GoNintendo 'End of day' thought - What do you think of Sonic Unleashed?

I think I want to hit up IHOP later in the morning. Anyone care to join me for breakfast?! We could grab some pancakes, and talk gaming! I’d love to do that with you guys…some sort of huge GoNintendo reader breakfast/luncheon where we chow down and talk games. Who knows, maybe some day! That’s a dream I’ll save for my bedtime…which happens to be right now! See you guys in a few hours…I hope you’ve had a fantastic weekend thus far.

A short but sweet thought for the weekend. I didn’t want to tax any brains too hard while we are trying to enjoy a Sunday morning!

If you are a Wii owner and a Sonic fan, I am guessing you picked up Sonic Unleashed. You should have also had a good amount of time to play, if not beat the game. I am moving very slowly, because I haven’t had a break to really churn out some gameplay. I’ve already given impressions, but I need more time for a final opinion.

With that said, this quesiton is for those of you who have put in a good amount of time with Unleashed. How do you think this game stacks up to other 3d Sonic titles? Was all the hope and hype worth it? Do you think Unleashed came through, or is it another lackluster title in a long line of hedgehog sub-par gaming?

I know Sonic is a gaming icon, and he has a ton of fans. With that said, please don’t attack one another in the comments. I really just want to see some honest opinions from you guys!

Hey everyone…cortjezter here to piggyback on RMC’s EoD post. I never got around to posting this before the game launched, but I’ll add my impressions after the jump:

Earlier this month, Sega invited me to their office in San Francisco to get a look at what was presumably the final build of Sonic Unleashed for the Wii. Until then, I had zero hands-on time with it, and only a few passing stories read from other outlets about the premise of the game.

Without rehashing too much of what’s already been said countless other places and times, the idea is pretty straightforward: Sonic becomes transformed after being tricked during a confrontation with Dr. Eggman, becoming a “werehog” at night. So the game takes place in a myriad of locations in both day and night scenarios. Levels are cleverly separated and spread across 7 continents, and many resemble real-world locations, such as the Great Wall of China, jungles of Southeast Asia, or city streets of Greece. The key is that the gameplay for a level is wildly different based on the time of day: daylight is a “normal” speed demon affair, similar to other 3D Sonic games–part is third-person rear-view, part is more side-scrolling; while night time levels are platforming beat-em-ups, not unlike Kameo or Banjo Kazooie.

So how does it all come together? Well, to start, the game looks and sounds great on Wii. I’ve never personally been a fan of voice acting in games, but it works just fine here; it doesn’t detract from anything, and I can live with that. The opening cinematic and cut scenes are beautifully rendered, and look great even in 480p. If you have a surround speaker setup, a subwoofer will definitely rumble a bit, which is right up my alley.

As for the gameplay, it’s really tricky to pinpoint a verdict, especially from a preview perspective, because what we’re really getting here are TWO games in one title, and thankfully not in mini-game form as is common on the Wii. The trouble for me is that the two types of gameplay presented are quite opposite in a lot of ways, and it can be a jarring experience in the pacing of things. To be racing through desert sands faster than you can even see one moment and then be trudging and hopping along a jungle with a gangly steamroller of a brute the next will certainly be difficult for some gamers to swallow. Other than cut scenes, it wasn’t answered how exactly these two games seamlessly merge.

The better news is that individually, each style plays pretty well for what it is. Traditional Sonic levels look good and have multiple paths through. Controls are very similar to Sonic and the Secret Rings, though they can be touchy at times when racing about. It’s exactly what you want and have wanted from 3D Sonic games all this time.

However, the night-time platforming levels are so much different–feeling very Banjo-ish with all the moves and objectives per level–that it will be very much a personal decision per gamer whether this new style is to be appreciated or enjoyed. The motion controls generally make sense in context, though they do have a bit of a learning curve that shouldn’t be a problem when learned progressively from the beginning. These levels do feel very, very slow though, especially if you just had your face peeled off from a lap or two around a beach level. It took some careful watching and finally a confirmation question to determine, but coins in the platforming mode serve to restore your health meter, and unlike traditional sonic, you can withstand more than one beating at a time.

I did get to see one boss battle, and although they were a little secretive, what I did see looked pretty promising if it was just a taste of things to come further in the game. Other things to note: the game has about 60 levels, about half are part of the core run through, the rest being among the many unlockables, which also includes concept art, hints, movies, etc.; the Wii was the lead SKU over the PS2 version, and can be played with motion controls, Gamecube or classic controller for those who prefer a more standard experience. For the very observant, Sega has also tossed in some easter eggs for longtime fans, such as a Dreamcast appearing as a background element in one of the opening sequences.

While the game has now been available for a couple weeks, it shouldn’t be overlooked or written off because it isn’t perfect. Give it a rent; whether you like both styles of gameplay or just one, the daytime levels will not disappoint. –cortjezter