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Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice will be launching on Nintendo 3DS this winter. SEGA and Nintendo confirmed the game with a press release, a few pieces of artwork, and a launch trailer. Check out the trailer below.
Sonic Boom was set to be Sonic’s big comeback. SEGA put a lot of work into the new series – a television series, a Nintendo 3DS game, and a Wii U game were all released as a part of the Sonic Boom universe. The cartoon was received relatively well – according to SEGA, it’s currently the top rated animated series on Cartoon Network. However, the video games gave rise to extremely negative reactions from both critics and players. Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (Wii U) received the worst reviews of any Sonic the Hedgehog title ever released, and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (3DS) didn’t do much better. Even when the sales figures of both titles are combined, Sonic Boom is still the worst-selling installment in the entire Sonic the Hedgehog series.
SEGA hasn’t given up on Sonic Boom, though. A brand new entry in the series, Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice is set to be released for Nintendo 3DS this winter. Like Shattered Crystal before it, the game will feature multiple playable characters. Players will be able to switch between Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Amy, and Sticks during gameplay, and each character has special abilities that will be needed to progress through the game.
The game will also feature a brand new Bot Racing Mode. The official SEGA press release describes it in more detail: “The new Bot Racing feature is an extension of Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice that is purely about racing and speed, where a user will unlock character themed Bots to challenge friends on fast courses or tracks.”
As the title suggests, the game will be putting a large emphasis on elemental abilities, particularly the power of fire and ice. Players will use both elements to solve puzzles, defeat enemies, and explore hidden areas. Dr. Eggman will return as a major antagonist alongside D-Fekt, a brand new super villain.
The lack of a Wii U release makes sense, seeing as Rise of Lyric did significantly worse than its 3DS counterpart Shattered Crystal. This might also have something to do with Big Red Button, the developer of Rise of Lyric, not wanting to revisit the series. On the other hand, Sanzaru Games, the developer of Shattered Crystal, is coming back to develop Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice. Sanzaru definitely has the skills to make a good video game, as they proved with Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time and their involvement in The Sly Collection (PS3/Vita) and God of War Collection (Vita). Shattered Crystal had its bright moments, and the platforming was solid. If Fire & Ice can fix the slow pacing, bad dialogue, and repetitive elements found in Shattered Crystal, Sonic might finally have another decent game on Nintendo’s handheld.
Are you excited about the announcement of a new Sonic the Hedgehog game? Do you think it’ll be able to improve on last year’s Sonic Boom games? Let us know in the comments, and keep checking back with Load The Game for more gaming news.
