see deal Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice - Nintendo 3DS $19.99 on Target

Sonic games have often struggled with providing the speed and excitement implied by the series’ namesake hedgehog while also accommodating meaningful and rewarding exploration, but Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice

Loading

“ You may be called upon to target a foe, swing over an expanse, or use your fire and ice powers to clear a barrier at a second’s notice.

“ Thanks to the exploratory nature of the maps and abundant collectibles, there’s plenty of incentive for completionists to return to previous stages...

You never know when a quick reaction will be necessary. You may be called upon to target a foe, swing over an expanse, or use your fire and ice powers to clear a barrier at a second’s notice. Occasionally that speed works against you when unseen dangers come barreling in from offscreen a little too quickly to have a hope of avoiding them without knowing what’s coming, but this is rare, and Fire and Ice helps compensate with generous checkpoints. Sonic’s life-preserving ring system also works in your favor in these moments, instantaneously repositioning you at a point just before the trouble spot that caused a hit.Sonic’s friends Tails, Knuckles, Sticks, and Amy are also along for the ride, and you can switch between them at will. Each has a useful special power to contribute, such as Tails’ ability to hover and shoot guns, but they’re rarely essential along the main routes to level exits. Their abilities prove much more useful in opening up side corridors to find hidden items. Every member of Team Sonic also has the power to shift between fire mode (used to pass through some obstacles) and ice modes (freezing water to create new platforms). The elemental mechanic is a neat idea, but doesn’t prove a game-defining innovation. Most of the time, the fire and ice switching is confined to reaction-time challenges as new dangers scroll onto the screen or to adding a dash of flavor to boss battles.Thanks to the exploratory nature of the maps and abundant collectibles, there’s plenty of incentive for completionists to return to previous stages, but there’s also ample flexibility offered for players who’d rather just dive ahead. I was able to finish the main campaign in around five hours, and there were still hours worth of unexplored areas and challenges left to conquer.