Sonic Unleashed

Sonic Unleashed launched in November 2008 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the version made by Sonic Team, but it arrived simultaneously on PlayStation 2 and Wii in a form created by the Japanese studio Dimps, known for the handheld Sonic Rush series on Nintendo DS. This wasn't a simple, dumbed-down port - Dimps designed the level design and overall structure quite differently, closer to the series' more classic approach, with more tightly guided, less open levels.

The PS2 version kept the core idea - fast daytime platforming stretches alternating with nighttime combat sections featuring the werewolf-like Werehog - but due to the significantly weaker hardware of the older PlayStation 2 it was built on a different engine using mostly 2.5D perspective instead of the fully 3D open levels offered by the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version. The levels and the hub world, where Sonic moved between missions and talked to the townsfolk, were simplified and smaller in scope, which in turn made the game run more smoothly and steadily on the limited hardware.

Since the PlayStation 2 was already an aging platform nearing the end of its life in 2008, Sonic Unleashed was among the last major multiplatform titles to be released for it at all, before the next console generation finally replaced it a few years later.

For many players who hadn't yet moved to newer consoles at the time, it was the last chance to play a major new series entry on hardware they already owned, even at the cost of a more modest visual presentation compared to the HD versions.

Dimps also drew on its experience making the handheld Sonic Rush entries when building the PS2 version, which showed in how the game focused more on smooth, readable platforming sequences than on the lavish environments the HD versions for more powerful consoles boasted. The Werehog battles were also simpler and less complex on PS2 than in the HD release.

Why play it: For players who prefer smoother, more readable platforming sequences over the lavish environments of the HD versions - the PS2 release builds on Dimps' experience with the handheld Sonic Rush series, albeit with simpler Werehog battles.