Video Game of the Week – Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and nowhere is that more true than in the world of video gaming. If you want to produce a top-selling music game, then there's no reason to veer too far off the award-winning path established by Guitar Hero. A lifestyle simulation game? Then the Sims franchise is the gold standard.

This is the first thing that comes to mind when you sit down to play Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, Sega's latest multi-platform racing game. You can immediately tell that the developers wanted to produce the best, and that means borrowing a lot of the ideas and concepts from Mario Kart, the genre-defining series from Nintendo.

That's not to say that Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing isn't a great game in its own right. It has taken what works from Mario Kart and then personalized it with Sega's own memorable characters to produce a game that's as charming as it's entertaining.

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is also one of those games that will appeal to both the purist and the casual gamer. Students of Sega's storied history will be thrilled to see many old favorites among the 20 characters that are featured in the game. While everyone knows the lovable blue hedgehog and his friends, how many diehards can recall Zobio and Opa-Opa?

Once you get acquainted with the all-star cast, it's time to get down to racing, and that's when the real fun starts. We only tested the Wii version of All-Stars but the controls and response rates were outstanding, resulting in non-stop action on the tight and fast tracks.

Like the characters, many of the twenty-four tracks have been pulled from previous Sonic and Sega games, so you find yourself racing through lush rainforests, bustling cities and medieval castles. The custom-built vehicles include cars, planes, motorbikes – and even a mobile banana!

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing features both single and multiplayer modes, with the multiplayer allowing up to four friends to race in split-screen action, or up to eight players to compete online. The two main single-player modes are Grand Prix and Mission, with Grand Prix featuring beginner, advanced and expert levels.

Whatever your skill level, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing will provides hours of fun and a totally satisfying racing experience. By allowing such obvious comparisons with Mario Kart, Sega set the bar very high, but Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing clears it with ease!

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is rated "E" for Everyone. The ESRB cites "cartoon violence" and "comic mischief".

Publisher: Sega
Platforms: Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS
Genre: Racing
RRP: $29.95 to $49.95
ESRB Rating: "E" for Everyone