Sonic Unleashed
© 2008 Sega
Here's yet another amazingly addictive Sonic game for one player. You'll find better graphics and some fun creative twists in the mazes in this game. Note that younger players can get frustrated, especially because some of the moves mean holding two buttons down simultaneously. In the story, Sonic is on a quest to save the world from Dr. Eggman, who is causing the world to break apart, unleashing a sleeping beast. This beast alters Sonic, and it is up to Sonic to use his new abilities to connect the remnants of the shattered world by finding the lost chaos emeralds. As any prior Sonic player knows, this is achieved by rolling up in a tight ball, and zipping through mazes at hyperspeed, using such moves as the Quick Step or your Sonic Boost, while collecting golden rings. In many ways, this is more of the same for anyone who's every played a Sonic game. According to the PR materials, this year's edition features the "new Hedgehog Engine" to deliver "realistic graphics and seamless transitions between 3D and classic 2D high-speed action." Based on our experience with the XBox 360 version, we'd have to agree that this is a beautifully illustrated 3D game, that has not lost a bit of the addicting quality from the earlier versions. Consider yourself warned. Brett (age 8): played the Wii version for three hours and found that it was difficult at first to figure out how to get through the levels, but liked that you can use the GameCube controller. "The levels are fun once you get used to it." Their recommendation? Borrow it.
$50, Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Teaches: logic, timing, hand-eye coordination
CTR Rating: 87.5%