Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing

[Chakan]

Worthplaying just published a post featuring 57 screenshots of S&SASR across all platforms.

[Chakan]

Btw, in case you missed it, Akira & Jacky and the Bonanza Bros were confirmed.

[Chakan]

Hey, hey, hey, let's go look at Xbox 360 achievements! There's a heck of a lot of Sega references in the achievement names!

No PSN trophy lists yet.

[Chakan]

digital spy have an interview with S&SASR Producer Steve Lycett over here. Most immediately interest part is the following quote: "We’re currently looking at downloadable demos for 360 and PS3, and a DS demo via the Nintendo Channel to boot!"

...Finally, following the Ryo announcement, many fans have suggested that Sumo Digital would be an ideal studio to develop a Shenmue sequel. Is this something the team would be interested in?
"Well we’ve got Ryo already! I think it would be interesting to attempt to live up to the first two games, and I’d love to see Ryo’s story finished. Will he get revenge on Lan Di, will they find the remaining Dragon Mirrors? I’m sure if Sega asked, we’d love to take it on. It’d scare me to death to take on something so epic, but well, I’d like to think we could do it justice. I think if you cut us in half at this point, you’d find Sega written through the middle of us!"

[Chakan]

playstation lifestyle also has an interview with Steve Lycett:

...PSLS: How would you view comparisons to Mario Kart?

You know, you’re not the first person to ask us that. If anything, it’s rather flattering that people are expecting us to be comparable. On the face of it, I can see why people compare it. But I think we’ve got some definite advantages.

For a start we’re mixing multiple universes, with Mario, you’ve only got Mario characters and tracks. Here we’ve got Sonic characters and tracks, but we’re also bringing characters in from SEGA games old and new. So you’ve got Jet Set Radio, Space Channel 5, Shenmue, Super Monkey Ball – and that’s just the more recent ones. We’re also fetching in things characters from new games, like Zobio and Zombiko from House of the Dead EX, and also lots of classic characters. Just think of us as sneaking into SEGA’s vaults and running out, swag bag in hand.
Then the game itself is based on classic SEGA racing. We’re more about speed, drifting and action. If you imagine OutRun, but turned up to 11 and with tracks that twist, turn, corkscrew and loop then also throw in huge, massive, massive jumps, then you’re not far off!

So yes, they’re both party games, and they’re both about racing and having fun, but aside from that they’re quite different!
...
PSLS: Will the PS3 version receive exclusive characters, like Banjo and Kazooie on the Xbox 360?

Unfortunately it doesn’t! That’s not to say we haven’t been putting in the effort though, in fact throughout development it’s been the PS3 version that’s been the lead platform. You’ll have noticed that at E3, GamesCon and Summer of Sonic, it’s always been the PS3 that’s been the demo machine of choice. We’ve also ensured that PS3 features, like PSN, Trophies and online chat are all supported. I think we’re also one of the few recent games to include SixAxis motion control too. If DLC happens, we very much want to do it on PS3 too!

PSLS: Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing combines many characters from various IP’s, are there any characters that you would really loved to have included, but couldn’t?

Just as with Sega Superstars Tennis, we’d love to have got in more, but we have a finite budget and timeframe. We did lots of research to see what characters people wanted in SST but didn’t appear which is mostly why you see Ryo from Shenmue in there. That’s almost purely down to fan requests.

I know there’s been a lot of fan call’s this time for Vectorman and Ristar too, but they should have shouted more at the end of SST! By the time they were being requested heavily, we’d locked the character roster!
I can’t say just yet who I would have like to included either – then I’ll have de-confirmed someone as not being in. I keep getting told off for that!
...

Perhaps Vectorman or Ristar will make an appearance in possible DLC?

[Chakan]

2D-X briefly writes about their hands-on experience with S&SASR today.

...
First of all, let me say this: whatever screenshots that you’ve seen online or in print absolutely pale in comparison to seeing Sonic & SEGA All-Stars in motion. Blame it on shots of early builds, blame it on downscaling the images to fit publication pages, but playing the game on a HDTV made the environments and characters (both are pulled from a wide range of SEGA properties) absolutely pop. The colors are brilliant and there are lots of small character touches (such as taunt moves) that give each a distinctive personality.

