It is sad to see a gaming mascot fall from such a lofty perch. It seems like ages ago now that Sonic was once one of the premier gaming mascots. Back on the Sega Genesis, players would love speeding around the courses seeing who can beat each level the fastest. This was Sega's answer to Nintendo's plumpy plumber. After the first Sonic Adventure for the Sega Dreamcast, Sonic couldn't "find his footing" anymore. This mascot has been in a wide variety of games that throw in new gimmicks (guns, multi-character switching, and more), but they just didn't "feel" like a Sonic game. This is mostly due since the developers have not focused on what makes a true Sonic game - sense of pure speed mixed with adventure and action. There is a new Sonic game in town hopping to change that, and it is entitled Sonic Unleashed.

When players first load the game, they will be treated to a gorgeous movie that starts off with a very unusual storyline. After finally cornering Dr. Eggman in his space robot facility, Dr. Eggman promises that he will turn over a new leaf and become good. Unbeknownst to Sonic, Dr. Eggman had placed a trap that surrounded Sonic in a high energy shield. This high energy shield stripped him of his Super Sonic power and robbed him of his Chaos Emeralds. Dr. Eggman captured all of this energy and blasted it at the surface of the planet, unleashing a huge beast: Dark Gaia, and separating the world into seven continents. With all of this dark energy escaping, and Sonic being in the middle of it, it transformed him into a Werehog. Dr. Eggman dropped the now unconscious Sonic off into the planet. It is now up to Sonic to utilize these new powers to stop Dr. Eggman and turn the world to normal once again.

As players might have already guessed, Sonic has the ability to change into two different creatures, during the day he is the normal Sonic the speedy Hedgehog, but at night he becomes the powerful Sonic the Werehog. Unlike most games that have the main character transform, the changes here are not just for looks, but for the core gameplay.

During the day, the levels are a throwback from the "old-school" Sonic days. Players will be given a wide level where they must explore and try to collect as many rings and other collectables in the shortest amount of time. The sense of speed in these levels is fantastic. The developers did a WONDERFUL job of conveying the true sense of speed in area of the game. The camera is either placed behind Sonics' back or players are given a side view of what is going on. The camera does a great job of keeping up with all of the high speed action. This is what Sonic the Hedgehog game is all about; pure speed with the level making players go faster than ever before.

The controls for the "day levels" is very easy to get the hang of. The left and right bumpers will allow Sonic to do a quick step left or right which is very handy when grinding down various rails. The left stick is used to walk/run, and the right stick allows players to rotate the camera. The A button allows Sonic to jump or talk to people in the various towns. The B button is for sliding or crouching under various holes in walls. The Y button will make Sonic go even faster by doing a lighting dash. The X button is very important to get familiar with as it allows Sonic to do homing attacks against enemies, which is especially useful in crossing canyons.

As stated early, at night Sonic transforms into a Werehog, which includes its own set of powers. Instead of super speed, Sonic can now stretch his arms like Mr. Fantastic and has become a lot stronger as well. This means that the Werehog levels are all about combat, puzzle solving, with exploration thrown in for some fun. The main problem with the combat in this game is that it gets repetitive. In order to help rectify this, the developers allowed players to unlock new combat moves. Unfortunately, this doesn't help much. The main reason for the repetition is the lack of enemies to fight, it seems like there are only a handful of enemies in the entire game that Sonic must defeat numerous times. Also there is no "lock on" button so it gets very frustrating when Sonic always targets the lower level enemies instead of the boss of the level.

The controls for the nighttime levels are decent and get the job done. Pressing the LB button will allow Sonic to guard against incoming attacks. After players collect enough "dark energy" they can go into Unleashed mode by pressing the LB button, which doubles the attack power of Sonic. Pressing the right trigger will make sonic dash. The Y and X button are used for various attack moves, by pressing them in together and in different sequences players can do different attack moves. The B button allows players to grab and place various objects thrown around the level, which is helpful in solving certain puzzles. The A button allow players to jump around the level or even talk to the townsfolk.

One thing the developers did to help make this game more personal is add RPG elements to the gameplay. As players go through each level, they will collect various things such as rings, medallions, as well as experience crystals. At anytime during the game, players can go into the options menu and spend their experience points to upgrade Sonics' various traits - both the Hedgehog and Werehog versions. This allows players to choose what they want to upgrade and makes the game more personal for them.

Players are in for a visual treat the first time they load up this game. The in-game cinemas are breathtaking! The graphics engine also gives players a great impression of how fast Sonic is moving throughout the levels. I also enjoy seeing the speed blur that comes on the screen as it shows how fast Sonic is really moving. The camera does a great job of keeping up with the high speed action as well. The character models are also nicely done. It is really impressive to see the various characters in action and at times see the hairs moving on Sonics furry body. The level are also highly detailed and at times players will be lost in the scenery.

The music for this game is really good. Players will find it very funny to hear the changes in pitch and tone that music will do depending on how well/poor players do on each level. The sound effects are also really good, this is especially true by the sense of speed and how the sound changes the faster players go. The only annoying part of this game is the voice acting. At first it is decent, but as the game goes on, players will want to mute the sound - especially with Chip's annoying voice and constant reminders he enjoys saying.

Sonic Unleashed is rated Everyone 10+.

Gameplay: 7.0
Having two distinct gameplay types is always a gamble in any game, unfortunately it doesn't work out as well in Sonic Unleashed. The problem is that that Sonic the Hedgehog parts are extremely fun to play, while the Werehog levels are more disappointing due to the repetition in combat. Many times players will want to try to "zip" through these levels just to get the ability to play the next Hedgehog level.

Graphics: 8.5
The developers did a great job with the graphics in this game. Everything looks very good from the cinemas, special effects, and the environments players will transverse.

Sound: 7.9
The sound effects and music for this game really nice. The voice acting does get annoying after a while. Difficulty: Easy This game is extremely easy to jump in and start playing. There are a few challenging puzzles, but nothing that will have players to upset over.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 7.1
The idea of having two halves of Sonic was interesting, but the Werehog levels were not implemented very well. Having the ability to lock-on to an enemy would have improved this greatly

Overall: 7.1
Sonic Unleashed is not a horrible game, but there are certain elements that this game could do without. What will have many gamer's hopes up is the developers really nailed the Sonic portion of the game, but the pure sense of speed, action, and exploring. It will make gamers have flashbacks of earlier Sonic the Hedgehog days. Hopefully the next game in the series will focus more of this then adding a new gimmick to the series.