The spikey, blue haired, red boot-wearing hedgehog is back and he's tearing up the speed limit in this Nintendo-exclusive title, Sonic Lost World. Fans of the series can breathe a long sigh of relief because this game has everything you'd want out of a Sonic title and so much more.

Excellent graphics running at 60fps; 1080p; Gorgeous; creative level design; Polished presentation with a wonderful musical score and engaging cut scenes; Captures classic Sonic-style gameplay in a new and innovative way

Trial-and-error gameplay requires multiple playthroughs of levels; Poor boss fight designs; Extremely challenging gameplay may be too difficult for casual gamers

After the success of Sonic 4, Colors, and Generations, this is a big disappointment for Sega's speeding blue bullet. Sonic Lost World clumsily tears all the wrong pages out of the Super Mario Galaxy playbook, and in so doing, loses the breathless speed and fluidity that makes a Sonic game a Sonic...

Colorful look; Many alternate paths

Poor level design; Lack of speed; Awkward controls

There's a saying that goes: "Always aim for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." And so it is for Sonic Lost World, which clearly sets out to be Super Mario Galaxy 3: Hedgehog Edition.

Gorgeous; authentically stylised Sonic visuals; The run button finally fixes 3D hog control; It may as well be called Sonic X-Treme

The story and cutscenes are abysmal; Not always as intuitive as it should be; ‘Lives' system doesn't fit the game

Scroll down to the bottom for a video review. Sonic's been on a roll as of late. Both Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations succeeded where past 3D efforts failed by returning the focus to platforming.

Great level design; Lots of content; Smooth 60 FPS framerate

Certain Color Powers utilize the Wii U GamePad in silly ways; Jump controls are a bit floaty

Sonic Lost World [...] represents the future of the series which is now looking fantastically bright. Sonic has had a rather turbulent time over the past ten years. Ever since the original Sega Megadrive games it seems as if Sonic Team has never quite been able to recapture the essence of what made...

Well-balanced gameplay mechanics; Stunningly good art direction; An amazing aural experience; Brilliant humour

Some utterly cringe-worthy dialogue; The Deadly Six could have been deadlier

It's telling that the highlights of Lost World are the moments where Sonic Team allows the hedgehog to do what he does best: high-velocity platforming that tests your ability to follow high-speed action and to reflexively respond to danger.

Fans have been waiting ten years for Sonic to shine again.

2D exploration fun; fantastic look to the design

Uninteresting enemies; 3D control not perfect; still some QTEs

I vividly remember finally nabbing that final star in Mario Galaxy 2 . It had taken weeks of planning the perfect route, and timing each and every button press to guide Mario across that agonising collection of spinning platforms and deathly gravity traps.

2D sections are nostalgic fun

Wildly derivative of Mario Galaxy; Painfully difficult levels as part of the main story arc; Way too much "dude bro" in the cutscenes; Often inaccurate handling makes it all the more tricky

Sonic was one of my childhood pals. We spent a lot of time together on the SEGA Genesis-we both did a lot of growing up. And while I got my act together, the thrill-seeking hedgehog got too caught up in the "fast" life and began to spin out of control.

It's nice to see Sonic again; The game is pretty enough on the surface

Where do I begin; The game is pretty enough on the surface; Horrible characters; dialogue; and story; Gameplay is random; unclear; and sometimes a frustrating mess

Release Date: October 18 (UK), October 29 (US) Platforms available on: Wii U, 3DS Developer: Sonic Team Publisher: Sega Genre: Platformer Sonic the Hedgehog has experienced mixed fortunes in recent years, struggling to find his feet in a brave new world of 3D platforming.