@robbybevard:
Sonic should be the speed that only 2-D allows, and they've managed to capture that here. There SHOULD be areas where you can go 300 mph and do corkscrews and not deal with hardly any enemies at all and just enjoy the thrill of going fast, especially in the first level or two of the game, and Unleashed excels at that. But there should also be obstacles and platforming and loads of enemies later. Werehog provides that variety… but they shouldn't need the bi-polar dichotomy, Sonic should be able to do both kinds of game, within a single level.
You can play the first stage of Sonic 2 in about 20 seconds and thats a thrill, but you can also spend 6 or 7 minutes going around slowly and doing everything carefully, and this game still lacks that balance. Its the same mistake the portable games Rush and Rivals have. Great games that recapture the old feel and let you go really fast... excpt they REALLY force you to go full throttle at all times, and Unleashed is the same. One kind of level forces you to play full speed, and the other forces you to go slow. Shouldn't be a day and night thing, each level should just have some of both, depending on what paths you take.
But with the limitations that the advancements in the engine that these games are going, you either have to have Sonic going really fast or have him slow down. I still see Sonic Heroes and Sonic Adventure 2 providing that balance, with a few tweaks. (Pits are not bad, but you need a little more warning and level structure so you don't have cheap deaths.)
It's because of the boost that I never liked those games (Rush and Rivals) and I agree, they seem to now to really focus on the full throttle. But they should put that in separate junctions, having the whole level have that possibility is just gonna cause some problems.