You earn ratings and medals based on how well you play - how many rings you collect and how much time elapses before you reach the goal - and if you perform poorly the first time through, as you might, you can come back again and try for a better score. The daytime levels scream by, but Sonic Team and Dimps have devised methods to keep you coming back for more. And purists will be pleased to see that levels seamlessly change perspectives as you go so that at one moment you're blazing forward, side-stepping enemies and Z-sliding underneath walls and in the next, you've got a 2D view as the hedgehog rolls through a loop and takes a bumper straight up. When, on occasion, you actually do slow down, it's because you chose to do so and not because some poorly implemented barrier appeared out of nowhere, like a set of spikes you couldn't outmaneuver in time. The result are stages that feel like roller coaster rides complete with sharp turns, branching routes, and the trademark loop-de-loops and rail-slides of the series. The game moves at an incredibly fast pace and most of the speed-killing obstacles present in other Sonic games, Secret Rings included, have been removed. The daytime levels are great fun, even if they do occasionally feel like they are playing themselves - a running complaint of all Sonic games and let's face it, you either love this or you hate it. There's also a chunky adventure to be found - one spilling with challenges, side quests and collectibles, all of them amazing fan service for the die-hards out there. The production values powering Unleashed are remarkably high, from the crisp, gorgeous cinematics, all rendered, to the epic overworld. In no way could this title be described as lazy, even if you agree with me that the werehog component is completely unnecessary and unsatisfactory. He brings both a fresh perspective and new ambitions to the series, which has floundered in recent years, as far as I'm concerned.

The question is, how much are you willing to put up with to play the undeniably great daytime levels? Sonic Unleashed is the brainchild of Yoshihisa Hashimoto, who has worked on some of the previous hedgehog titles, but has never helmed one. If the concept sounds a little forced, it is, but not nearly as forced and altogether boring as the repetitive selection of nighttime stages. Unfortunately, Fantastic, yes, but unfortunately Sonic Unleashed has a darker side, literally, and I'm referring specifically to the well-publicized night-set levels in which the speedy hero transforms into a slow, stretchy werehog. These stages, which regularly shift from 2D to 3D perspectives, are executed so well, in fact, that I feel they not only successfully capture the frantic pace and addictive play mechanics of the long-gone classics, but surpass them. As the blue hedgehog spins through chaotic, unpredictable environments at sound-barrier-breaking speeds, you will be hooked. When the sun is shining, Sonic Unleashed is a blazing fast roller coaster ride filled with loop-de-loops, jump pads, speed boosts, zigzagging pathways, alternate routes and more.

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