For about the fifth time, SEGA takes a stab at the racing genre, and really pull it off.
Presentation: 8.5
This game has a lot of different modes to play. Whether it's single races, grand prix, missions, or playing online, you won't be bored for a long time.
Single race is just as simple as choosing a character and track to race on. Grand prix is similar to the Mario Kart grand prix, with three different difficulties. Missions are when the game gives you a certain objective to strive for. There are 64 missions, so it will be a while before you've finished all of them. Unfortunately, multiplayer is not available for grand prix or missions, but only on the single race. But online, you can race against friends or random people, (whichever you prefer) and you can even eliminate things like items, computer racers, or even rubber band AI.
One thing this game does have that Mario Kart doesn't, is that you don't have to play through all of the grand prix's over and over again. You can buy characters, tracks, and even music with SEGA miles. SEGA miles is the money that is spent at the store to buy unlockables. You can earn them by simply playing missions or races.
One thing this game is missing, is drafting. You can't get that burst of speed by staying right behind someone for a few seconds.
The cast of characters ranges from memorable to obscure. Characters like Sonic, Eggman, AiAi, and Amigo certainly make sense. But characters like Big the Cat and that Crazy Taxi guy should have been left out.
The tracks are represented from only six games. Sonic, Billy Hatcher, Super Monkey Ball, Samba de Amigo, Jet Grind Radio, and House of the Dead. And they were really well designed. I just think it would have been nice to have tracks from games like Space Channel 5 or Chu-Chu Rocket.
The music in the game is pretty good, most of the Sonic music is from Sonic Heroes. Unfortunately, they included the dreadful Sonic R music.
The items in this game are fairly similar to Mario Kart, but they forgot to include great items like the blue turtle shell. (Not that item exactly, they just should have made an item that attacks the character in first.)
The overall presentation in this game is amazing, and deserves to be treated as such.
Controls: 9.0
The controls in this game are near perfect, no matter what console you're playing on. Even the motion controls are incredibly responsive. And the drifting in this game is so much easier to use than in Mario Kart, because I found myself using it A LOT.
Graphics: 8.0
The graphics in the game are great. Especially on the Wii and DS, because the graphics look like they should on those consoles.
Sense of speed: 10
Normally, I wouldn't include this as a score, but this is important in a racing game. The sense of speed in this game is PERFECT. Although, the speed varies by character, you will always feel like you're going fast. (Unless, of course, if you get hit by an item.)
Overall: 8.5
At the end of this review I ask myself, is this game better than Mario Kart? Well, no. But, it comes pretty darn close. If you own a Wii and/or DS, and you want a nice change of pace from Mario Kart, you should buy this. If you own a 360 or PS3, this is probably the best kart racer out there on those consoles. And at the price of $50 on 360 and PS3, $40 on the Wii, and $30 on the DS, it is definitely worth the price. Buy it now.
(Please excuse me if I have made to many references to Mario Kart in this review.)