Hard Drive wrote a cool review of Sonic Unleashed, which is one of my favourite Sonic games (even if I can’t complete it because it’s too hard for a casual gamer like me). And I have to praise some of the greatest game review lines I’ve ever read (highlighted in bold):
Seriously, Sonic Unleashed (the badass 360/PS3 version) reinvented the Sonic formula in such a stylistically bold, thrilling, and visually stunning way with its daytime levels that no one with a true need for speed should deny themselves the pleasure of playing the game over and over until the day they die. These stages manage to translate the adrenaline rush of Sonic 2 and Sonic 3&K’s “oh shit Sonic’s going so fast he’s about to fly off the screen” moments into a breezy 3D experience that finds smart ways to reward player focus and skill.
Furthermore, Unleashed’s levels remain some of—if not THE—best-looking environments in any Sonic game. Visually, besides maybe Sonic Frontiers, Unleashed remains the technological king of the franchise, with gorgeously rendered vistas all mimicking various places from the real world. Want Sonic to bumrush a Parisian cafe for baguettes or run across a whale’s back in Antarctica? Play Unleashed!
Now, yes, slogging through some serviceable but out of place brawler-platformer levels in a Sonic game is less than ideal; the game’s critics have a valid point there! However, indulge me: Imagine someone invents a universal cure for all cancers but also happens to shit themselves in public. Surely you wouldn’t discredit the magnitude of their accomplishments all because of a little shit, right?
I will hear nothing bad about Sonic Unleashed. There are plenty of Sonic games worse than this, so go after them!
