Sega's fatigued hedgehog mascot is apparently getting a new lease on life with a fresh animated show and a new game coming exclusively to Wii U and 3DS. Sonic Boom is ostensibly a new start for the character, who has had a rather checkered game history in recent years. The new show gives Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy a slicker appearance and puts them in a dangerous new world, where each character will use their own unique attributes to solve puzzles and navigate the environment.
I'm cautiously optimistic about this. Sonic has needed a fresh start for a while now, as the series' story has gotten so convoluted and ridiculous that it's hard to believe it was once about a spiny blue mammal battling a mad scientist with a robot bent. The animated series angle has me worried--we've seen it go pretty badly with Pac-Man recently--but the gameplay looks like a mix between Sonic Adventure and Sonic Heroes, so it might at least play well. What's odd is that they're using the same voice actors as before; you'd think that with a reboot like this they'd hire a new voice cast, but maybe this is just another extension of the same old tired, messy Sonic series after all.
