IGN Reviews Sonic Unleashed Wii/PS2

With Sonic Unleashed now in store shelves (at least the Wii/PS2 versions) we can expect much more reviews coming our way. Today, IGN reviewed the Wii and PS2 versions of Sonic Unleashed, and comparing this game’s score with other recent Sonic games, this one is among the best.

Unfortunately, fantastic,  yes, but unfortunately Sonic Unleashed has a darker side, literally, and I’m referring specifically to the well-publicized night-set levels in which the speedy hero transforms into a slow, stretchy werehog. Yeah — a werehog. If the concept sounds a little forced, it is, but not nearly as forced and altogether boring as the repetitive selection of nighttime stages. The question is, how much are you willing to put up with to play the undeniably great daytime levels?

As you can already guess, IGN doesn’t enjoy the nighttime stages nearly as much as they did the daytime stages.

The daytime levels scream by, but Sonic Team and Dimps have devised methods to keep you coming back for more. You earn ratings and medals based on how well you play — how many rings you collect and how much time elapses before you reach the goal — and if you perform poorly the first time through, as you might, you can come back again and try for a better score.

For some reason why they didn’t enjoy the Werehog too much was because of some of the ridiculous controls. Thankfully, this title supports Classic/GameCube controllers. They feel as if the levels just repeat themselves over and over again.

Enter area, break open some crates and barrels, come into a clearing and fight some enemies, jump across a couple of platforms and repeat. It goes on and on, the only differences the change in backgrounds; even the enemies remain mostly the same.

They don’t explain much on the static hub world though, however, they complement the game by its responsive controls and good technology. They feel as if diehard Sonic fans can just purchase the game for it’s daytime stages.

They end the review by stating:

It’s a shame, too, because this time more than any other, Sonic Team nearly had it. Indeed, had Unleashed shipped with a focus on polished daytime levels, I have no doubt that it would’ve been one of the best entrants in the franchise’s long history. But the developer’s insistence on avoiding a pure hedgehog experience at all costs has once again backfired, transforming a speedy beauty into a slow beast.

They gave Sonic Unleashed Wii version a 7.2/10 and the PS2 version a 7.0/10.

You can read the full review here!

This post was originally written by the author for TSSZ News.