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Some excerpts from IGN
That ‘style’ basically removes Sonic from the constraints of a cohesive, grounded world design. Instead, players will find themselves twisting, turning and jumping along floating constructs suspended in mid-air. Levels are now informed by gameplay needs, with some stages focusing on slower speeds with more platforming, and others pushing players to run as fast as possible. Aesthetic ideas are now more free, ranging from the more idyllic, grassy settings of Wind Hill to something like Desert Ruins 1, which consists of cakes, cookies, donuts and all manners of candy. And just to throw a curveball, Desert Ruins 2 drops the sweets theme entirely, and features an entirely different gameplay style, opting for the ‘tunnel racing’ concept that Sonic games have used for decades. Of course, all of this works within Sonic’s typical level designs, which feature a wide range of branching paths and exploration options.
As mentioned, Sonic Team’s greatest challenge was maintaining a sense of speed for the series while finding controls that made sense. The result is now that, by default, Sonic doesn’t burst off with a tilt of the analog stick. He walks – until you use one of the GamePad’s triggers to engage his running speed. This too is actually not full speed. Holding down the second trigger will pull Sonic into a ball, giving him access to his full momentum, which Iizuka likened to the ‘Boost speed’ from previous titles. By creating a tiered structure to movement, Sonic Team is hoping players will be able to navigate the wide range of level designs, exploring and running as necessary.
That’s also where the Parkour system comes into play. “In previous 3D Sonic games, even if you're running through a level at top speed, if you hit an obstacle you stop instantly,” Iizuka explained. “To avoid this, we added a new action to keep Sonic running, even when you hit an obstacle. To make sure it only happens when you want it to, it's triggered by the player holding the run button.” Like any game, automating actions brings a certain risk, but doing nothing means Sonic games continue to run into a brick wall – literally in the case of gameplay.
Of course, there’s also the small matter of Lost World being a Wii U (and 3DS) exclusive. On Wii U, the GamePad is specifically used to activate various Wisp-based “Color Powers,” which feature touch-based controls and are mostly used to gain access to side paths and areas. The GamePad will also play a role in ‘Support Mode,’ which allows one player to use Wii U’s tablet to assist a second player who is controlling Sonic with a Wii remote and Nunchuck. Speaking of playing as Sonic, while the iconic hedgehog is the only character players will directly control, friends such as Tails, Knuckles and Amy will make appearances in the story.
The story itself is, as you’d expect, remarkably simple. Sonic is chasing his longtime foe, Eggman, and encounters a mysterious floating island known as “Lost Hex.” It’s here where Sonic will run across the “Deadly Six” that SEGA has already teased, and Iizuka noted these foes will bring a “sense of danger and humor” to the story.
Gotta go fast.
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