removed. Because, you know, it would be.

Certain aspects of the game are starting to annoy me, and I'm certainly not as enthusiastic about this experience as everyone else seems to be. For a start, there's this level in Mazuri where you have to race around a track three times, entirely in 3D mode. The track has several sharp turns, and Sonic's drift maneuver simply isn't good enough. Even his sharpest drifting circle is too wide to successfully make it around these corners, sending me sliding over the edge and to my death time and time again. It just doesn't work properly, and because Sonic is pretty unresponsive, going around these corners at high speed without using the drift rarely works either. The only safe option I could find was to slow down when taking every turn, but given the level is timed and you've got to get around the track three times, I don't know if that would be quick enough. I just gave up on it in the end, because the control issues were infuriating.

I'm also not entirely sure what I'm doing wrong with regards to the level entrances. I've just beaten the Phoenix in Chun-nan as the Werehog, and I'm at a loss as to what I'm supposed to do next. No light is emanating from any of the other level entrance platforms in Chun-nan, and when I walk over them Chip says "Looks like we can't go here yet!" rather than "You need x more medals," so I don't know if I'm simply short of medals or if I'm just not supposed to go there yet. It's the same in Spagonia and Apotos - lots of blank level entrance platforms - and right now I'm just wandering around, lost.

On a more positive note, Eggman's little robot assistant is the best character in the game. Dark Gai isn't complete? "A result of your hasty actions, Doctor." The world is coming back together? "That is the result of the Chaos Emeralds, which you ejected along with Sonic, ergo another result of your hasty actions." Then he pulls this stupid face. I love it.

[Ritz]

a) metacritic is a statistics tracker. Not the gospel of all public opinion.

a2) Are we to imply here, that averaging 64% on an aggregate website that collects review data/sound bites from a large number of amateur idiots that write for "respected publications" (their words) is such horrible news that you can't rate the game yourself as it stands? Cause, if i'm not mistaken then that's borderline breaking the "referencing outside material" commandment. Or it just is on GP. One of the two.

You need to chill the fuck out, dude. It's not that he was raising Metacritic on some sort of lofty pedestal so much as he was pointing out the 64% rating, which is cause for concern, y'know, since that arbitrary statistic is directly proportionate to how the game is going to be received by the general public.

b) Seriously? Ok, yeah let's try that! Whip out a patch that strips out/sweeps under the rug/verbs of your choice 4/7ths of the game! Make the $50 it costs too much. Waste the budget Sega invested into creating the parts that will disappear, and so totally absolve the staff of any responsibility in creating them and anything else connected to them. Who cares, when I don't have to even look at those parts I thought were ugly!

I don't get it. Sure, it'd be a tremendous waste and it isn't going to happen, but are you telling him that as a paying customer, he's obligated to sit through the garbage bits of the game because Sega spent a lot of money on them?

[FlashTHD]

You need to chill the fuck out, dude. It's not that he was raising Metacritic on some sort of lofty pedestal so much as he was pointing out the 64% rating, which is cause for concern, y'know, since that arbitrary statistic is directly proportionate to how the game is going to be received by the general public.

I see, so, I should have interpreted that "the game would be a solid 9/10" line as "If they would put in the extra effort to specifically appease the whims of these pro reviewers then these average-to-mediocre scores might not happen"?

I don't get it. Sure, it'd be a tremendous waste and it isn't going to happen, but are you telling him that as a paying customer, he's obligated to sit through the garbage bits of the game because Sega spent a lot of money on them?

If you make a demand/suggestion as unreasonable as "eliminate these two significant chunks of the gameplay from my sight in some way, please", then yes you probably do. Unfortunately, now this is beginning to get into territory that I can't speak for having not played it.

At any rate, now that bit from his post has gotten the chop...

[Rob-Bert]

Sonic 06 was Sonic Adventure 3.

The above statement says more than enough by itself.

Nah, it was more like Sonic Heroes 3, with Shadow the Hedgehog being Sonic Heroes 2.

[Ritz]

I see, so, I should have interpreted that "the game would be a solid 9/10" line as "If they would put in the extra effort to specifically appease the whims of these pro reviewers then these average-to-mediocre scores might not happen"?

I was under the impression that the pro reviewers weren't the only ones finding fault in the Werehog segments. Silly me!

[FlashTHD]

I was under the impression that the pro reviewers weren't the only ones finding fault in the Werehog segments. Silly me!

I was under the impression metacritic doesn't factor in scores/quotes from the general public?

But anyway, I think this has stretched as far as it can go right now.

[DackAttac]

I was under the impression that the pro reviewers weren't the only ones finding fault in the Werehog segments. Silly me!

I was under the impression metacritic doesn't factor in scores/quotes from the general public?

