Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Recent happenings of pertinence to Sonic fans.
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Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by Ngangbius »

Race Into Pole Position With Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing
Get ready for the ultimate racing showdown with Sonic and his SEGA friends!

LONDON & SAN FRANCISCO (May 28th, 2009) – SEGA® Europe Ltd. and SEGA® America, Inc., today announced Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, a fast and furious battle to the finish line in this supercharged racer. Developed for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the home video game system, Wii™ and the Nintendo DS™ system, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing will speed into stores in early 2010.

In a frantic battle to the chequered flag, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing sees Sonic and friends speed around tracks set in mediaeval castle ramparts, lush rainforests and bustling cities, all taken from the visually rich and varied universes of Sonic and SEGA. Fan favourites such as Dr. Eggman, Tails, AiAi, Amigo and many more will join Sonic in their custom built vehicles, revving their engines and jostling to stay ahead of the pack. Each character will race around the track in cars, planes, motorbikes, and in AiAi’s case – a banana mobile! Secret short cuts, swift handling and avoiding strategically placed obstacles are certainly the best way to get to the top of the podium.

“Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing is no ordinary racing game. Its huge variety of characters and vehicles, plus the ability to play both online and off set it apart from other games of this type” commented Gary Knight European Marketing Director, SEGA Europe Ltd. “The team have pushed the boundaries on what you would normally expect and created a different and unique party racing title whereby you really can’t take anything for granted!”

And winning is only part of the fun in Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing! Each character has a specific All Star move such as Super Sonic, Banana Blitz and Tails Tornado, allowing a quick way for competitors to get back into the race! Power ups and weapons can also be collected around the tracks and used against the opposition to ensure they don’t become a threat to that number one position… Players can battle it out in single or multiplayer mode, allowing up to four friends to race in frantic split-screen action, or up to eight players to compete online in the ultimate racing showdown.

Can Amigo scramble Dr. Eggman? Will AiAi say bye-bye to Tails? Are you gonna be faster than Sonic? The race will start in 2010… For more information please visit: www.sega.com/sonicracing.
http://www.sega.com/news/?n=3262
http://www.sega.co.uk/games/sonicracing
http://blogs.sega.com/sonic/2009/05/28/sonicsegaracing/

Sega supposedly was going to announce a new game this week that wasn't originally on their E3 line-up. Please tell me this isn't really it and they are going to announce the localization of 7th Dragon or the PS3 Yakuza games. :(

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by FlashTHD »

A...a Sonic Drift remake, plus Diddy Kong Racing.

You ever notice the barrel scraping getting louder and louder?

Image
Looks mostly identical to the Green Hill court in Tennis so I guess this is Sumo Digital again? They didn't see fit to trumpet any particular names...

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by Blount »

Sonic City Blognik wrote:Blue skies. Totum Polls. Chequered Walls. Chequered Flags.
I'm finding their captions more amusing than the screenshots themselves.

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by Forza Johnman »

The stage looks more like Sonic Heroes's Seaside Hill, to me. Until I saw the totems anyway. I think the stage looks pretty, am I alone in this?

I do hope for a more substantial Sega roster than in SS Tennis, but seeing as its Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing, I doubt it.

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by Kogen »

You have it wrong, Flash. Mario Kart invented putting different characters in stupid cars then making them race, not Diddy Kong.

Anyway, I think it looks kind of stupid, as I am not much of a fan of racing games like this. I guess they are going for the popularity on Wii and DS that Mario Kart has.

I still think SUMO should send Sonic Team some of these screenshots to show them how a Sonic game looks, though.

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

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FlashTHD wrote:Looks mostly identical to the Green Hill court in Tennis so I guess this is Sumo Digital again? They didn't see fit to trumpet any particular names...

Correct. Seeing that they did the console ports of Outrun 2006 and Outrun 2, it's possible that they are basing some the gameplay engine here from that...? There was also some hinting that the roster would be better than the one in Superstar Tennis. Maybe there will be more classic characters than just Alex Kidd and Gillius.

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by Blount »

I just found out 'chequered' is really just the British spelling of the word. Just thought I'd correct myself on that one.

That track does look a lot like the seaside level from Sonic Heroes. Even the flag in that screenshot has a similar white/red pattern.
Ngangbius wrote:Seeing that they did the console ports of Outrun 2006 and Outrun 2, it's possible that they are basing some the gameplay engine here from that...?
Though the CGI trailer seems to indicate a zanier approach, that would be an insta-buy for me. Moreso if you could actually drive a Testarossa as the couple from OutRun. In fact, it almost seems inexcusable at this point.

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by P.P.A. »

Great, Sonic Drift 3. The GHZ stage looks also terribly lame, it's a random generic island with some chequerboard patterns applies to some surfaces and a loop or two. Where are the funky geometric flowers, the flat, pseudo-3D palm trees and the pixellated backgrounds? Oh wait, I forgot Sonic stopped being surreal and abstract after S1, SCD and KC.

That said, why no Sonic R 2? :(

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by Crowbar »

P.P.A. wrote:Great, Sonic Drift 3. The GHZ stage looks also terribly lame, it's a random generic island with some chequerboard patterns applies to some surfaces and a loop or two. Where are the funky geometric flowers, the flat, pseudo-3D palm trees and the pixellated backgrounds? Oh wait, I forgot Sonic stopped being surreal and abstract after S1, SCD and KC.

That said, why no Sonic R 2? :(
Wow deja vu.

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by Crazy Penguin »

The inherent problem with Sonic racing games is that Sonic is all about running fast. Putting Sonic in a car makes him a slower and less dynamic character.

