Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing

[SegaFan]

Here we should discuss Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, which is released on 26th February in Europe and 23rd in North America.

My main inspiration for making this thread is to tell you that the demo is now available on PSN in Europe (and probably NA as well).

Confirmed platforms are PS3/360/Wii/DS/PC.

Confirmed characters:
Sonic the Hedgehog
Miles "Tails" Prower
Knuckles the Echidna
Doctor Eggman
Amy Rose
Shadow the Hedgehog
Big the Cat
AiAi
Amigo
Ryo Hazuki
Beat
Alex Kidd
Billy Hatcher
Zobio and Zobiko
Ulala
Jacky Bryant and Akira Yuki
B.D. Joe
Robo and Mobo
Opa-Opa
Chuih, ChuBei, ChuPea and ChuBach
Banjo Kazooie (Xbox 360 Only)
Avatar (Xbox 360 Only)
Mii (Wii Only)

No exclusive characters for PS3, but maybe an exclusive track. If not, 360 definitely gets the best deal with Banjo and Kazooie.

Tracks: I've looked, it doesn't seem like there's a complete track list available yet (only a partial one on the official site), so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

There are also talks of a pre-order bonus of DLC in Europe, I have no idea where from so I'll going to look around before I pre order from somewhere that doesn't offer it.

Official site:
http://www.sega.com/sonicracing/

Who's getting it?

I'm looking forward to trying it, at 827MB for the demo and I'm slowly downloading it (problems with my network at the moment). I'll get to try it before the 26th with any luck!

[Diebythesword]

I can't wait to get this, I liked the demo and I wanna own ****s with Opa-Opa

[SegaFan]

Played the demo.

The tracks are listed on the menu screen, 24 in total:
Sonic the Hedgehog (9 tracks)
Billy Hatcher (3 tracks)
Samba de Amigo (3 tracks)
Jet Set Radio (3 tracks)
Curien Mansion/House of the Dead (3 tracks)
Super Monkey Ball (3 tracks)

The demo track is one from Billy Hatcher.

At first I wished they had more games in the track list (and less per game), but the Billy Hatcher track recreates the setting and atmosphere of the original game very well, even the music is straight from the game. If all the series featured here have such good attention to detail, I'm glad they've focused on getting those few right than trying to do more and getting it wrong. Also, looking at the pictures all the tracks seem very varied within their series.

It's weird that Billy Hatcher, a relatively obscure Gamecube game that hardly anyone played, gets so much attention but it's great to look back for anyone whose played it. It's only from last generation but I even feel slightly nostalgic about it.

The gameplay reminds me most of Crash Team Racing, but that could be because of the same (Playstation) controller.

One feature, that I haven't decided whether is extremely annoying or brilliant, is the "live" American commentary that plays throughout the race. I think it does add to it on balance.

Overall, it's a fun demo. Although I think this genre is a bit tired and this does nothing to really change that, I still think this will be fun for all the Sega locations and characters, and solid gameplay. I look forward to trying multiplayer (up to 4 players split screen and up to 8 players online).

[Angelic Lapras King]

Do kind of wished for Skies of Arcadia characters, but there you go.

I'll get this when it goes down in price.

[SegaFan]

Thoughts on this game. The gameplay works well but is admittedly quite unoriginal, it does everything you would expect from a good kart racer and nothing else. That's not to say it's bad, I'll have to get some more experience before I can decide how good it is compared to other games. The Sega theme is the best part about the game, it's done well and makes the game worthwhile, unless you don't like Sega.

The system for slowly unlocking tracks, characters and music by purchasing them with the "Sega Miles" obtained in-game works well, meaning that you don't see all the game at once but still get to unlock your favourite characters early on. One good feature is the ability to unlock music from the various Sega franchises in the game, interestingly the Sonic R soundtrack can be unlocked (good, because I never thought they'd want to include that in a new racing game).

I've got the PS3 version, which I assume is like the 360 version without Banjo. I'd like to hear from people with the Wii version, does it look good? The obvious comparison, how does it compare to Mario Kart Wii?

[Turai]

Thinkin about getting this, the demo was alot of fun!

[Spore]

I didn't even know this was coming to PC, and all of a sudden it pops up on Steam telling me to buy it. I will look at it. It seems to be getting good reviews.

[Angelic Lapras King]

Whats the online mode like?

[jackaroo]

Cant wait to get this game. I have preordered it but being in spain and with the weekend just finishing up it has a couple days delay. Hopefully ill get it today. I loved the Demo's.....well I wasnt sure about the DS version but ive ordered it anyway. Ive heard the full game is better than the Demo for DS.

Anyway im very excited for the game. The tracks in the demos were very well designed so Im hoping the others are like that too. Hopefully they are as then this game will be a great competitor for one of the best kart games out there. But based on the Demo I still think Crash Team Racing holds that crown. In any case I cant wait to play it. Should be fun.

