Sonic, Sega All-Stars return to kart racing

Sega got a taste of crossover success with 2007's Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, and the publisher has been making the original gaming speed freak play nice with other brands ever since. Beyond this year's Winter Games follow-up, Sonic also crossed over into Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Sega Superstars Tennis, and now Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing.

Set for release in 2010 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and DS, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing will bring together characters from throughout the publisher's catalog to compete on a number of fanciful tracks. As in other mascot racing games, All-Stars Racing will mix up the action with a variety of shortcuts and special power-ups to be collected as players make their laps.

All-Stars Racing will also feature another staple of the genre in party-focused multiplayer modes. The game will be playable online with races of up to eight players, or in an offline split-screen mode for four. While Sega did not put a number on the roster of characters, it did reveal that Tails, Amy, Dr. Eggman, AiAi, and Amigo would be joining Sonic at the starting line.

While racing is a regular Sonic pastime (as featured in such games as Sonic R, Sonic Riders, and Sonic Rivals), this will be the hedgehog's first time behind the wheel since a pair of Sonic Drift titles on the Game Gear in the mid-1990s.