Here's my review:
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is one of the best racing games I've ever played, bar none.
Sega and Sumo Digital are known well for their racing games, so making a great racing game
such as this is no surprise. Its almost like a mix between Mario Kart and F-Zero. You have
the regular Kart racing style, where you pick up items and use them at your will, and then
you have fast paced, competitive racing, where major skill is involved to beat the top
players.
Gameplay: 10/10
Every character has a different vehicle, such as a Racecar, Bike, and flying vehicles. The
Cars are great at speed, and bikes are great at handling and drifting. Flying vehicles are
suspended a little above ground, and are not affected by bad terrain like the other two
vehicle choices are. Every track is unique in its own way, and knowing how to use your
vehicle on that track is vital. Sumo Digital is a BIG fan of drifting, so you're going to
be doing this a lot to stay in the lead. By drifting, you start up a boost. You can charge
up to 3 levels, and the stronger your level of boost is, the farther you go. However, this
isn't just to help you get past sharp turns. In this game, if you can drift in an area, go
for it. Every boost you can get is necessary to win when you're racing Expert leveled CPUs
and hardcore racers. All these elements are not hard to learn, and with practice, you will
do very well, I assure you. Items are more balanced than Mario Kart Wii, and the All-Star
Moves add for some major fun as well.
Characters/Tracks: 8/10
Sega and Sumo Digital REALLY outdid themselves this time. Not only did they offer some
great characters fans can enjoy in Tennis, but they added even MORE to this game. Such
characters are Ryo Hazuki from Shenmue, Jacky & Akira from Virtua Fighter, and Opa-Opa
from Fantasy Zone. All the characters are great, and can be used, though some need more
practice than others. The tracks in this game have some great design, but poor fanservice.
Of course, in my opinion, the tracks are awesome anyways, but only 5 franchises make up for
the 24 tracks, and those are Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Monkey Ball, Jet Set Radio Future,
Samba De Amigo, and Curien Mansion. Overall though, fans will be pleased with the tracks
and characters in this game. Also, the Wii version lets you play as your Mii.
Music/Sound: 9/10
Awesome. Just awesome. This game offers a GREAT variety of music, and they fit the tracks
well. My personal favorites are Palmtree Panic Present from Sonic CD, and Funky Dealer from
Jet Set Radio. You'll love the music that is offered in this game, trust me. The sounds in
this game are great as well.
Graphics: 9/10
Very good for the Wii. I was surprised how much better this game does graphically than Mario
Kart Wii. Sega and Sumo really did a good job where this is concerned.
Controls: 7/10
Don't use the Wii Wheel. My personal favorite is the Wiimote+Nunchuck combo, as it is very
easy to use and very fun. The Classic Controller is fine, and it makes up for the lack of
Gamecuber Controller compatibility.
Announcer: 1-10/10
Yes, I made a section for the Announcer. I can't give a rating for this, as it depends on if
he's getting on my nerves or not. He has some funny lines here and there, but some lines can
just tick a person off so bad you want to just shut him off(which is possible). However,
there's a slight catch. When you turn him off, the race gets really quiet, and makes you
want him on anyways. Like me, you'll have mixed feelings about the Announcer.
Online: 6/10
Yeah...not the best rating I gave, huh? Well, that's cause its true. Online, despite being
really fun to race people, can get very bad. When you're searching for an online match,
you either be the host, where you can make the rules yourself, but when you don't, someone
else does. I've had cases where I've run into a host that just sits there and does nothing,
so the race never starts. This is also the case that even when the host is fine, or you're
the host, that a player joins the room and sits there and does nothing, so the race never
starts. This doesn't happen too often, but is very frustrating. Otherwise, online is great.
Friend races on the other hand, are always fun, so be sure to try that out sometime. Online
also has a Time Attack mode, where you can try to make a best time go into the leaderboards.
The leaderboard ranks from 1-30, giving players a better chance to be known than how it is
in Mario Kart Wii.
Comparison to the PS3/360:
Now, this is the big problem. If you have a Ps3/360, get that version. The Wii lacks DLC,
which the PS3/360 versions have. So if you're looking to add more to this great game, plus
have better graphics(but like I said, the Wii version did show off its power). They also
have better online, due to the fact that you can boot people off that are being a nuisance.
Overall Score: 8/10
Buy it. If you like Sonic, or other Sega characters, or even both, this game is a must. If
you don't like either, but want a good racing game that you can use your Mii in and destroy
the heck out of Sonic and his Sega pals, get this game. Its very fun, and worth your time.
__________________________________________________________________________
So what do you think of my review?