[Betagam7]

I'm disappointed that the Wii version will not have downloadable content. It is already one character short of the 360 version as there is no Nintendo exclusive to match Banjo. Now we will also have to do without Ryo Hazuki on his forklift which is something all other consoles got free on preorder.

I really wanted to get the Wii version for the controls and free online even though I have the option of 360.

[SKTTR]

Dammit Rare, bring Banjo and Kazooie on the Wii, you stupid Microfots shame!
Ah well.. I don't care. In the end it's SEGA's decision and fault!

And I don't care that much about SEGA ALL STARS RACING at all.... except if it's made by Amusement Vision who brought us F-Zero GX but I think it's not and is more akin to these really bad Sonic racing games.

Yeah, screw it anyway. I need to write Nintendo another email to bring Excitebots: Trick Racing over here! This is what I call a great racing game!

[Turai]

Will it be possible to download Ryu as a DLC without pre ordering?

[SegaFan]

Whats the online mode like?

Haven't tried it yet myself, network problems still. Split-screen multiplayer has some good modes though, so if it's anything like that.

Hopefully they are as then this game will be a great competitor for one of the best kart games out there. But based on the Demo I still think Crash Team Racing holds that crown. In any case I cant wait to play it. Should be fun.

It's a competitor definitely, but I still think Crash Team Racing is the best of all of them.

Now we will also have to do without Ryo Hazuki on his forklift which is something all other consoles got free on preorder.

I tried to get that but none of the shops I went in had heard of it. You still get to race in the forklift as Ryo's all-star item (each character has a different one), so I don't see much point in having the forklift all the time.

[Refa]

Originally Posted by jackaroo

Anyway im very excited for the game. The tracks in the demos were very well designed so Im hoping the others are like that too. Hopefully they are as then this game will be a great competitor for one of the best kart games out there. But based on the Demo I still think Crash Team Racing holds that crown. In any case I cant wait to play it. Should be fun.

Everyone has their favorite 2nd place.

Originally Posted by SKTTR

Dammit Rare, bring Banjo and Kazooie on the Wii, you stupid Microfots shame!
Ah well.. I don't care. In the end it's SEGA's decision and fault!

And I don't care that much about SEGA ALL STARS RACING at all.... except if it's made by Amusement Vision who brought us F-Zero GX but I think it's not and is more akin to these really bad Sonic racing games.

Yeah, screw it anyway. I need to write Nintendo another email to bring Excitebots: Trick Racing over here! This is what I call a great racing game!

It's more like Outrun 2, which AV also made. And what does this have to do with Excitebots?

[Betagam7]

Originally Posted by SegaFan

You still get to race in the forklift as Ryo's all-star item (each character has a different one), so I don't see much point in having the forklift all the time.

You might as well ask what the point in any bonus content is. It's just something fun that you can do extra from the main game and its extremely annoying that every version but the Wii will have it when the wii can easily handle downloadable content but Nintendo's stupid size restrictions are buggering it up!

Originally Posted by Turai

Will it be possible to download Ryu as a DLC without pre ordering?

No, and Blanka won't be available either

[SegaFan]

You might as well ask what the point in any bonus content is.

I just don't think that racing in the fork-lift all the time would add anything to the game.

[Turai]

I personaly dislike the use of in game content being added for pre orders.
Stuff like a irl wallpaper or something is fine imo though.

Just me being a whiny ***** I guess.

[Betagam7]

Originally Posted by Turai

I personaly dislike the use of in game content being added for pre orders.
Stuff like a irl wallpaper or something is fine imo though.

Just me being a whiny ***** I guess.

It wasn't "in-game content" it was a free DLC that you'd otherwise have to pay for.

Segafan, I don't think it adds anything to the gameplay (although it might, just like bonus karts add something to MKW) but as a Shenmue fan it would have been interesting for me.

Also this is only one of the future DLC characters that are likely to become available...but not on Wii.

[SKTTR]

All these facts and talking here seems to me that the Wii version won't be worth the full price.

After initially following the games progress because of interesting stuff like ShenMue character being playable, more and more downers hit me balls.
I wait for the game to be 15 € or less, thanks.


And what has Excitebots to do with it? That's the best Wii racer out, and it isn't released here in EU and instead lots of shovelware racing games and bad ports like this Sonic Sega Racing game get a release over here and it's a feeling like trying to feed my gaming tastes with a crapvomitmix.

I want a good racing game, but Excite Truck was the only serious one, and Mario Kart Wii was disappointing because of it's crappy controls and that is two years ago and nothing remarkable since then... or am I looking in the wrong place?

