Sonic Lost World 3DS Initial Thoughts

July 4, 2013 Patrick Hickey Jr. Video Games 0

With platformers in abundance on the 3DS, Sega has done a solid job thus far in its development of their new Sonic title, “Lost World.” Colorful and fast, it’s got plenty of old-school allure, but with the addition of the Wii U control scheme for the title ported over to the handheld and online play already confirmed, it’s a more than fulfilling addition to the series.

Even in development, Lost World on the 3DS doesn’t not appear to be a shallow port. While Sega was mum on the Streetpass options that’ll be available once the game is released during our hands-on demo, the time spent on the brand new level design and online elements makes extra options such as Streetpass an almost certainty.

Graphically, “Sonic Lost World” thrives. As soon as the game is fired up, you’ll notice some of the best looking visuals on the console to date. Simply put, the palette for the game looks like something from “The Wizard of Oz.” Bold and bright, they draw your eyes immediately. The stereoscopic 3D as well does its part to make things “pop.” Everything in this world is poignant and cool.

While the control and level design are sound, they take a bit of time to get used to. In “Lost World,” exploration is just as important as speed, meaning Sonic may have to walk around at times to continue to progress through the levels. Intermittently, you may not know exactly where to go in order to finish up a section. Even though it’s frustrating on the more spacious areas, the level design isn’t complex. You will eventually find your destination, even if it takes a little longer than you hoped. This isn’t the case in the more 2D and traditional Sonic levels, which feel and play sharp and smooth. Even with their kinks however, the larger levels provide a nice change of pace from the usual Sonic goodness.

Behind gorgeous visuals and this new speedy/explorative Sonic formula, “Lost World” may be the one third party game that you’ll remember on the 3DS this year.

Check out a trailer for the game below:

“Sonic Lost World” is set for a Holiday 2013 release.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14316 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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