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This thread has been linked to the game 'Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing'.
Since Mario Kart burst its way onto the scene back in the early 90s we’ve had a whole host of characters from the digital age taking part in their own world of whacky races in an attempt to capture the imaginations of gamers around the world. Many have tried and failed, some miserably, but as much as Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing at first glance appears to fall into this category once it gets going you’d be surprised how well this racer excels in the cut-throat environment of the karting genre.
There are 20 characters to choose from, ranging from the famous faces such as Sonic to forgotten Sega mascots such as Opa-Opa from Fantasy Zone. You can even race as your Xbox avatar. In single player, there are two main modes to choose from. The first, Grand Prix, is your standard racing mode comprising of 6 cups across 24 tracks. As with most kart games the computer AI don’t put up much of a challenge but once you start racing on expert mode you will find the game does test your skills. The tracks delve into the history of Sega, ranging from zones in the Sonic games to the House of the Dead mansion. There’s nothing groundbreaking about them, but they do set the scene for some beautiful and chaotic racing.
Mission mode is the other one player option, providing you with 60 challenges to embark on. It’s the standard regime; collecting coins, beating ghosts and so on, but it does prove a worthwhile challenge. In terms of multiplayer All Stars Racing doesn’t exactly set the pulse going. Offline you can set up your standard races and there’s also a set of weapons based games to play. However, the items in All Stars Racing are unimaginative and don’t give you much of an advantage, rendering these games fairly pointless. And it doesn't even matter online, because you can’t even play these modes, all you get is racing. Although it is frantic and fun for a while Sega could have added a lot more options to the multiplayer package.
What you will notice is how well the game handles. Cornering is smooth and responsive, which makes the game very enjoyable. The visuals are vibrant and colourful and there’s no sign of slowdown when the karting gets very competitive; it runs smoothly, making for some very enjoyable racing. Because the weapons are so poor it helps spur on the skill of racing, so you will pay attention to drifting and taking corners on the right lines rather than just waiting at the back and relying on a monstrous speed boost or a track destroying nuke to get you to the front.
Admittedly it adds nothing original to the genre but Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing is a very enjoyable racing game. More options online would have made the game more fun to play but courtesy of some excellent handling and a wide range of characters and courses Sega’s answer on Mario Kart soars past many of the copycat racers we’ve seen in the past.
Verdict: 7/10
There are 20 characters to choose from, ranging from the famous faces such as Sonic to forgotten Sega mascots such as Opa-Opa from Fantasy Zone. You can even race as your Xbox avatar. In single player, there are two main modes to choose from. The first, Grand Prix, is your standard racing mode comprising of 6 cups across 24 tracks. As with most kart games the computer AI don’t put up much of a challenge but once you start racing on expert mode you will find the game does test your skills. The tracks delve into the history of Sega, ranging from zones in the Sonic games to the House of the Dead mansion. There’s nothing groundbreaking about them, but they do set the scene for some beautiful and chaotic racing.
Mission mode is the other one player option, providing you with 60 challenges to embark on. It’s the standard regime; collecting coins, beating ghosts and so on, but it does prove a worthwhile challenge. In terms of multiplayer All Stars Racing doesn’t exactly set the pulse going. Offline you can set up your standard races and there’s also a set of weapons based games to play. However, the items in All Stars Racing are unimaginative and don’t give you much of an advantage, rendering these games fairly pointless. And it doesn't even matter online, because you can’t even play these modes, all you get is racing. Although it is frantic and fun for a while Sega could have added a lot more options to the multiplayer package.
What you will notice is how well the game handles. Cornering is smooth and responsive, which makes the game very enjoyable. The visuals are vibrant and colourful and there’s no sign of slowdown when the karting gets very competitive; it runs smoothly, making for some very enjoyable racing. Because the weapons are so poor it helps spur on the skill of racing, so you will pay attention to drifting and taking corners on the right lines rather than just waiting at the back and relying on a monstrous speed boost or a track destroying nuke to get you to the front.
Admittedly it adds nothing original to the genre but Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing is a very enjoyable racing game. More options online would have made the game more fun to play but courtesy of some excellent handling and a wide range of characters and courses Sega’s answer on Mario Kart soars past many of the copycat racers we’ve seen in the past.