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by SKTTR

I want a good racing game, but Excite Truck was the only serious one, and Mario Kart Wii was disappointing because of it's crappy controls and that is two years ago and nothing remarkable since then... or am I looking in the wrong place?

Yes, you're looking on the wrong console.

[SKTTR]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

Yes, you're looking on the wrong console.

Seems so. S&SAS Racing is a game that should be bought on 360 I guess.

[Spore]

Well, the PC version doesn't support online play. High resolution play and smooth framerates aren't enough to part 30 dollars from me for it. This is almost as bad as PC Ghostbusters not having multiplayer.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by SKTTR

Seems so. S&SAS Racing is a game that should be bought on 360 I guess.

Yep. The 360 also has that Forza game. Burnout is crossplatform but not on Wii. If you're into Karts, PS3 has ModNation Racers.

[Betagam7]

I played a course of this in HMV today (who by the way had a very impressive sofa, big screen TV Heavy Rain setup that almost made me consider buying a PS3) it looked nice and controlled well enough with Ryo on his motorbike but it did seem to be quite slow and easy and lacked the feeling of speed that most racers have.

It's possible I was playing the games equivilent of 50cc MKW though.

[Turai]

I dunno Betagam, I've only played the demo but I found it quite hard actually, and got a better sense of speed than most racers I played recently, like the GT5 demo, Mario Go Cart DS.

[SegaFan]

You were probably playing easy mode, Betagam, the harder modes are more difficult than MK in my opinion.

Turai, I don't know for sure but I think the demo was set to the medium difficulty setting, definitely not the easiest.

[Kobayashi]

Which the best version: Wii, PS3 or Xbox 360 ?

[jackaroo]

Well ive finally recieved the 360 and DS versions of the game now. Ive been playing the 360 version mostly at the moment.
The game definatly isnt that easy on the higher difficulties. It usually ends up in a battle between 1st, 2nd and 3rd but its pretty tricky.
The tracks are incredibly well designed and look great aswell. They each have there own styles too. The Jet Set Radio stages are designed to pick up alot of speed and are very wide to allow you to do some good drifts whilst the Super Monkey Ball stages have alot of Sharp Turns. Each set of stages have there own style so there all great to play.
The characters are well balanced for the most part. The characters who use motorcycles (Shadow, Ryo, Alex Kidd etc) seem to have a bit of an advantage though but you can still win with pretty much any character. Im currently using Shadow, Sonic & Beat.
Theres also a shop system where you buy new characters, tracks and music using Sega Miles. You earn sega miles from pretty much everything. Multiplayer races, Grand Prix, Missions etc all earn you Sega Miles. It will only take you a few days to unlock everything though.
As for game modes you have your standards :
Grand Prix - Series of 4 races where you earn points based on your position.
Single Race - Pick a course and change the settings and race. Simple.
Time Trial - Get the best Lap time possible on a course. You can go round the track as much as you like and it doesnt end unless the Timer runs out (the timer goes up again when you finish a lap though) or when you choose to end it on the start menu.
Then theres the mission mode aswell. The mission mode contains 64 varied missions that go across different styles. Youve got missions where you collect rings, go through gates to earn more time, race a rival, battle another racer or even face off against a couple of bosses.
As for multiplayer ive only tried the online. And its great. Ive not experienced any lag whatsoever. Its been smooth the whole way. One feature I do like is that when a player drops out they are just replaced by a CPU character. And if the race starts before you have filled out all 8 positions then the gaps are just filled in with CPU players. It stops the races from feeling empty at times and so I think its a nice feature. There isnt any trouble getting into a game at the moment though. There seems to be a rather large community for the game.
The main part of the game I have an issue with is the sound. The music is fine. Theres a bunch of tracks from the various games and you can choose which track you would like to play at the start of each race. Theres a good selection there. The main issue is the voices though. They are all recycled voices. You'll hear characters say things that seem so out of place. Its weird having Shadow start a race by saying "Who are you? And how do you know my name?". Its also odd when you complete a mission and sonic says "No....". As for commentary its very hit and miss. Your either gonna love it or hate it. The commentator does have some humerous lines where as others are just stupid. And of course it does get repetitive too.

Overall the game is pretty damn good. It still doesnt beat Crash Team Racing (Which I feel is the Pinacle of Kart Racers) but id say its second best beating out Mario Kart. The main thing that does it for me is the track design. There some of the best tracks ive seen in a racing game yet.

So there you go. Thats my review of the game. Its definatly worth picking up (on the 360 at least) if your looking for a fun racing game.

[Trapster]

Beating out Mario Kart? What are you smoking?

Mario Kart created the kart racing genre. At least the party kind.

Either way, I might get this game. The PS3 version can't be any worse than the 360 one.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by Trapster

Beating out Mario Kart? What are you smoking?

