I like Sonic Unleashed, but at the same time, I'm kind of looking up from a [parasitic bomb]-hole. I can kind of see where people are getting at, but at the same time, it seems as if their initial view-point lead them to it. Some were expecting an absolutely great game straight from the get-go, while others were thinking it was going to be absolute crap. I looked at it in the latter. It delivers the speed that's been missing, I actually enjoy how it's set-up, and it's fun dashing through the levels at insane speeds. Luckily it seems as if they put little exploration around that's needed since most of the medals are easy to collect on the main path, with a couple times needing a stop. Considering how long it's been since a console Sonic game came out with the idea and premise of running at sound-breaking speeds, I didn't really mind having to stop once in a while to do some looking around. The ability that was put in the 360 and PS3 versions (the constant use of Ring Energy whenever instead of small bursts) actually saved my life in a stage. I was dashing on the water and the whole time I kept missing land to go on and get more rings, but luckily a small group of rings would show up and keep the gauge going, and I was able to cross the giant water gap by hardly ever touching any land segments.
I even like the Werehog levels. Compared to DMC, there's a lot more you can do on the outset, and even more at the end. I don't know how many times I've used the same combos to rack up Style points in DMC and was freaking out like no tomorrow trying to change it up a bit with a very limited amount of crap I can do. In Unleashed, I've never used the same combo more than once in a row, and the list of stuff I'm able to do grows and grows and grows. What's even better is, I've found actual use for the attacks; some are stronger and good for hitting one enemy, while others are good for damaging everything around me. The game also has a nice level of difficulty so that it's not some kind of cake walk. It's hard enough to make you die a couple times, but at the same time, it's the kind of hard that when you conquer the challenge, it's just that much more rewarding.
Again, you have to understand where I'M coming from. After the crap I heard from even a die-hard Sonic fan from Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Sonic 360, I was really starting to think Sega had lost it's touch. I was even expecting this game to be total [parasitic bomb]. Same fan came over and showed me Unleashed though, and I was amazed. They had actually done something I liked on a console Sonic game, a damned miracle! I was even more worried about this game after the travesty that is Sonic Chronicles, a game I had ACTUALLY looked forward to! Personally, I think Sega's on the track back to Sonic fame, as long as they stick with what made the original games so great, something that can be seen in Unleashed.
One thing though: STOP MAKING SUPER SONIC FINAL LEVEL [parasitic bomb]! I don't even remember the last time you could activate Super Sonic whenever in a stage as long as you had the rings. They even did it to the portables, Sonic Advance and up had Super Sonic playable only in the final level!