So if we all adamantly like a game critics overall spit upon, it'll be recognized for its merits after the fact. You're totally right. Because it's just understood whenever the critics get it wrong, the Sonic fans are always right there to correct them. That's why the gaming community eventually accepted Shadow the Hedgehog for the masterpiece it apparently was.

[Hybrid]

So it turns out that in order to progress, I just needed to go near the Professor. For some reason. Who knows? I talked to him, he said "ohoho the world is getting fixed thanks to you my boy!" and then suddenly more levels were available. I don't see the point in making me do that.

As a side note, I've just hit the part of the game were you need to start actively searching for medals if you don't want to get stuck. It kind of sucks!

edit: oh also, I've had about four "cannot read disc" errors so far. My 360 is brand new, never encountered this error in the 20+ hours I've already sunk into other games, and the disc itself doesn't appear damaged, scratched or dusty at all. I don't know how this new-fangled "install to hard drive" option changes the way the game reads the disc, but if it stops it from needing to read it at all then hopefully that will fix the problem.

[Neo]

Hey, Ritz, FlashTHD. Yeah. You can go compare your genitals outside, thanks.

Nah, it was more like Sonic Heroes 3, with Shadow the Hedgehog being Sonic Heroes 2.

It had Chao in Space 3 posters. I'm sorry, it was Sonic Adventure 3.

if it stops it from needing to read it at all then hopefully that will fix the problem

Well, yeah, that's kinda the whole point. Not needing the disc to play the game.

[FlashTHD]

Well, yeah, that's kinda the whole point. Not needing the disc to play the game.

You still need the disc to boot it up.

[MiraiTails]

Collecting medals is the most annoying thing ever and I don't want to do it.

Oh Sonic Team. Why are you making me unlock the levels in a game that I just paid $50 for? Look, can't you just release a $10 DLC that unlocks them for me or something?

[Ritz]

Hey, Ritz, FlashTHD. Yeah.

Fuck off newbie

[FlashTHD]

Look, can't you just release a $10 DLC that unlocks them for me or something?

No need Ritz. I fucking give up.

[DackAttac]

As a side note, I've just hit the part of the game were you need to start actively searching for medals if you don't want to get stuck. It kind of sucks!

I don't mind doing that in the nighttime stages since it's sort of lumbering anyway, but how much effort do you need to put into the daytime stages to accumulate those?

[Hybrid]

It's a pain in the ass. They're all off the beaten track, which means if you play the level fast - like you're supposed to, and it's also the most fun way - you're pretty much going to miss every single goddamn medal. Day time stages have fewer medals than night time stages, generally, and they also have very few Sun Medals compared to Moon Medals. It isn't any more fun to collect the medals in the werehog stages, because those aren't fun in the first place.

So I'm up to Empire City (well, I've half-finished Shamar) and this is how it tends to go: For each world, you must complete the main day time mission and the night time mission, to unlock both halves of each world's Boss Key, which unlocks the boss stage. In each world there are usually some other day time Acts for you to complete, but these are sort of "mini" levels. Say, Holoska, for example; The second "Act" is basically going around a small circuit three times, the obstacles changing each time around. So yes, while technically there are more Sonic stages, he only has one "proper" level per area. The werehog, as far as I can tell, only has the one level per area.

And you know what? I agree with this game's critics, because I'm getting sick of its bullshit - even in the daytime levels. To be perfectly honest, everything in this game - bar the "proper" day time levels - is garbage. The werehog being a chore is already well-documented, so I'll elaborate on the shittiness of the "mini" day time levels.

Take the above-mentioned Holoska level. This level is fucking stupid. For a start, much of the level is over water, so if you stop boosting, you drown. Second, by the third circuit, the obstacles on the track are damn-near impossible to avoid unless you've played the level several times over. While looking at the level in 2D, you're expected to boost across a body of water. The third time around, the water is littered with floating, spiky balls of ice which kill you instantly if you don't jump over them. And they're not spaced far enough apart for you to boost on the water - to avoid drowning - without boosting straight into another spike ball. And there's a spring, which Sonic targets automatically, which bounces you straight into a spike ball, which kills you. This is the absolute worst kind of level design, and you simply cannot do it without dying on each obstacle once, and then remembering where it is for next time. Many of the extra missions are like this (I mentioned the shitty Mazuri level earlier), and I really dread having to do them.

This isn't a very good game. The regular Sonic levels are fantastic, sure, but they make up such a small fraction of the game that it hardly seems worth it. I'm plowing through the story right now not because I want to and not because I want to play most of the levels, but because I just want to get all the crap out of the way so I can focus on the regular levels. The game just isn't much fun the rest of the time.