Verdict: 7/10
Great review, but will always be a Mario Kart person myself.
Since Mario Kart burst its way onto the scene back in the early 90s we’ve had a whole host of characters from the digital age taking part in their own world of whacky races in an attempt to capture the imaginations of gamers around the world. Many have tried and failed, some miserably, but as much as Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing at first glance appears to fall into this category once it gets going you’d be surprised how well this racer excels in the cut-throat environment of the karting genre.
There are 20 characters to choose from, ranging from the famous faces such as Sonic to forgotten Sega mascots such as Opa-Opa from Fantasy Zone. You can even race as your Xbox avatar. In single player, there are two main modes to choose from. The first, Grand Prix, is your standard racing mode comprising of 6 cups across 24 tracks. As with most kart games the computer AI don’t put up much of a challenge but once you start racing on expert mode you will find the game does test your skills. The tracks delve into the history of Sega, ranging from zones in the Sonic games to the House of the Dead mansion. There’s nothing groundbreaking about them, but they do set the scene for some beautiful and chaotic racing.
Mission mode is the other one player option, providing you with 60 challenges to embark on. It’s the standard regime; collecting coins, beating ghosts and so on, but it does prove a worthwhile challenge. In terms of multiplayer All Stars Racing doesn’t exactly set the pulse going. Offline you can set up your standard races and there’s also a set of weapons based games to play. However, the items in All Stars Racing are unimaginative and don’t give you much of an advantage, rendering these games fairly pointless. And it doesn't even matter online, because you can’t even play these modes, all you get is racing. Although it is frantic and fun for a while Sega could have added a lot more options to the multiplayer package.
What you will notice is how well the game handles. Cornering is smooth and responsive, which makes the game very enjoyable. The visuals are vibrant and colourful and there’s no sign of slowdown when the karting gets very competitive; it runs smoothly, making for some very enjoyable racing. Because the weapons are so poor it helps spur on the skill of racing, so you will pay attention to drifting and taking corners on the right lines rather than just waiting at the back and relying on a monstrous speed boost or a track destroying nuke to get you to the front.
Admittedly it adds nothing original to the genre but Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing is a very enjoyable racing game. More options online would have made the game more fun to play but courtesy of some excellent handling and a wide range of characters and courses Sega’s answer on Mario Kart soars past many of the copycat racers we’ve seen in the past.
Verdict: 7/10
There are 20 characters to choose from, ranging from the famous faces such as Sonic to forgotten Sega mascots such as Opa-Opa from Fantasy Zone. You can even race as your Xbox avatar. In single player, there are two main modes to choose from. The first, Grand Prix, is your standard racing mode comprising of 6 cups across 24 tracks. As with most kart games the computer AI don’t put up much of a challenge but once you start racing on expert mode you will find the game does test your skills. The tracks delve into the history of Sega, ranging from zones in the Sonic games to the House of the Dead mansion. There’s nothing groundbreaking about them, but they do set the scene for some beautiful and chaotic racing.
Mission mode is the other one player option, providing you with 60 challenges to embark on. It’s the standard regime; collecting coins, beating ghosts and so on, but it does prove a worthwhile challenge. In terms of multiplayer All Stars Racing doesn’t exactly set the pulse going. Offline you can set up your standard races and there’s also a set of weapons based games to play. However, the items in All Stars Racing are unimaginative and don’t give you much of an advantage, rendering these games fairly pointless. And it doesn't even matter online, because you can’t even play these modes, all you get is racing. Although it is frantic and fun for a while Sega could have added a lot more options to the multiplayer package.
What you will notice is how well the game handles. Cornering is smooth and responsive, which makes the game very enjoyable. The visuals are vibrant and colourful and there’s no sign of slowdown when the karting gets very competitive; it runs smoothly, making for some very enjoyable racing. Because the weapons are so poor it helps spur on the skill of racing, so you will pay attention to drifting and taking corners on the right lines rather than just waiting at the back and relying on a monstrous speed boost or a track destroying nuke to get you to the front.
Admittedly it adds nothing original to the genre but Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing is a very enjoyable racing game. More options online would have made the game more fun to play but courtesy of some excellent handling and a wide range of characters and courses Sega’s answer on Mario Kart soars past many of the copycat racers we’ve seen in the past.
Verdict: 7/10