Sonic Boom TV series, Game and Toys incoming

Sonic Boom is a new sub-series of the Sonic franchise that features a re-imagined cast and art direction, but doesn’t replace the existing Sonic brand.

Alongside a TV series animated by Ouido Productions there will be a new game for Wii U (developed by Big Red Button Entertainment) and 3DS (developed by Sanzaru).

Interestingly these two development teams are based in America, with Big Red including ex Naughty Dog and Insomniac alumni (hence the obvious echoes of Jak/Ratchet).

Big Red Button also claim, on their website, to have been working on Sonic Boom for two years.

You can see the trailer for the game below and while the character models look a touch, well, questionable, the gameplay looks to be some sort of mix between Ratchet and Clank and the Sonic Adventure line, with a spot of melee combat thrown in for good measure.

It’s running on Cry Engine, too, and the game will apparently support two player co-op in its story mode, too.

It’s an interesting move for the hog, though I’m not sure if I understand the logic of supporting two visually separate strains of a brand like Sonic. I’m also not sure about the excess of bandages on the characters, though the scarf is a nice touch.

After recent Sonic games, such as Lost World and Generations, have focused purely on the hog it will be interesting to see a modern stab at the multi character Adventure design, with more of a focus on exploration than speed. I have fond memories of Sonic Adventure 2, so I’m excited to see a game promising with similar diversity in its levels and cast, even if Knuckles looks like a roid-ed up abomination.

What’s your take on this new look for Sonic, and the fact that were getting a Sonic game not designed by the Sonic Team? Travesty or tantalising prospect? I’m err-ing slightly towards the latter…