Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is the newest Sonic racing title to release on videogame consoles. First there was Sonic R on the Sega Saturn, which featured Sonic and friends foot racing against each other. It wasn’t until the GameCube, PS2 and Xbox era that Sonic saw another racing game. Sonic Riders put Sonic and some new characters on hoverboards in a race devised by Dr. Eggman (Dr. Robotnik for the Sonic purists) to steal the Chaos Emeralds. All-Stars Racing adopts the Kart Racing genre and makes use of Sega’s rich history or characters all the way back to the Master System days. Developed by Sumo Digital, experts with racing games through such titles as OutRun Online Arcade and GTI Club+, All-Stars Racing was put in capable hands.
To a vast majority of gamers, All-Stars Racing will have to measure up to the dominant Mario Kart name in videogames since the Italian plumber was the first series to put the pedal to the metal with a variety cast of characters from a familiar universe. All-Stars is able to keep pace with its competition with some imaginative designs and tight controls, even if it hits a few oil slicks along the way.
All-Stars Racing taps into the deep well of Sega characters that have warmed the hearts of gamers across decades and platforms. There are 20 characters in total to choose from. There are the Sega staples like Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, with characters ranging from Opa-Opa from the now obscure Fantasy Zone to the Dreamcast fan favorite Ryo Hazuki from the cult hit Shenmue. There is a heavy reliance on the Sonic franchise with unimportant characters like Big the Cat and Amy, which would have been better served by some other Sega characters such as Vector-man or ToeJam and Earl – who aren’t even unlockable – to make the roster second-to-none. Even with a few clunkers in the bunch, it is great to see Sumo Digital embracing some of Sega’s lesser known characters to celebrate this well built racer.
Kart racing games live and die by how many twists, turns and unexpected shortcuts are cleverly integrated with the overall design of the tracks. All-Stars racing has all the elements that make a winning game embedded into its very fabric. The courses come from the more imaginative source material like Samba De Amigo and Sonic’s many casino levels. The Samba levels are the absolute standouts in the entire game. As each of the eight racers rev their engines at the starting line, the level greets the drivers with exuberantly sunny visuals that literally dance along with the Latin inspired music. Just when the player thinks the level gets predictable, there is a glowing gate that will change the theme of the track. Gamers that have played Samba De Amigo will immediately recognize the track as an exact replica of a level in the original game.
Sumo Digital makes it their mission to pay homage to classic Sega settings while adapting those very same places to make thrilling kart racing tracks. That effort paid off in dividends because these are some of the most original and exciting race tracks to hit consoles in a long time. Part of what makes the tracks such a dream to drive is the tight controls. There are absolutely no issues when trying to navigate tricky sections of a course. If the player is unable to negotiate the twists and turns due to their own hands not keeping up with the speed, there are hazards on all the tracks that will shake up the standings. Some of the best hazards are the springs on the course rails that will disorient the player as they are pushed and tugged around as other racers pass by. If a player gets too far behind the pack, there is an increased chance to score an “All-Star” move. All-Star moves vary from character to character. Sonic will go Super Sonic, the ChuChus will unleash the KapuKapu and Dr. Eggman will start firing missiles wildly at other racers to give a needed, prolonged speed boost to keep the races competitive.
There are a few spots where All-Stars Racing runs into some walls. The overall design of the game cribs a lot from Mario Kart. It is possible to look at the All-Star Racing roster and draw a direct line to a Nintendo analog. The comparisons are inescapable. The inclusion of Banjo-Kazooie exclusively for the 360 version doesn’t help matters either. Sumo Digital, in their quest to make a fantastic game, might not have had much choice to make a game entirely different from Mario Kart since the Nintendo mascots wrote the book on the genre. There are, however, areas where All-Stars Racing should have pushed the Sega experience further. The best example of where the Sega influences weren’t pushed far enough is the item selection. There are genuinely uninspired weapons to battle for first place. Homing rockets, boxing gloves and landmines are very practical weapons to feature in an otherwise brilliantly designed game.
The selection of modes and options shows that All-Stars Racing has plenty of substance to sink into. The mission mode is a great companion to the stock collection of Grand Prix cups to win. The missions feature a ton of unique challenges that show off the tight racing controls and great track design. There are elimination races that make for furious action as racers vie for the pole position as the clock ticks down, Sonic has to collect rings and Dr. Eggman must collect rockets to shoot at dummies for target practice. That is just a sampling of the smorgasbord of mission types.
Online is where All-Star Racing could have expanded to make the experience complete. As it stands, the only option online is to do a standard race. No other frills or modes like battle or missions are accessible through Xbox Live. While it is nice to see an online mode included, the limitations placed on it aren’t the primary reason gamers will keep coming back to this game. The reason there is so much replayability is due to the vast number of unlockable characters and local multiplayer mode, which proves that playing with your friends on the same couch is just as fun as it was in the Nintendo 64 days.
The Rundown
All-Stars Racing is the go-to kart racing game on the Xbox 360. There isn’t an experience like it on the system. The cast of Sega characters (including the Xbox Live Avatar and Banjo-Kazooie) is appealing right from the start as players tap into the wealth of game modes. In addition to the circuit mode, there is a mission mode that allows the game to changes the game’s rules to have the player complete unique goals, time trials and an online mode. All-Stars Racing is a game meant to be enjoyed with friends either online or off and there is more than enough content to support it. The question gamers will have to ask themselves is if they are willing to play a really good Mario Kart clone. If a gamer doesn’t have access to a Wii, the answer isn’t difficult.
