10 Video Games That Were Sold On Stupid Gameplay Gimmicks

9. Transforming Into A Werehog - Sonic Unleashed

Pretty much every Sonic game these days is centred around some sort of gimmick, but the decision to allow players to transform into a Werewol-hog in Sonic Unleashed might be the most misguided attempt to shake up the franchise's formula so far.

The levels set during the day (before the full moon descends) are classic late-era Sonic, with the hedgehog once again running at blistering speeds in forgettable platforming levels. The nighttime sections attempt to switch this up entirely though, putting players in control of a hulking Werehog in action-oriented missions that feature far more deadly platforming segments.

Unfortunately, neither parts of the game are any good.

The whole thing comes off like that one time Activision tried to rebrand Crash Bandicoot as a mutant-climbing monster: not a comparison you want to be cultivating when you're trying to reignite a failing franchise. A Werehog was never going to fix Sonic, and when a developer doesn't have faith in its main character to carry a whole game anymore, you know the final release will never, ever, turn out well.