Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing

Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing
Developer(s)	Sumo Digital
Publishers(s)	Sega
Designer(s)	Sumo Digital
Release date(s)	February 23 2010
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC

From the Sonic News Network, the Sonic Wiki

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing with Banjo-Kazooie on the 360) is a recently announced racing game, features characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog series and other SEGA franchises. It is for the Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. It is currently the third installment in the SEGA Superstars series and is being developed by Sumo Digital.^[1]

[edit] Gameplay

The game plays out like a kart racing game, with characters collecting power-ups to boost their speed or hamper their opponents. Like Sumo's previous Sega game, Sega Superstars Tennis, each character has a 'Star Move' unique to them, such as Sonic transforming into Super Sonic, that they can use against their opponents. The game will have multiplayer options for up to four players on split-screen and eight players online.^[2]

Characters drive vehicles that relate to the character. Courses that appear in the game are slated to be references to various Sonic and SEGA titles.

On November 25, 2009, a special press event about the game was held in France, where the DS version made its playable debut.

[edit] Playable Characters

Character	Series	Vehicle	All-Star Move
Sonic the Hedgehog	Sonic the Hedgehog	Blue convertible with spikes resembling quills	Chaos Emeralds: As "Open Your Heart" plays, he becomes Super Sonic and does a super sonic boost that puts him in the lead and flips any character he comes close to.
Miles "Tails" Prower	Sonic the Hedgehog	Small, rounded biplane with a yellow colour scheme	Tails Tornado
Amy Rose	Sonic the Hedgehog	Old-fashioned, pink buggy, spare tire cover etched with "AMY"	Madly swings her Piko Piko Hammer around and smashes anyone who gets in her way.
Knuckles the Echidna	Sonic the Hedgehog	A red quad bike with big wheels in the back and little wheels in the front.	Master Emerald: Knuckles glides above the track and he can unleash a shockwave that stuns nearby opponents.
Doctor Eggman	Sonic the Hedgehog	Eggmobile with monster truck-tire attachments and guns under front lights.	Currently unknown
Shadow the Hedgehog	Sonic the Hedgehog	Personalized red and black G.U.N. motorcycle and jet boosters	Chaos Emeralds: He becomes Super Shadow and does the similar ability as Super Sonic does. (possibly to "Live and Learn".)
Big the Cat	Sonic the Hedgehog	Wooden bicycle	Big will unleash giant Froggy as Big holds on to its tail as Froggy smashs anybody in its path.
Aiai	Super Monkey Ball	Banana mobile	Gets in his Marble with smaller marbles following him. They then speed up and run over anyone in the way.
Amigo	Samba De Amigo	Car de Amigo.	Creates a conga line to distract the other racers with his rhythm. Also, when he passes by an opponent, their car will slow down and they will start dancing.
Billy Hatcher	Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg	Egg-shaped pod car with red wings.	Hops onto a giant egg like a circus bumper ball and runs on it to squashes anyone in its path.
Beat	Jet Set Radio	Orange and red sports car with neon and graffiti soul symbol on the hood.	Starts skating, and can also spray paint on nearby racers to obstruct their view.
Ryo Hazuki ^[3]	Shenmue	Motor Bike	Gets in his signature forklift and tosses opponents.
Alex Kidd	Alex Kidd	Red Motorcycle	Hops into a mini-helicopter, allowing him to shoot damaging projectiles at opponents.
Zobio and Zobiko ^[4]	The House of the Dead EX	Old-fashioned black cadilac	Zobio drinks some kind of potion, grows big, and runs around w/Zobiko riding his back as Zobio smashes anybody in its path.
Banjo and Kazooie (Xbox 360 version only) ^[5]	Banjo-Kazooie	‘Bolt Bucket’ Jeep^[6]	Kazooie pecks Banjo’s head then gets out her magical wrench from Nuts & Bolts to throw Jiggies behind them to attack their opponents.^[7]
Avatar (Xbox 360 version only)	The Xbox360 Avatars (The New Xbox Experience)	Avacar ^[8]	Some Avatar Friends will pick up your car and Run fast for you and Knocking out anybody in its path.^[9]

