Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice Reviews
While it’s not going to revolutionize the Sonic the Hedgehog series, Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice is a solid entry in the franchise. Its slick controls, fun boss battles, and entertaining speed sections are bound to put a smile on fans’ faces.
It’s not quite the next big step that some may want, but Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice is nevertheless a fun, funny little platformer that’s a worthwhile romp for fans of the genre.
Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice is not ever going to rank in the top echelon of Sonic games, and is definitely not good enough to make up for how bad the two previous Sonic Boom games were- but judged on its own merits, it's fun enough that series fans won't necessarily regret giving it a go.
Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice is more positive than negative. It is developed to tap that deep nostalgia that Sonic fans have for the series, while bringing in some new elements that make it more than just an arcade platformer. While it isn’t perfect, especially the controls, it’s still a very entertaining experience that should satisfy the Sonic the Hedgehog fanbase. Sanzaru Games did a fabulous job with it and I hope they continue to make more Sonic games in the very near future.
A few flaws keep Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice from perfection, particularly other characters, but it succeeds at being a simple game about going fast. Pick this one up and go for the time trials, it's a lot of fun.
Despite an overly simplistic story and maybe being a bit too laid back, I really enjoyed my time with Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice. It’s a well-paced platformer, with the right mix of stages when I’d get bored of the basic platforming. Although it’s missing some of the polish I’d expect from other platformers, there’s a good foundation here for possible greatness if Sanzaru continues to be given the opportunity.
After the terrible previous entries in the Sonic Boom series Fire & Ice manages to look superb in comparison, but, on its own merits, it's simply a good game… and there's nothing wrong with that. Not every title has to reinvent a genre or break the mould. This is an enjoyable 2D scrolling platformer that has the added benefit that may introduce some new players to "The Fastest Thing Alive." It may not be perfect, but it's fun and certainly one of the best Sonic games in recent memory.
Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice successfully builds on the lessons that were learned from identifying Shattered Crystal's faltered mistakes. With flashes of near brilliance, the sense of speed becomes an unrivalled thrill, even if that is best seen in the few Bot Racing stages. Brevity is the game's pitfall, but we expect some would argue that they would rather have a shorter, more polished adventure than a lacklustre, lengthier experience.
Overall “Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice” is not a bad game. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s a good game, either. The game really excels as a quick pick up and play game for you to play in your downtime, but the 3DS has so many of those (and much better ones, I may add,) that I find it extremely hard to recommend this game to people who aren’t already fans of the Sonic Boom TV show. While it is surely a step in the right direction from Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, the series still has a long way to go to be held in the same rank as other platformers on the 3DS.
If the story, characters and voice acting doesn’t get to you, the frustrating controls and level design might put you over the edge.