You know it was a matter of time before I make a Sonic-related post.

I have come to a hard-hitting conclusion that I cannot afford a PS3 for another year or so. I have therefore lived my pitiful existence by browsing through PS3 playthroughs on YouTube and *imagine* that I have a PS3. The Fullscreen-HD mode can do wonders to the mind!

It’s been a year since Sonic Unleashed, uh, unleashed. That time, hope started to glimmer. It soon faded out when Sonic became a werehog (facepalm) and Chip the irritating sidekick comes in (double facepalm), but let’s not talk about that ^^;;

As much as a lot of us hate the recent 3d makeovers, me included, we gotta admit that Sonic’s 2D to 3D transition is tricky business. Still, the day stages show that the developers really thought the whole Sonic gameplay over and gave him the speed that he deserved. Here are some improvements I noticed, based on my *ahem* imaginary playtests:

• The shoulder buttons are used to jump rail-to-rail or sidestep. In previous 3D games, it was more of  “ok here goes… NOOOOOO…!!”.
• Getting hit won’t disrupt most of your actions. Last time, getting hit while rail gliding means byebye rail and hello chasm of death!
• Level design comes with fixed camera angles most of the time, rather than free-roaming. Not quite, but close to 2D gameplay.
• A priority targeting display for your homing attacks, so you know where you’ll be going.
• View from the back or front gets skewered when you run fast enough. Also, the background music fades out, leaving only a simpler tune. All this giving you that illusion of speed.
• Of course, superb graphics.

Ok enough talk. Time for YouTube videos, yo! Ordered by level, and needless to say, spoiler alert.

A laid-back island theme, starting with a tutorial level. And yes, the appearance of Chip. Oh gawd. After that stewpid cutscene, have a look at the proper level. It’s beautiful, yet level design is straight-forward and easy. Then he changes to a werehog, the best part of Sonic Unleashed. [/sarcasm]

Next is an african theme. Check out the skidding! A change in the environment from time to time is a big plus. Although you can see few bugs popping out already, the gameplay is easily recoverable. Also check out the boss at the end.

The classic theme of ice. I love the song in this one, fits with the level and gives you positive energy during a gym workout! The whale and bobsled thingies are so gimmicky, but being gimmicky is what Sonic does best :P

This is Hunchback of Notredame on drugs. Apparently the popular favourite, this level balances out the scenery, the perspectives, keeps the action moving at all times and still maintains a certain level of difficulty. You gotta hand it to the developer; Sonic going into that seemingly decorative rows of houses in the background is awesome.

Ah, a chinese-level theme. If you’re traveling around the world in a game, you just gotta stop by China rite? Here, the background begins to show its true lushness. Is it just me, or those fireworks need a little more bang?

Sonic and the Secret Rings anyone? Don’t really like this level, too many objects and contraptions get in the way of feel-good moments.

Welcome to San Francisco! Sonic can climb buildings, there’s no stopping him! I actually love the part where Sonic passes in front the toll gates instead of running through it, this gave me the illusion that Sonic is moving around the space, not just going in a fixed direction.

Well well, ain’t this a surprise! A level with a South-East Asian theme? :D It is so reminiscent of my Bali trip. The song rocks too, in a traditional remix kind of way. Being the 2nd last day level, it has many difficult parts but still keeps the pace up to speed. The scenery is beautiful too. Just hate the laggy parts.

I’m not gonna show the last level, because it’s excruciatingly painful to watch. The cool part is that you switch from hedgehog to werehog and back DURING the level itself, but unfortunately there are more werehog parts =_=

Here’s hoping that future Sonic games bring back this essence of gameplay, minus the werehogs, comic reliefs, princesses and swords.