There have been some efforts by Nintendo that came close, the GBA version probably the best of the sequels. Other companies have tried with varying degrees of success, Crash Team Racing was a decent effort, as was the lesser known Speed Freaks on the Playstation, however most attempts to jump on this bandwagon have ended up with poor clones that offer nothing new. So could Sega really get this right?
The first thing that hits home when you turn the game on are the visuals. The graphics are so bright, full of primary colours and a pleasure to look at, allowing memories of Sega's past to come flooding back, before you even get into a vehicle. After being subjected to other racing games that have either been designed and streamlined to within an inch of their lives, or boring uninspired visuals, it really does make a nice change to have a game that instantly bursts out of the screen. The in game visuals are every bit as bright and beautiful as the menus, each character is recreated in 3D, the vehicles are really well designed and the worlds in which you race are so full of life, each one brimming with charm, so the game looks the business, but can it build on the lovely visual?
Well, if the options available are anything to go by, then yes it can. The game has pretty much everything you would expect from a racer in this mould. Grand Prix, Single Races, Time Trials, Online & Missions. It is the missions that stand out early on, with 64 available that offer many different variations, it isn't something that you will get bored of easily. The mission objectives vary nicely, offering up basic tasks of winning a race, to winning one on one battles. The missions that ask you to complete different types of challenges break things up nicely, drift challenges, collect challenges, battle challenges and more really do hold your attention. The difficulty ramps up at a steady level, yet in the most part frustration is kept to a minimum, as all objectives seem to be within reach if you do fail. Grand Prix mode is the bread and butter of the game, taking its lead from the best in the business, you enter a series of races with the idea of placing 1st on the leader-board by the end.
There are three difficulty levels with a total of 17 events between them. Pretty simple stuff, however they can become a challenge and are fun to play. The time trials are a nice break from the frantic action, offering a chance to just get down on a track and aim for your best lap time. You can download ghosts from the best times in the world, or from your friends list, race against them and try to beat them. Of course the game itself could be full to the brim with modes and lovely visuals, however if the actual on track action doesn't work, then it will not be played, simple as that. Thankfully the guys at Sumo have got it right. The ability to set the difficulty level means that the races can be a challenge, yet accessible no matter what your experience level is. Have it on easy and a three year old can compete, ramp the difficulty up and experience gamers will find it a challenge.
The balance is spot on, not an easy task so credit the the developers for getting it right. The balance between using weapons, or trying to our race you opponents works surprisingly well and to say something almost sacrilegious, it works a lot better than recent Mario Kart attempts. The weapons seem balanced and the effects aren't frustrating whether you are firing, or on the receiving end. If you are following and need to fire, then it holds up your target just enough to get you back in the game. If on the other hand you are the victim, you never feel your race is totally ruined. If you happen to be doing really badly, then you get a chance to use an All-Star move. This is the special move for each character that will allow them to fly up the positions and get back into the race. Once again this doesn't feel as unbalanced as it could have. Add a seeming lack of major rubber-banding and a decent AI and it makes for some constantly challenging and fun races.
Online races are just as frantic as the single player offering, the net code is solid too. However as with most racing games online, you may be better organising races with friends rather then random people. The two are totally different experiences, unfortunately. It is in the multi-player where the game shows its only major failing. The inability to set up series races or custom Grand Prix' with friends online or local is a major oversight from the Sumo and hopefully something that can be added via a title update or DLC. It really does let down a very well made package.
A nice touch in the game though is the way you earn your licences. By winning races and completing challenges you earn 'Sega Miles'. These can be spent in the shop to unlock new courses, characters and music. It is a system that works quite well and is generous enough with the rewards that it really doesn't take long to afford the what you want. Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing could well have been a disaster for Sega, it could of seen them laughed at from all sides, with what looked every bit like a cash in on Nintendo's success with Mario Kart. What we got though was not only a fine casual racing game, we have what is possibly the one of finest kart racing games since 1992. There are niggles in the multi-player aspect with a lack of user options, however the single player offering and the actual on track action more than make up for it.
