One of my major complaints is the character roster. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s a good roster, just not great considering Sega’s variety of characters from their well-known franchises. Why has Nights, from NiGHTS Into Dreams, been regulated to flag waving duties when ‘it’ has always been a fan-favorite among Sega fans for years? Billy Hatcher is a playable character yet Sega couldn’t work out a deal to get Toe-Jam and Earl in the game? Guess what Sega, no one cared about Billy on the Gamecube and all these years later, no one cares now. Here’s a quick quiz: What game does Zobio and Zobiko come from? Don’t know? Neither did I until I googled’ them. It seems like Sega wanted to be ‘so’ hardcore they included two characters from a japan-only game. Yes! Come on guys, what about Vector Man? Sketch Turner from Comix Zone? Or heck, one of the cars from the Daytona USA games? If Fighters Megamix can have a car that kicks ass, then why couldn’t a racing game have a race car? Some of the final roster decisions were just bizarre.
This problem further extends into the music and track selections. Out of all of the Sega games over the years, a majority of the music featured in the game come from the following titles: The Sonic series, Samba De Amigo, House of the Dead, Jet Set Radio Future, and Billy Hatcher. Sonic music? Great! Jet Set Radio Future music? Even better! Billy Hatcher and House of the Dead music!? Whhhaaa?!? The moment I earned my first trophy, which was labeled ‘Rolling Start’, the super-cheesy song from Daytona USA, instantly I got excited. Quickly I moved to the shop to buy the classic tune only to find that it was nowhere to be found. Talk about disappointed! The music selection could have been so much better and Sega dropped the ball big time with it.
The track selections, even though they’re colorful and rendered beautifully by the game’s graphic engine, lack any type of variety because they’re also hampered by the limited amount of games they’re chosen from. I still don’t understand why Sega and Sumo Digital decided on the limited selection. This game could have been really been a fantastic showcase for Sega to display all of their decades of gaming franchises.
What Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing ends up being is a great game that Sega fans of any age can pickup and enjoy. It is currently the de facto kart racer game to own on the PS3, though a certain ‘Mod’ might just take over the kart racing ‘Nation’ come this May. Even though it lacks originality and the character roster could have been improved upon, the game is still a blast to play and deserves a spot in any Sega fan’s collection.
PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score
Plenty of modes to keep you busy. Character roster while good could have been much better. |
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