Sonic Unleashed's boxart boldly exclaims "The Difference is Night and Day!" and while I'd love to make a jab at the situational and verbal irony of the statement and the much-criticized "Werehog" sections, the fact of the matter is that the difference between Sonic Unleashed and the previous debacle of 2006 is, indeed, night and day. Sonic Unleashed is a vast improvement over Sonic Team's post-Dreamcast efforts in nearly every way. Not only has Sonic Team infused some much-needed bug testing into the game, they've made cognitive improvements in areas that always seemed troublesome in previous efforts (camera, cheap deaths, bad controls). Truth is, half of this game is what Sonic fans have waited since 1994 for; a fully-realized pseudo-2D/3D extravaganza. The other half, which I'll dub "Werehog Mode", was doomed even before people played it. Funny thing is, Werehog Mode isn't that bad, either. And so Sonic Unleashed unleashes a barrage of surprises.

          Let's start with what everyone already knows: the "Sonic" stages are fantastic. Beyond the obvious, though, are the subtle things about these stages that prove that Sonic Team has fundamentally shifted their philosophies in game design. Gone is the wonky, problematic camera. Gone is the odd pacing that saw Sonic constantly slamming into obstacles, destroying the speed of the game. Gone are the cheap deaths that result of nothing more than bizarre changes in control scheme due to camera switches. Instead, we're presented with a very fluid, well thought-out rollercoaster ride the likes of which I haven't seen since Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Genesis. The simple word for this is polish. The previous 3D Sonic games, even the Dreamcast ones, lacked this sort of polish.

          Sonic games, even the bad ones, have always looked good. Sonic Unleashed is no exception. Sonic Team eschewed the more adult, almost realistic look of Sonic 2006 for a more classic "weekday cartoon" look that more captures the spirit of the old Sonic games. Robotnik (I still won't call him Eggman) is comical, silly, and overacted. He's the kind of Robotnik I knew back in the Sonic weekday cartoons; a bumbling buffoon who is evil only in the most basic, ridiculous sense. The worlds, interestingly enough, are designed to look like real-world countries. In general this yields mixed results but they all look impressive from a technical standpoint. There had been reports of slowdown early in Sonic Unleashed's development but I encountered very little.

          The music is, like the graphics, a bit of a return to form. Sonic is no longer "down with the rock" so-to-speak. Tunes range from jazz and funk to... italian serenades? It's a bit weird but still feels much more like the classic Sonic we all know and love. The voice acting received a marked improvement over previous efforts. Amazingly, Tails is no longer annoying, though this may be the result of the even more annoying Chip.

          The Werehog sections. Yes, it's time to discuss them. Truth is, not only are they "not that bad", they're actually pretty good. After an hour or so with it (and a few level-ups) I started to see where Sonic Team wanted to take it. Sonic the Werehog is basically a wacky take on God of War, and for the most part it's well mimicked. The controls are fluid and the combat is dynamic, though a bit too easy for my tastes. As Sonic the Werehog progresses in skill, more combo attacks are unlocked and the combat becomes increasingly more dynamic. Like Devil May Cry, the game rewards the player for increasingly complex hit combos with extra experience and items. What initially seems like a fairly lackluster combat system turns out to be surprisingly complex and enjoyable.

          Overall, Sonic Unleashed is a solid game. While the addition of the Werehog sections seem to detract from the true spirit of Sonic, they are well-made and enjoyable. If nothing else, they add extra content to the game which improves the variety of what it offers. An excellent purchase for any Sonic fan.