Review: Sonic: Lost World

There’s no doubt about it.  Sonic the Hedgehog is the Corey Feldman of gaming.  Everyone loves his work from years ago, but now we cower in fear of what he presents us today, most of which comes direct to DVD anyway. It’s truly sad.

Let’s not mess around. Putting it simply, Sonic: Lost World is playable, but not really enjoyable. There is way too much trial and error involved toward being successful in this game, which can present itself as monotonous. Some actions just don’t work the way they should. Quite often I found myself attached to an enemy after colliding with him initially. Those who have played a Sonic game know you can get away with the first hit, but the second one, without having rings in your possession, is the clincher. After failing multiple times, players can easily gather more lives and continue on their way, making the Game Over screen nearly pointless. This is something that will be encountered by younger gamers as the difficulty is a bit higher than expected for a Sonic title.

Maybe I’m just longing for the ‘Sonic of old’, total side scrolling action. Don’t get me wrong, it is there, as well as other angles, but what had me in an almighty state of confusion was the first level I played. I could have sworn it was a case of ‘remove plumber/insert hedgehog’ as it was so reminiscent for Super Mario Galaxy I was waiting for the signature ‘Woo-Hoo!’ Gameplay feels very erratic, swapping between angles throughout its levels. One positive that comes from Sonic: Lost Word are the camera angles which, as with most other games in the Sonic family, aren’t really a problem at all.

The Wii U GamePad is used well, with a good combination of stick controls and touch screen usage. This is certainly one of the big positives to come from this game and something all companies developing for the WiiU need to be mindful of. If you don’t take advantage of what the Wii U GamePad has to offer you might as well be developing for one of the ‘other two’.

The storyline in Lost World evolves from absolutely nowhere and you are thrust into a world of which you know very little about. It pieces together very slowly but until then, it’s a case of ‘let’s keep going and see if this makes sense’. There is every chance that the script is a direct translation form Japanese as it often gets lost in itself.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. Visually there is nothing wrong with Sonic: Lost World, nor is there anything wrong with the sound. The online interaction that Sonic: Lost World presents is justified and welcome. Items can be gifted to random players across the globe, assisting Sonic in his adventure. It’s just everything else that drags this down. This is disappointing outcome for Sega.

It’s not just the game that has disappointed me, but it’s also the cover and instruction manual. These are often overlooked in game reviews, but sometimes it’s not by choice. You may think it is all glitz, glamour and free games in the world of video game reviews, but it’s not all that. Quite often we are issued with just a disc in a blank cover, or even a download code. When I actually receive a full version, I like to take a look at the complete package. Now when you purchase something as a consumer, or when you deliver a product as a developer, nothing should be amiss, no matter how small.

There are minor issues with statements on the cover which says “Play full game on the Wii U GamePad Screen” which is not entirely true when you include the two player race action offered within the game. The villainous group, The Deadly Six, who appear in the game, get a bio page in the instruction manual, but one of this band of evil doers is missing a short description. This may not be a thing of great importance to some, but it stands out and should never have been allowed to happen – presentation is always a major part of the product.

I liken this game to doing a full cut and polish on a Datsun 180B: It may look pretty, but how does it run? Fans of Sonic may want to pick this one up, but for everyone else there’s just nothing in Sonic: Lost World that makes it a must have title. I’m sorry my dear, blue hedgehog, I think the only way you are going to survive is to continue to play second fiddle to the plumber and his cohorts every four years in Olympic style games.