Review by: Danielle Riendeau

So horrid is Sonic’s current reputation among gamers (those of us who have been subjected to the blue blur’s more recent “now-gen” offerings, that is), that I approached Sega and Sonic All Stars Racing with a tired resignation. Mascot kart racers tend to be pretty lame in general – the best are decent rip-offs of Mario Kart, while the worst are laughably bad (Super Bombad Racers, anyone?). All signs pointed to “crappy kids game”.

Sumo Digital to the rescue! All Stars Racing is shockingly good – it combines fun track design, a wide variety of different racers (all of whom handle differently), oodles of unlockable content, impressive variety among game modes, and enough old-school Sega nostalgia to make any Dreamcaster’s eyes water with joy. Of course, it owes everything to Nintendo’s design – but it stands up to Double Dash (arguably the best in the MK series) and decidedly bests the most recent version – Mario Kart Wii - in terms of sheer fun and overall track design.

You begin the game with the choice to play single or multiplayer, and then select your racer. From the start, your options are nicely balanced – you can choose a heavy hitter like Dr. Eggman, a tiny but highly maneuverable little guy like Amigo (from Samba De Amigo), or a tricky speedster like Shadow. Sega history is well represented – though many of the best characters still need to be unlocked.

You can choose to race in the grand prix – a six-cup series consisting of four races each – or in the mission mode, where you are given specific short challenges. The missions are fun and incredibly varied – you’ll do everything from trying to navigate a minefield of pottery, to playing through each themed track with it’s home character, to seeing how long you can hold a drift. There are 64 in all, and playing them concurrently with the grand prix mode effectively teaches you the finer points of the mechanics and of each character’s strengths and weaknesses.

Grand Prix allows you to race the cups on the beginner, advanced and expert difficulty – the tracks are all the same, but the AI is radically different in each mode. No matter how much of a karting badass you think you are, it’s best to start at beginner – its helpful to get to know the courses and get a feel for each of the characters, and you’ll really need to master the fine art of drifting to compete later on. The AI can be brutal on the higher difficulty levels.

Races follow the general flow of Mario Kart – you take your cartoony little dude/dudette through a series of loony, twisting tracks as fast as possible, while avoiding the various obstacles and opponents. Items are strewn about the stages and come in many forms – offensive weapons, defensive aids and power-ups, all with a cartoonish flair. The items tend heavily towards the weaponry – you’ll wield everything from stars that turn an opponent’s screen upside down to “bowling bombs”, and every character has his/her own “all star move” that gives you a distinct advantage on the track.