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Trailer Review: Sonic Unleashed

Posted by John Constantine

Yes, Sonic Unleashed does look good, idiotic title be damned. A lot of folks talk about how Sonic’s fallen on hard times in recent years. Every time a new console Sonic gets announced, it’s hyped as “the one”, the Sonic game that brings back the ‘Hog’s glory days, when he wasn’t playing second fiddle to Mario just so people would pay attention to him. And every time, the game turns out to be, at worst, a steaming pile of crap (Sonic Heroes/Riders/PS360 Self-Titled) or, at best, a competent imitation of past success (Sonic Advance/Rush). Unleashed’s luscious presentation, fun music, and pure speed are certainly tantalizing but who knows how this game actually plays? Will it be a purely on-rails affair, a la Sonic and the Secret Rings, or are you actually doing more than making Sonic go right and left? When does he turn into a werewolf? Who knows. At least it’s pretty.

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Posted Jun 18 2008, 07:00 PM

Filed under: john constantine, trailer review, sega, sonic the hedgehog

Comments

Amber Ahlborn said:

Hey now, no mention of Secret Rings? That's the only 3D Sonic game I actually like.

June 18, 2008 9:52 PM

Derrick Sanskrit said:

In all fairness, the two "competent" series you mentioned were both on portables, not consoles.

I don't care how engrossing and cinematic it makes the game feel, I am not down with over-the-shoulder Sonic gameplay. Even though Adventure 1 & 2 were fun, they felt decidedly slow and methodical in comparison to the glorious Genesis originals. This is a case of not needing to reinvent the wheel so much as remove the ridiculous spinning rims from the perfectly good wheel before the pedestrians have seizures looking at your atrocious wheel...or something like that.

June 18, 2008 11:59 PM

Danro said:

Was he previously on a leash? Anyway, Sega should watch your Ratatat mash up to get a feel for the kind of music the kids are listening to these days.

June 19, 2008 1:06 PM

about the blogger

John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

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