Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing Review
By Gaetano Prestia
From the very first Mario Kart that appeared on the Super Nintendo back in the day, all the way through to the current generation of the Wii, game-character kart racers have come somewhat of a staple of the industry. Nintendo started it and have for well over a decade provided fun, if shallow, kart racers. Sony have tried their hand at it with Crash Tag Team Racing, and now SEGA joins the clan with Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing, the only game that comes close to knocking Mario Kart off its perch.
It's quite obvious that Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing borrows plenty from Nintendo's franchise. If developer Sumo Digital were legitimately trying to rip off Mario Kart, they could have by simply introduced SEGA characters into Nintendo-influenced tracks. The truth is that this title borrows the idea from Mario Kart, but its execution is actually completely different.
All-Star Racing offers a deep, action-packed racing experience. It doesn't set out to be original in any way, instead relying on a proven formula to provide a thoroughly entertaining experience that incorporates tight controls, wonderfully designed tracks and a large roster of SEGA characters.
Just like Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros., All-Star Racing is one big roll-call and celebration of what SEGA represents in the industry. Going back 10 years, SEGA was on its back, ready to collapse and disappear from gaming forever. It withstood the whirlwind and grew to become one of the most influential gaming publishers in the world. Its popular franchises, many of which essentially died along with the Dreamcast, still live deep within the hearts of the older generation of gamers. This game is a long-time coming, and while it won't challenge you like a sim racer would, its value is appealing to both younger and older gamers.
The roster has its fair share of obscure characters, namely Billy Hatcher, and it's an interesting choice by SEGA to include Shadow the Hedgehog, whose only mainstream appearance was in the terrible action platformer of the same name back on the PS2. It's a shame that games like Virtua Cop and Golden Axe don't get a mention, but it's obvious that SEGA wanted to make this as family-friendly a game as possible. That's fair enough, as long as Sonic, Amigo and Aiai are prominent.
The driving gameplay is incredibly tight, and while almost identical to that of Mario Kart (there's a very accessible drifting system that gives you a small boost if pulled off correctly), it's very fun to play. The tracks have been designed well with plenty of detail, although a few actually have too much detail (who would have though that would ever be a problem in a game?), which in turn can make it difficult to determine which way to go.
There are weapon and boost pick-ups scattered across each track, and each are an equivalent to one in Mario Kart; traffic cones are like banana peels, and shells are either boxing gloves or rockets. Funnily enough, they actually make more sense in All-Star racing, because everyone knows a banana peel doesn't actually make you spin your car out!
The design presentation on the DS is almost exactly the same to the console versions, only of course with a significantly downgraded graphical presentation. The DS version actually controls better in some aspects compared to the consoles, especially with the drifting, which allows for a better sense of speed.
The multiplayer is a bit of a mixed bag. There is online via Nintendo Wi-Fi, but it's packed full of lag and can at times be unplayable. There is local multiplayer with a single cart, although it is restricted to two racers and actually completely cuts off the connection after one race. It can be a lot of fun playing with your mates, but it's a little too restrictive.
The Final Verdict
Sonic and SEGA All-Star Racing might lack originality, but it's a hell of a lot of fun to play. It's a great alternative to Mario Kart if you're looking for something new, and with some great track designs, nice visuals, a great roster and accessible gameplay, you have one of the best racers on the DS.
Gameplay
8.0
Fun and accessible. That's really all you could ask for in a game like this.
Graphics
9.0
It actually runs at a higher framerate than its console counterparts. A great sense of speed, with great track design and lots of bright colours.
Sound
7.5
Each character has a small voice-track, and there's a nice SEGA-centric soundtrack in there to give the game a bit more personality.
Value
7.0
The single-player can take you a while through all three difficulties and all cups. The multiplayer is the let-down here, especially considering how fun it actually is to play against a mate.
Overall
8.2
A score between 8.0 and 8.4 represents a title that does plenty right and but may have a low value quality or issues on the gameplay front.
Submitted by Gaetano
05/03/2010
15
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