And that character roster is deep. SEGA wrangled up familiar and obscure race contestants from the company’s rich history including Alex Kidd (!!!), Amigo (from Samba de Amigo), Beat (from Jet Grind Radio), Sonic, and over a dozen others. I went the totally wacky route and selected Billy Hatcher (from Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg) – - you know, the boy in the chicken suit. Oh, Japan.

The controls are tight, and quite simple to use. Right button gassed, left button power drifted, and “A” unleashed a special attack (which in Billy’s case was his giant egg that lets him get a huge speed burst ). Developer Sumo Digital did an excellent job of controlling the speed and handling. You can really start blazing across the various tracks, but you never feel as though you’re losing control of the vehicle (which is essential when jockeying for position).

All in all the hands-on time with Sonic & SEGA All-Stars elevated the title from one of mere consideration to one that I’m thoroughly looking forward to playing when it arrives on February 23rd. If you love wacky racing, or simply looking for something different from the Burnouts and Gran Turismos, this title deserves a strong consideration.

[Chakan]

GameSpot writes about their experience with S&SASR's multiplayer action:

We know you’re probably going to ask, so we’ll get this out of the way right off the bat. Yes, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing shares more than a passing resemblance to Mario Kart with Sega characters in place of troublesome princesses and brothers in primary-coloured ensembles. Now that we have that out of the way, the obvious follow-up and, indeed, more important question is whether it’s fun. The answer is yes.
...

Also, if you preorder the game at EBGames in Australia, you'll get an exclusive Sonic race car toy. Vroom, vroom!

[Chakan]

Evidently UK games magazine GamesMaster is releasing their latest issue (March 2010) with 12 different All-Stars Racing covers. Oh snap, that's a lot of covers to collect if you choose to do so!

The magazine is out now and is pretty much the first publication offering a review of the game. Here's reported scores for the different editions via the interwebs:

Xbox 360/PS3 - 83%
Wii - 83%
DS - 70%

Also, Nintendo Power is reported to have awarded the Wii version an 8/10 score and the DS version 6/10.

Also, you have the unlock additional content with Sega Miles (which you get for completing courses), including the following characters:

Alex Kidd
Big the Cat
Ryo Hazuki
Bonanza Brothers
Opa-Opa
B.D. Joe
Akira Yuki and Jacky Bryant

[Chakan]

It seems Gameloft is making a version of All-Stars Racing for mobile phones. It looks OK to me.

[Chakan]

The demo is now up on Xbox Live in all regions. It's 1.03 GBs. Not sure about PSN, since I don't have a PS3.

In this demo, you can play as Sonic or Banjo across a couple of tracks.

You can also grab the theme for your 360.


Downloading the demo now, will try with the boys once done.

[Chakan]

Okay, either you can upgrade your vehicles somehow or I'm missing something. I can't place higher than 6th, no matter how well my run goes.

The demo is of one track, Hidden Palace. You can play as Sonic or Banjo only, but you do race against the other drivers. It's fun. Not sure what else to say, really.

[Bortumer]

I'm going to DL it now. Is it as rigged to the point of unplayability as a Mario Kart game?

[Chakan]

I wouldn't call it unplayable. I have no idea what the deal is, but neither me nor our two boys can get higher than 6th place. Still, the demo gives you a good idea of what the game's like.

[IronMongeR]

I just had a couple of races on it. Came 3rd on my second go as Sonic. I like it. But it does seem quite hard, almost as though everyone else is faster than you, even if you're not getting attacked..? Probably won't get it right away - it's a Sega game - it'll be half price in a couple of months.

[Chakan]

I just had a couple of races on it. Came 3rd on my second go as Sonic. I like it. But it does seem quite hard, almost as though everyone else is faster than you, even if you're not getting attacked..? Probably won't get it right away - it's a Sega game - it'll be half price in a couple of months.

Boo.... hiss... I would probably buy this in the near future if it were a $40 title.