It's surprisingly good.
NOTICING THAT SONIC AND SEGA ALL STARS RACING IS SIMILAR IN GAMEPLAY TO MARIO KART DOES NOT MAKE YOU OBSERVANT!! FURTHERMORE POINTING OUT THAT A FAST CHARACTER LIKE SONIC DOESN'T NEED TO DRIVE A CAR DOES NOT MAKE YOU CLEVER!! ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE JUST CRIBBING NOTES FROM ZERO PUNCTUATION!!
Ok, now that that's out of the way, on with the review.
Now of course you have probably noticed that Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing borrows a formula we're all familiar with. You have a bunch of wacky, recognizable characters, racing around colorful courses shooting items, but what you want to know is "should you buy it?" Well, hell yes you should. This is a fun, fast well made kart racing game that manages to stand out in a sea of shoddy, half assed Mario Kart clones.
Gameplay 9.0
There's really no need to get into game play into great detail. If you ever played Mario Kart in any ill iteration then you will be able to play this which makes no sense as to why you're forced to play a tutorial at the start. Really, Sega, we're not stupid, we can probably figure out the controls without you holding our hand.
The biggest factor into what makes a good racing game is control and thankfully, this game's controls are smooth and tight, even with the Wii Wheel controls. Honestly this is where so many Mario Kart knockoffs fail is that their controls are sloppy but turns and drifts are tight and steering is responsive so not matter what control scheme you use, not being able to steer will not be a concern.
Racing in general is fun and fast and crazy, however unlike Mario Kart, there really seems to be more focus on winning with skill than luck. While many of SASASR's items are clearly taken from MK, green boxing gloves=green shells, red missiles=red shells, etc. The insanely cheap items like blue shells and lightning bolts are missing. However while the power sliding and drifting are in tact, the game lacks the ability to get a speed boost by drafting. Many times you'll stare at someone's tailpipe wishing for a boost of speed. Another thing SASASR has that many MK players will be happy about are the "All Star Moves." When you start to fall behind in a race, when you get an item box, you will get the ability to perform an all star attack similar to the special moves of Mario Kart: Double Dash. Though most of these end up being nothing more than blasting through the pack, mowing down those in your path like MK's Bullet Bill.
Another nice thing I like about this kart racer is when you win a race you get Sega miles points which can be spent at the game's shop to unlock characters, tracks and music for the game. This is something I really wish MK would've done as opposed to having to grind the same races over and over again to unlock all characters. The roster of Sonic and Sega characters is nice despite some omissions like Nights and Gillius Thunderhead. Then again it might be something they try to nickel and dime us for as DLC.
Track design is well done though at times it can be hard to see the next turn until it's too close and you slam into the wall.
In the single player campaign you can do Grand Prix and Mission mode but sadly there's no way to play those with friends. In terms of multiplayer, the options are also robust where you can do VS. races and battle modes. This time around all versions have online play, but unfortunately you can only do races online but in online races you can turn off things like items and rubber band AI. Online matches for the most part are lag free but one thing that annoys me is that in SASASR, if someone else is playing as your favorite character, your forced to pick another as well as you have to follow the rules set up by the person hosting the match.
Graphics 8.0
On all consoles the graphics look good for the respective hardware. The Wii version looks like a Wii game instead of a PS2 game. The 360 and PS3 versions have sharp crisp visuals (add a point for those versions) however I have heard several accounts of some frame rate slowdown in the HD versions. As well as I found is that if you are playing on a standard definition TV, some text is hard to read, but overall the graphics are great and the track design could rival some of Mario Kart's best tracks. From the checkered cliffs of Sonic's home island to downtown Tokyo for Jet Grind Radio to the insanely trippy courses of Samba' D Amigo.
Sound 8.0
Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing features a nice track list from past titles featured in the game. Most of Sonic's music is taken from Sonic Heroes with a few other tunes tossed in. Additional tunes can be bought in the in game store with Sega miles. You can actually switch tunes out at the start of a race as well which is a nice touch. I have to warn you all though that deep within the recesses of the unlockable tracks, it's there, lurking. You can't escape it….Sonic R MUSIC!! Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!
Speed 10
This game excels where all of Sonic's past racing (and some plat forming) games have fallen short and that's SPEED. Despite Sonic being in a car, the sense of speed that comes from playing this type of game is fully in tact. You rocket through the courses steering and dodging as your adrenaline races. Additional speed boosts come from power ups and power slides as well as doing midair tricks can nab you another speed boost when you land. Man, this game is fun!
Really I could go on all day about how much fun this game is. Even if it is a Mario Kart clone, it's a good one. With crappy ones out there like Madagascar Racing, M&M's Kart Racing and, well Sonic Drift, it's a wonder something so fun like this can exist. If you're a Wii or DS owner, this is a nice change of pace from Mario Kart. If you're a PS3 owner, this will give you something to tide you over until Modnation Racers comes out and for 360 owners, this is your best bet for a good kart racer. Do not go buy this used. Do not download it off some piracy site. Sumo put a lot of time and effort into this. Show them some support!
Final Score…OMG I'm going to do it. 8.5
Systematic notes: The 360 version has the addition of Banjo and Kazooie as a playable racer as well as the ability to play as your 360 avatar. The Wii version has the option to play with standard or motion controls as well as the option to play as your Mii.