Sonic Boom may not have been finished, and what it showcases may not be worth purchasing by those expecting the fastest platforming experience. What it does best is wrapping gameplay elements of past entries with what could have been a neat look for the franchise, if not for some technical bugs. In the end, it could be classified as a reinterpretation of Sonic by a studio whose members have worked with Western platformers, and it has led to an interesting outcome.
Sonic and friends look better than ever, with their designs matching their personalities, as well as the voice acting from a solid crew. Their abilities take some getting used to, with Tails not being able to fly, but glide, which should have been Knuckles' ability if his redesign ever allowed it. He is specialized in strength, climbing and burrowing instead, and it works for the better. Amy is portrayed as a gymnast with the ability to run on tight bars and to triple jump. Her gameplay could have used more depth, by having 2D gameplay work on a 3D world, where running in line on bars with a complex layout could have led to branching outcomes. It's still fun using her hammer to deliver punishment on many types of enemy though.
Speaking of which, this game has a lot of beat em up gameplay in its own segments, but the transition is never too abrupt that you'll feel taken from one level to another. It all blends as an adventure, where speed sections reminiscent of past titles take place, as well as platforming obstacles you can through with different characters. Make no mistake though, these alternate paths converge far too quickly, and sometimes they overlap in the sense that a character's path could have been taken by another, making our choice an arbitrary one. More often that not you may be playing with the same character, forgetting the others, but the game does a good job of assigning different roles throughout the adventure.
The speed sections are not as breathtaking as some previous titles, but they do have their own interesting ideas, namely the Ener Beam swings and rail rides. These work incredibly better than rail grinding, because you're able to swing as you ride, collecting rings on the go as you dodge other obstacles. Whenever the camera pans to the side and you use these to swing over pits, there is a display of curved motion that appeals to our senses more than sudden bursts of homing attack chains do. However, these speed sections are tainted by choppy framerate issues.
The game as a whole could have been better executed. It has some game breaking and graphical glitches, and the overall feel is of an unfinished product whose potential to redefine Sonic was wasted. It could be panned as a poor licensed game tied to the show, but the fact is that Sonic is a game franchise first and foremost, and all attempts at redefining the character should start with quality games.