[edit] Race Courses

Game Series	Track Name
Sonic the Hedgehog	Seaside Hill
Sonic the Hedgehog	Casino Park
Sonic the Hedgehog	Final Fortress^[10]
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg	Blizzard Castle^[11]
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg	Dino Mountain^[12]
Super Monkey Ball	Jumble Jungle^[13]
House of the Dead	Curien Mansion^[14]
Jet Set Radio	Tokyo-to^[15]
Samba De Amigo	Carnival^[16]
Super Monkey Ball	A Desert Course(Yet to be named)

[edit] Development

Following the release of Sega Superstars Tennis, Sumo Digital decided to do a racing title, based on their experience with recent Out Run titles. In an early prototype of the game, Sonic raced on foot, Dr. Eggman rode an Eggpod with legs, Tails flew in a biplane, Amy Rose drove a car and Gilius Thunderhead from Golden Axe rode one of the Chickenleg creatures from the game. This version, however, was reportedly not fun to play, largely due to the varying sizes between the different characters, but also because the drift mechanic wouldn't work with racers who were on foot. It was later revised so that everyone would be in cars, bikes, or modified flyers. ^[17]

The soundtrack for the game will consist of various old and new tracks from the various Sonic and Sega franchises, though it will also feature original songs by various artists including Richard Jacques. Each course will start with one track, with more being unlocked as players earn Sega Miles. The Nintendo DS version of the game will feature Musical Instrument Digital Interface versions of the tracks composed by .^[18]

The game will also have a theme song called "So Much More..." by Bentely Jones. On the official website it is mentioned that there is a poll for the best pack of the sound tracks. The ones who win will get Sonic, SEGA and Bentely Jones prizes.

[edit] Downloadable Content

On September 22, 2009, Sega accidentally leaked top secret information from a corporate meeting with Sony Computer Entertainment America, in which it was revealed that characters from non-Sega IP were being considered as platform-exclusive DLC for the game, such as Ratchet & Clank. In addition to discussing PS3-only downloadable characters, the notes also mention having characters from Rareware properties and the Fable universe, ostensibly for the Xbox 360 version of the game. So Since it seems Sega may be interested in adding downloadable characters for all the Next-Gen Consoles this may lead to the possibility of characters such as Mario being added for the Wii & Nintendo DS. Or Sackboy For The ps3

Banjo & Kazooie and the Xbox 360 Avatars have been confirmed for the Xbox 360 version.

In a Q&A with Development Director, Craig Duncan, it was said that DLC would only be made available if the game becomes a commercial success.^[12]

[edit] Trivia

This is First time That Sonic is in a Car since Sonic Adventure 2 (The Kart Racing Mini-Game).
The characters in this game perform different animations/poses whenever they pass a racer or get passed by a racer, some of their animations/poses causes the character to let go of the wheel for a moment yet the player still has complete control of the racer/car.
Big the Cat`s first apperance on next-gen game consoles as well both first time being playable on Wii & first time being playable in a console game since Sonic Heroes
The game has a few things in common with Nintendo`s Super Smash Bros. Brawl:

1. Both are the 3rd game in a series starring their mascots,

2. They both appear on Wii;

3. Both were released in March;

4. They both have 3rd party characters (SSBB = Soild Snake & Sonic, S&SASR = Banjo & Kazooie)

5. Both have characters that work as a duo (SSBB = Ice Climbers, S&SASR = Banjo & Kazooie)

6. Both are multiplayer games.

7. Both can connect to the internet with Nintendo Wi-Fi.

There could be 2 or more versions of the Seaside Hill Course.
The game has a sound affect from Pac Man : World Rally another racing game.
In the first stages of development, Sonic and friends did not race in vehicles but on foot instead. Size and proportion issues occured however, and drifting was deemed impossible for characters outside of vehicles. After several attempts at tweaking the engine, it was decided that all characters should have a vehicle for easier play.
Banjo & Kazooie are playable in the 360 version, making it their first appearence in any Sonic or SEGA game.