Review: Spagonia Adventure Pack
Ryan Bloom | March 27, 2009
Plus: Video of every level from the DLC
I’m of the opinion that Sonic Unleashed was already hard enough. Judging by last week’s review of the Chun-nan Adventure Pack, though, there are quite a few people out there who enjoyed the extreme challenge offered by the downloadable content (DLC). For those people, the Spagonia Adventure Pack may be a disappointment.
Initially, it seems as though not much has changed. Six levels are contained in the download pack for the same price as last time, and like last time, day stages dominate night stages 2-to-1. First two daytime stages are “Hard Mode” remixes of existing levels, with two totally original levels bringing up the rear.
But things are different. Though the “Hard Mode” remixes definitelylive up to their name, overall, the Spagonia Adventure Pack has a much more even-handed difficulty. Though I found myself getting hit often, the number of times I would flat-out die were fewer and farther between in comparison to the Chun-nan DLC. Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that the original Spagonia levels were easier than the original Chun-nan levels. Rooftop Run Act 4 spices things up visually by setting the level during sunset, and Rooftop Run Act 5 deserves special mention for tapping in to my fear of heights in a way that most games fail to. As gross as this might sound, I consider a game giving me sweaty palms a good thing.
While I considered the Chun-nan Werehog DLC stages to be the star of the show, I’m not so sure about their quality in the Spagonia Adventure Pack. Here, it’s back to the Werehog’s old tricks – levels that borderline on being way too long with too many tedious encounters. Rooftop Run Act 1-2 Night has you hunting for dozens of switches, and each switch you touch spawns another group of enemies to fight. As the level progresses, the number of switches that need to be pressed increases and their hiding places become harder to find. The final area has at least 15-20 different switches you need to activate, and finding them all can take several minutes. Not fun. Act 2 is a little more exciting, focusing heavily on platforming, but the game’s camera system gets in the way (a problem also present in Act 1-2), making some sections an absolute mess. Act 2 is also unusually dark, sometimes so dark that I could not see where my character was to make a specific jump.
Overall, though, I’d say I enjoyed the Spagonia Adventure Pack much more than I did the Chun-Nan DLC. I’m still not quite convinced that buying “Hard Mode” for each continent individually (instead of providing it for free as an extra already present on the disc as they used to) is something I’m happy about, however. Still, one could make the argument that it’s only $3 for one level pack. I can’t really dispute that. It’s viewing all the DLC as a whole that has me worried.
Regardless, if you’re on the fence, I captured video of all six levels, organized in to a handy Youtube playlist:
(Can’t see the above video?
Click here.)
Filed Under Gaming News, Microsoft, Review Slew, Sega, Sonic Scene, Sony
Well now that this is going to become a Entire expansion I guess you better get ready for more reviews huh tristian.
[...] safe, as the fee covers all downloadable content on the Playstation Network. Both the Chun-Nan and Spagonia DLC for Sonic Unleashed come in at around half a gigabyte in [...]
Chun-nan looks funnier….if you look with my eyes.
If this ever comes to PS3 I don’t think I will download this one for spagonia.
wahhh! I want sunset lvl! DX!!!!!!!
IM FUCKING JELOUS!!!!!!!
@ blueblur
Your not the only one us other wii owners are angry at this to just having mostly the werehog levels and i think the werehog is ok but they should mostly had the daytime levels for the wii
You didn’t die much in the first act because there wasn’t an overabundance of pitfalls. It’s the biggest reason why Spagonia is my favorite level.
Dude, those day time stages are fantastic!!! Forget the two night stages, I wanna get the packs just for those day stages!
SonicLegends
I know its unfair (REALLY UNFAIR) but Ive learn to except it, I just hope in the future sega wont do this EVER AGAIN!
Life isn’t fair, deal with it.
Act 1-2: Again… HOLY SHIT FRAMERATE. Did it really seem like a good idea to them to put all those Egg Launchers in the same area?
Like Chun-nan, I found this to be fun. Not as challenging but it was a nice add on.
I have to deal with the newest issue at hand though. Currently Sonic Unleashed is taking up 7GB on a Harddrive that only allows you to save about 12. I need a better Harddrive.
I found the “hardness” of the levels due to the unpredictable annoying-ness of the level design
[...] been two weeks since the Spagonia Adventure Pack, it’s time for another batch of Sonic Unleashed DLC. This time it’s the icy floes of [...]
[...] will be made available. PS3 owners can check out Ryan Bloom’s take on both the Chun-Nan and Spagonia DLC before taking the plunge. Be sure to keep checking TSSZ News as we keep you up to date on the [...]