Mario Kart created the kart racing genre. At least the party kind.

That doesn't mean it's automatically the best. Mario Kart Wii sucks balls.

Originally Posted by Trapster

Either way, I might get this game. The PS3 version can't be any worse than the 360 one.

Not in terms of gameplay anyway. It'll lack the 360's bonus characters though.

[Trapster]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

That doesn't mean it's automatically the best. Mario Kart Wii sucks balls.

Millions of Mario Kart players wants to have a word with you, Joyo.

Also, might that statement be a result of your current skill level at the game? Not to insult you but...why do you think it sucks?

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by Trapster

Millions of Mario Kart players wants to have a word with you, Joyo.

It has millions of players!? OK, I take it back, it's the best kart racing game. No new kart racing game could possibly be better than that.

Originally Posted by Trapster

Also, might that statement be a result of your current skill level at the game? Not to insult you but...why do you think it sucks?

No, I dislike a lot of games I'm good at. I even like a lot of games I'm not good at! Mario Kart Wii's foibles are well-documented (by millions of players...!?) and include bad balance, bad AI, blue shells, lack of item rules customization, an atrocity of a battle mode, and a cheat-susceptible online mode. It's hardly out of the question that a poster on these forums would find a new game to have improved on these issues.

Personally, I'm not enough of a fan of the Sega universe as it's represented in this game to be really interested, but I'm also not going to write it off just because it's a new game in a genre that already exists.

[SegaFan]

Jackaroo, let us know what the DS version is like when you play it.

[Turai]

Originally Posted by Trapster

Beating out Mario Kart? What are you smoking?

Mario Kart created the kart racing genre. At least the party kind.

Either way, I might get this game. The PS3 version can't be any worse than the 360 one.

Wouldnt suprise me if it beats Mario Kart since CTR already managed to do it.

My only real big gripe with the game is that Blaze isn't in it

Hope they add her as a DLC.

[jackaroo]

Originally Posted by SegaFan

Jackaroo, let us know what the DS version is like when you play it.

Will do. Ive played one grand prix on it so far and all I can say is it feels very slippery. You still have full control when your drifting which is weird. The graphics are good though and the tracks are pretty faithful to the console versions. But ill let you all know what I think properly once ive played some more.

[Kobayashi]

Originally Posted by Kobayashi

Which the best version: Wii, PS3 or Xbox 360 ?

Errr.. None ?

[SegaFan]

Originally Posted by Kobayashi

Errr.. None ?

I'd go for the 360 version as it has Banjo-Kazooie, and the PS3 version doesn't have extra characters. Having only played the PS3 version (I haven't got a 360), I'm assuming the 360 version is otherwise the same and that the Wii version won't be the best.

[Ouenben]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

It has millions of players!? OK, I take it back, it's the best kart racing game. No new kart racing game could possibly be better than that.



No, I dislike a lot of games I'm good at. I even like a lot of games I'm not good at! Mario Kart Wii's foibles are well-documented (by millions of players...!?) and include bad balance, bad AI, blue shells, lack of item rules customization, an atrocity of a battle mode, and a cheat-susceptible online mode. It's hardly out of the question that a poster on these forums would find a new game to have improved on these issues.

Personally, I'm not enough of a fan of the Sega universe as it's represented in this game to be really interested, but I'm also not going to write it off just because it's a new game in a genre that already exists.

QFT. Mario Kart wii is awful. To add to the list of cons -

Friend codes for Online (okay this isnt unique to mario kart)
Super wide courses
12 players < 8 players. 12 is too much, far too many items going about.
etc

Also that's hilarious that he assumed you didn't like the game because you didnt win all the time online. Mario kart has been more about luck than skill since the N64 version. Skill does have it's place but item luck dominates it for whos likely to win.
I'd love a mode where items could be turned off for a race. Or the ability to turn off big stuff like blue shell, 3 x reds, golden mushroom

I'm quite tempted to renty sega racing ill try out the demo first though.

[Trapster]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

No, I dislike a lot of games I'm good at. I even like a lot of games I'm not good at! Mario Kart Wii's foibles are well-documented (by millions of players...!?) and include bad balance, bad AI, blue shells, lack of item rules customization, an atrocity of a battle mode, and a cheat-susceptible online mode.

Err, it has LESS blue shells than Double Dash, for example. It does have more of those Pow Blocks, though.

Also, how's it cheat-susceptible? As for the battle mode, I agree with you on that one.

@Ouenben: Items are based on what place you're currently holding in the race, but of course there's less chance getting a powerful item than getting a weak/common one. But the placings decrease/increase those chances.

[MasterGH]

Originally Posted by Trapster

Also, how's it cheat-susceptible?

What he means is it's extremely easy to hack online races. I've seen it multiple times and it isn't fun when it starts happening.