Sonic Boom, Sonic Boom, Sonic Boom... Once an amazing intro song to one of the best Sonic platformers ever made and now a travesty of a Wii U game that 'reinvented' the blue blur into something we would rather not remember. While the infinite jump bug was funny for a while, the rest of the game wasn't, with terrible writing, terrible bugs and terrible level design that likely left many a Sega fan crying into their Sonic-themed pyjamas. That is to say, if there were any Sonic fans left after his previous disastrous reboot, Sonic The Hedgehog of 2006. But while 2006's buggy mess was quickly swept under the rug and never spoken of again, it seems Nintendo are keen to have another go at getting a Sonic Boom game right, as they've recently announced plans for a sequel.
Funnily enough, it's not the Wii U that'll be getting the second shot, but instead the 3DS, home of last year's marginally-less-terrible Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal. Influenced by the same TV show as the previous entries in the series it promises "more adventure, speed [and] exploration" - which should be an easy feat at least, given the total lack of them in the past two games.
We don't want to be too jaded though - after all, as the saying goes, the third time is the charm. marking the "triumphant return" of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and the new boomerang-wielding, er, badger Sticks, the game will take in familiar Sonic Boom locales as they battle traditional bad guy Dr. 'Eggman' Robotnik, and a brand-new super villain, D-Fekt, who sounds like he may be a relation of Father Jack Hackett. What sounds more promising is how the titular fire and ice will play into the game, in the form of both character-specific special abilities and interactions with the environment - hopefully in the form of some more puzzley, exploration-centred sections.
Hmmm - me thinks we might need to use some fire on that ice there, Knuckles...
Another new feature is the introduction of a 'Bot Racing' mini-game, which can be played both during the single player story and in multiplayer. Details on what it'll involve are a bit hazy at present, but it seems to be a challenge modes of sorts, "purely about racing and speed", and unlocks themed bots to pit against your friends - hopefully, with some sort of single card download play.
Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice is due out later this year, in the 'winter' - presumably around November/December time, ready for Christmas. Exclusively for the 3DS, we're keeping our everything crossed that it's much better than the previous two entries in the series...
