Definitely not worth $50.00, even the day stages are disastrous.
First off, (you can skip this paragraph if you'd like) I'd just like to quickly introduce myself: I've been a fan of Sonic and his games since my childhood. My first game was Sonic 3 and Knuckles, many years ago, so I have quite a background in Sonic.
Sonic Unleashed, released on all 7th Generation home gaming consoles, was very hyped due to a belief in the fanbase that Sonic would finally be returning to his roots. This, however, is mostly untrue, what with the inclusion of the werehog and the chaotic daytime stages.
The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are completely different games from the Wii and PS2 editions of the game; this review covers the Wii version of the game. Differences include completely different level layout, and the Wii version is missing the stages of Mazuri and Empire City.
PROS
*Rich real-world-resembling locations in game
*Humorous cutscenes and dialogue
*Wonderful soundtrack
CONS
* The day stages are fun to look at, but dull and with no depth
*Werehog stages do not belong in the Sonic universe
*Game is easy
STORY (6/10)
The story isn't too bad. It was definitely given some thought, but it's nothing extraordinarily original or deep. I'll just summarize the beginning. Sonic blasts through a space base of Eggman's as Super Sonic until Eggman traps him and mutates him into the werehog, launching him down onto the planet (along with the Chaos Emeralds, the genius). Dark Gaia, a monster living underneath the planet, is awakened by Dr. Eggman, splitting the planet into pieces. Throughout the game, Sonic meets a friend named Chip(who helps you out and provides some humorous dialogue) and travels across the world to fix it back into one piece.
GRAPHICS (6/10)
Sonic Unleashed's visuals are the average of any Wii game. Day stage textures are low resolution, but again, you're speeding off like a maniac, so you can't really tell anyway. Night stages can be ambient and beautiful in stages like Spagonia, but again, there really isn't much to say here. Overall, the stages' textures aren't very detailed, but models are good as far as Wii goes.
SOUND (8/10)
The game's soundtrack is really wonderful for such a mediocre game. Day stage music really gets you excited, and Night stages are very interesting in music. Spagonia's night stage music is a beautiful work of mystic art, and each Night stage song really portrays the feeling of night time and all of that stuff. The game's vocal theme, Endless Possibility (performed by Jaret Reddick of Bowling for Soup), is great. The ending song is pretty deep too. The game's sound effects are to be expected for any Sonic game, so nothing special here except some new werehog sounds of course. The game's music is really nice.
GAMEPLAY (4/10)
This is going to be the core of the review, so here goes.
Sonic Unleashed was widely perceived by other as having decent day stages and horrible night stages. This, in my opinion, is mostly the case. I'll start with Day stages.
Day stages are few and far apart in the game, usually only one per level, as compared to around 3 to 5 Night stages. Sonic Unleashed plays like a 3D version of Sonic Rush. Basically, Sonic games are all about speed now and going as fast as you can. Gameplay wise, this means boring, plain, straight stages where all you're doing is holding or spamming the dash button.
Sonic isn't about speed, or going as fast as you can. Sonic is about building momentum, with speedups as a bonus. This game is NOTHING like the golden days of Sonic Adventure 1 and 2. The engine is focused on SPEED, and Sonic himself, if you toy around, has trouble turning because of what I said at the beginning of this sentence.
The stages aren't like Sonic Adventure, where you would turn corners, jump, and explore or think, the stages in Sonic Unleashed are practically straight lines, if you would view them top-down. Even the 2.5D parts are boring because of this, there's just no drive.
Because of this, Day stages are boring and unimmersive, and all about DASHING and repeatedly pressing said button as much as you can. Badniks have nice design, but that's about it: They're boring, gameplay wise, simply standing in front of you as a blockade in most areas.
Now for Night stages.
Night stages revolve around Sonic being slowed down and bulky, so the gameplay is very much this, playing as a 3D platforming beat 'em up. Don't get me wrong, it's not as bad as everybody says it is. It just doesn't feel like it belongs in a Sonic game, and could've been better off somewhere else.
Night stages are long and tedious, so this can be a problem sometimes. Sonic here kills enemies with his fists, and his stretchy arms. You unlock various techniques and punches, adding some variety. With the Wii remotes, it's based on motion control, with the Gamecube controller(which I use) based on button mashing,
Beating up shadowy beings and bosses is actually kind of fun, and to me, a guilty pleasure. The werehog stages just don't work for a Sonic game, the engine, in my opinion, should be used somewhere else because it's beat 'em up style just doesn't suit Sonic the Hedgehog's base gameplay.
THE VERDICT
Sonic Unleashed, if you really want to play it, is best at a RENT.
This just isn't worth full price. The day stages are plain, and very boring. The night stages are okay, but just aren't the thing for Sonic games. If you get any version of this game, get the PS3 or 360 versions, I have yet to play those, but I know it includes downloadable content and more stages (if you actually like the engine).