The Blue Blur returns with a new adventure that vastly improves upon his last, with a few stumbles.
The story this time is that Eggman has finally done something somewhat right for once, he tore the planet apart by awakening a beast trapped within it called Dark Gaia. The Chaos Emeralds have lost their power and color and Sonic has been affected as well. Sonic transforms into a "Werehog" that allows him to fight differently during the nights.
Most of Sonic's friends stay home this time, with only Amy and Tails hanging around, as well as a new friend named Chip, who has more to do with the story than the others. Obviously Sonic has to stop Eggman and find a way to put the world back together. It's what you expect from a Sonic game but it's nice that the cast of characters is so small so they don't annoy as easily and it's nice to see Eggman finally do something evil. It's not the best but it's not the worst either.
Gameplay is where most Sonic games go bad. This game has three gameplay stages; towns, daytime stages and night time stages. The towns are hubs where you can do sidequests, progress the story and talk to people. Daytime stages are Hedgehog stages and they are fast and furious. Gameplay is either 3D or 2.5D, while 3D, Sonic can side-step to avoid obstacles while 2.5D plays like a retro Sonic game for the most part.
As you collect rings, you fill up the boost gauge which allows Sonic to burst to a whole new level of speed as long as the gauge is full and you hold the boost button. The gauge fills as you get rings, allowing you to boost through an entire level if you are skilled enough. The bad thing about the daytime stages is that you can enter QTEs where you die if you are a second too late and the occasional cheap death. Aside from those negative aspects, the daytime gameplay is exhilarating.
The night time stages are an entirely different story, you play as the Werehog in God of War style levels with the exact same control style and repetitive combat, it even has the QTEs on weakened enemies. These levels aren't bad but they can get boring, they are also slow, too slow for a Sonic game, not to mention the fact that each levels lasts up to around 30 minutes.
Another bad thing about gameplay is that you need certain items to progress through the game. These items are called Sun Medals and Moon Medals and are scattered throughout the stages and towns. This is only a small blemish on an overall fun game.
The music is fun and fitting for the settings and scenarios. The battle music for the Werehog stages I found stuck in my head, along with the map screen's music. It's an awesomely orchestrated soundtrack with a cool theme song. The voice acting isn't that great on the other hand, with Chip being the worst. Sonic and Eggman's voices are alright and you can change the voices to Japanese if you prefer. Overall, it's a pleasant audio package.
Never before has Sonic's world looked so pretty. The environments are all varied and are well detailed. Each of the characters have a shiny sheen and the fur effects on Sonic's Werehog form is pretty cool to look at. There are a couple of cinematics in the game and they look really good. This game is Sonic's best looking adventure yet!
Sonic has survived through some rough times and Sonic Unleashed looks like a light at the end of the tunnel. Sure the Werehog stages are boring and it doesn't have a great story, the daytimes stages are a blast and it's definitely pretty. SEGA is stepping in the right direction!
Story: 7.0/10
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Audio: 8.5/10
Presentation: 9.0/10