Gaming reviews: Sonic Lost World Sega; Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies; The Guided Fate Paradox

Sonic Lost World

Sega, Nintendo

£44.99

Wii U, Nintendo 3DS

***

Sonic and Mario. They were two of the gaming greats. So when Sega announced a partnership with Nintendo you might've expected something quite special from Sonic Lost World. Unfortunately, while you can see creative elements of Mario shining through, the feel of Sonic has been a bit neglected. To achieve his full pace, you have to hold the right shoulder button – otherwise he'll practically saunter along.

With clunky lock-on attacks, walking up walls as a recurring fixture, and enough jarring moments of bumping into enemies to make you want to stop bothering with collecting rings all together – the pace is frequently slowed down by a lack of fluid control. There's certainly some dizzying fun to be had when he gets going, and from the engaging visuals it's clear effort has gone into the new instalment, but our favourite blue hedgehog lacks a little soul this time around.

Laura Davis

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies

Capcom

£19.99 Nintendo 3DS

*****

After a five-year stretch in Capcom's penitentiary the Ace Attorney series' unique mixture of courtroom battles, crime-scene investigation and finger gesticulation returns on the Nintendo 3DS as an eShop exclusive. Defence lawyer Phoenix Wright reclaims his attorney's badge, but the story is equally that of his protégé Apollo Justice and the new multi-lingual protagonist Athena Cykes whose analytical psychology brings a new dimension to gameplay.

Oliver Cragg

The Guided Fate Paradox

NIS America

£39.99

PlayStation 3

****

Developed by the team behind the Japanese RPG series Disgaea, this is a witty, randomly generating dungeon crawler about a dispirited teenage boy who becomes God after winning a raffle. During a slow, dialogue-heavy tutorial, the protagonist makes objectifying remarks about a group of seven angels, each of whom guide, test and assist you through the game. As you battle with enemies using a turn-based strategy system, the young protagonist matures, answering the prayers of humans and other characters.

David Crookes