Sonic is getting better but needs more work in this game.
This isn't quite the return to form you might expect; these sections are few and far between, and they're deployed erratically, seeming like a tacked-on afterthought rather than, as they should have been, a central premise on which to build the game around. The other, more dominant aspect of the daytime missions is much more akin to the gameplay of another recent Sonic semi-success of this generation: Sonic and the Secret Rings, on the Wii. For the most part of the daytime in Sonic Unleashed, you control Sonic from behind, strafing him left and right to grab rings and avoid dangerous obstacles. As you collect rings, your Ring Energy meter builds up which you can release when you choose. As long as it's not empty, it'll give Sonic a short but incredible burst of speed. It's pretty exciting stuff, but disappointing if you're suddenly stopped in your tracks by hitting a wall or solid object. Also, despite the faced paced nature of this gameplay, it doesn't shake the odd feeling that it's not proper Sonic. It feels like an ultra fast graphically-enhanced remix one of the intermission Special Stages from his early games: a racing game in platform clothing. Sonic Team have nailed the speed all right, but it all goes by in the blink of an eye with none of the considered level design from his Genesis games.
One thing that's certain, however, is that despite their drawbacks, the gameplay templates of Sonic Rush and Sonic and the Secret Rings, both of which make their way into Sonic Unleashed, work pretty well. This makes Sonic Unleashed at least as good as those two titles in the parts of the game where their influences show. One influence that's not quite so welcome, or indeed cohesive with the rest of the Sonic Unleashed gameplay, though, is that which is taken from the rambling Sonic Adventure games. Sonic Unleashed breaks up the speedy action with a quite pointless narrative about him turning into a 'Werehog' at night. This gives Sega the excuse to slow the gameplay right down with all manner of plot expositions, delivered by an annoying flying mammal thing called Chip, by that same voice actor they use in every Western translation of the their dialogue. He'll interrupt you at every possible opportunity, explaining things you already knew, or were obvious from the beginning. Also, the game forces its adventure twist onto you quite heavy-handedly. It's divided into hubs, a-la Super Mario 64, with doors that need to be unlocked with specific numbers of Sun or Moon Medals. While this might work in a true adventure game like Super Mario 64 that places more emphasis on exploration and item collection than speed, it just serves to break up and lessen the impact of what should be the meat-and-bones gameplay of Sonic Unleashed: those breakneck-fast speedways.
The nighttime missions also deserve some flak. It's here where Sonic Team inadvertently remind us of the awkwardness of their old Sonic Adventure titles. As a Werehog, Sonic is endowed with immense strength, and oddly enough, freakishly stretchy arms. He can use these to trash enemies and climb up poles in search of the elusive Medals in these more combat-orientated nighttime missions. These fights against baddies which spawn out of nowhere, quickly become repetitive, and are reminiscent of the failures present in the Sonic Adventure series and Sonic Heroes. Although this time, the combat arenas are walled in to stop Sonic plummeting off a cliff to his doom, the dynamic camera still presents issues as it did before.
It's often too far away from the action, making combat quite hard to see. Also, Sonic's stretched arm attacks don't always connect with their intended targets, making the sight of him flailing around like a loon as frustrating as it is funny. The game works a lot better when the camera is on a fixed path, and when movement is restricted to a 2D plane. If Sonic Team had realised this, the game would have been a lot more fun. Sonic Unleashed is graphically eye catching in a 'this-sometimes-looks-a-bit-like-Super-Mario-Sunshine' kind of way, and the sheer speed of it all captures the essence of Sonic well. The music and sound effects are catchy, reflecting the environments the game presents. But all these elements are never expanded upon as they should, and for every exhilarating ride though one of the game's exotic levels, there's a dull combat section to follow.
In the end, Sega's insistence in holding onto these flawed elements transforms what could have been a truly excellent take on the classic Sonic formula, into a messy, ugly beast of a game. All these unnecessary nocturnal distractions end up outstaying their welcome even before you get tired of them, and this whole feral business is beginning to wear thin.