Excellence is almost there! Just a little more! Actually, a lot more.
The gameplay is the main reason why the classification says "mixed reactions." There are two types of levels: daylight levels that feature fast paced racing and nighttime levels that feature werehog lethargy.
The daylight levels are great; they feature Sonic running at amazingly fast speeds through huge levels and bring back what made Sonic great in the first place. Sonic has some speeding abilities to choose from to get him past the levels, such as a ring boost that lets him walk on water like you-know-who (I mean Naruto) and his trusty homing attack that lets him hit enemies and switches. There are some bugs, such as the controller movements not registering, but they are forgivable. Also, some acrobatic frustrations that require complete memorization of the specific feat exist, and they tend to be a turn-off. Another negative aspect is the unexpected transitions from 2-D to 3-D and vise-versa, which can make you lose control of Sonic. Thankfully, some transitions run very smoothly.
The nighttime levels involve the werehog fighting through hoards of enemies and performing impossible acrobatic feats. Even though this sounds fun, the nighttime levels should be renamed the nightmare levels. The combat is decent; there is a nice supply of techniques but the movements are not fluid. Also, the battles are not exciting. The acrobatic feats are a pain. These challenges involve swinging on poles, balancing on poles, and climbing up poles. The actions that help the werehog overcome these obstacles give it a more simian appearance than hedgehog appearance. The acrobatic obstacles can be extremely frustrating to a person that cannot time his or her movements well. Also, the camera does not always agree with the player. As a result, an innocent, automatic spin of the camera could end up with Sonic falling into the abyss.
Sonic can visit towns at different times of the day (basically, he can stand out in town looking like a blue hedgehog or a werehog). This system only helps to get the storyline moving, and even though there are sidequests, they do not serve much purpose. In order to access levels, Sonic must collect moon medals in order to get into nighttime levels and sun medals in order to get into daytime levels. These are hidden in towns and stages, but collecting them can end up being a chore for the average person.
The boss fights are actually pretty fun. The werehog boss battles usually involve some puzzle-thinking instead of the mindless brawling in the nighttime stages. The daytime stages involve Sonic dodging attacks in order to run up to a boss and give it a good homing attack on the head.
The visuals fall a little short of what a PS3 game should look like. Sometimes the frame is a little shaky, though it is easy to get used to. There are also some half-second freezes in the game, and though that may not seem like much, imagine you're in the middle of performing an impossible jump that claimed fifty lives and then watching the game freeze and break your concentration. However, the CG scenes are well detailed. Unfortunately, some scenes are short and then they cut to the loading screen in order to prepare another short scene.
The audio itself is great, but it is also the victim of most of the bugs, such as a weird static sound in the background or no background music at all. However, if there are no audio bugs happening while you are racing through a level, then the experience becomes natural. The music is wonderfully harmonious towards the tone of the levels and of the boss fights. The voice acting is okay, even though Chip's voice gets annoying sometimes.
Sonic Unleashed is a positive step in the right direction. However, it is the single step of a journey of a thousand miles. The game needs a plethora of improvements, but hard-core Sonic fans and forgiving people with the need for speed (at least during the day) should play this game.