An on-foot racing game also can't really work without undermining Sonic. Sonic is the fast character, that's his shtick. The only logical competition would be from his rivals Metal Sonic and Shadow.

I think the Sonic Riders games came up with the perfect solution by opting for hover boards. It fits Sonic as a character because snowboarding and skateboarding have the image of being cool/extreme and a generally youthful activity and also allows the freedom to retain Sonic's classic movements, poses and abilities. And with all of the supporting cast on hover boards, or similar apparatus, you don't run into the previous problem of "What's the point of this, Sonic's obviously the fastest". It levels the playing field in a logical manner fitting of the property.

Image

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by Kogen »

Firstly, PPA: ur ghey.

Secondly, Sonic being 'faster than light' is a new concept. In previous games, the other characters were just as fast. Remember the multiplayer modes in Sonic 2/3? Remember Tails entire story mode of racing Sonic in Sonic Adventure? If you just look at it for what it is, a game, then you can balance the characters for a racing game without Sonic seeming weird while on foot. All the other characters have just gotten slower, really. Saying only recoloured hedgehogs can 'run as fast as Sonic' is stupid.

Even for a recent example, look at Silver in Sonic Rivals games. In Sonic 06 he only walked, now suddenly he can beat Sonic. See what they did there? Trying to find logic in a cartoon lacks logic.


And something about this game that bugs me is it seems too Sonic-related. If they want to sell a Sonic game, then just make a Sonic game. The other SEGA characters deserve just as much 'respect' as Sonic characters. And even if the game was all foot racing, I could still see other characters working. NiGHTS and Joe Musashi can move fast, for example. Then you can count stuff like Virtual On robots or whatever.

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by Esrever »

Seeing Sonic behind the wheel is always a little peculiar, and I'm not really a fan of kart racers to begin with. But seriously... Sonic is driving a car because he is participating in a car race. Where's the mystery in that?

In my mind, it's much weirder that they let Amy and Robotnik have cars in Sonic R's footraces.

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by P.P.A. »

Esrever wrote:Seeing Sonic behind the wheel is always a little peculiar, and I'm not really a fan of kart racers to begin with. But seriously... Sonic is driving a car because he is participating in a car race. Where's the mystery in that?

In my mind, it's much weirder that they let Amy and Robotnik have cars in Sonic R's footraces.
It would be just as out of character for Robotnik to not do something via a machine as it would be for Sonic to not run on foot. After all, he's the manifestation of the negative effects of industrialisation and human technology.
As for Amy... I guess she would be too slow without one?

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by FlashTHD »

Crazy Penguin wrote:I think the Sonic Riders games came up with the perfect solution by opting for hover boards. It fits Sonic as a character because snowboarding and skateboarding have the image of being cool/extreme and a generally youthful activity and also allows the freedom to retain Sonic's classic movements, poses and abilities. And with all of the supporting cast on hover boards, or similar apparatus, you don't run into the previous problem of "What's the point of this, Sonic's obviously the fastest". It levels the playing field in a logical manner fitting of the property.
Exactly. Too bad about the staff of the game, who couldn't be told when to stop gumming up the mechanics until it feels like a slog to play, even when you're good at it.

Sonic Drift 2 though...if you can get over the zealous AI and reduction in room to manuever, I got to admit, it's kinda fun and well-presented. They put some neat ideas to work in the course designs (racing cars on the surface of water FTW) and being as it's over a decade old and obscure, it's not like it's doing any lasting damage anymore. Not that this means anything for Sumo's latest Build-Your-Own Superstars Party Game™ (characters and set pieces sold seperately all rights reserved) installment...just saying.


BTW, this is stomping on a commandment, but did you know, it feels so much more civil here again when Kogen is on your ignore list?

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

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Kogen wrote:Secondly, Sonic being 'faster than light' is a new concept. In previous games, the other characters were just as fast. Remember the multiplayer modes in Sonic 2/3? Remember Tails entire story mode of racing Sonic in Sonic Adventure? If you just look at it for what it is, a game, then you can balance the characters for a racing game without Sonic seeming weird while on foot. All the other characters have just gotten slower, really. Saying only recoloured hedgehogs can 'run as fast as Sonic' is stupid.

Even for a recent example, look at Silver in Sonic Rivals games. In Sonic 06 he only walked, now suddenly he can beat Sonic. See what they did there? Trying to find logic in a cartoon lacks logic.
You mean it's all just pretend so they can do whatever they want? Holy crap, I never thought of that.

Bottom line, I think it's poor use of the character.

And yes, even Tails in Sonic 2 undermined Sonic. In Sonic 1 a lot of careful thought was put into the protagonist's abilities. He was a hedgehog, so he rolled into a spiked ball. The spikes functioned as an offensive weapon to destroy enemies and blocks and so on. In Sonic 2 Tails, a fox, was also able to roll into a ball with the same results.

Did it negatively impact Sonic 2's game play? No. Of course not. What it did do was de-unique Sonic as a character and undermine the previously established internal logic. The creative logic.

Where video games are concerned characters are merely visuals. As long as they are functional they don't make the game play any better or any worse. They're just there for fun, a fun that is completely separate from the technical achievements of the game play mechanics. A blue hedgehog that runs faster than sound is fun. A plethora of additional characters performing the same feats makes it less fun. Sticking the character in a car makes it less fun.

Even Yuji Naka made a similar comment before. That guy's love of cars and car racing is infamous, however when talking about Sonic possibly appearing in a Mario Kart game he said that he would be pleased to see that but that Sonic wouldn't need a kart - he's fast enough on foot.

(Now the Monster Truck Egg Mobile on the other hand IS fun. How has that not been done before?!)

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by Dr. BUGMAN »

I think making a character the bestest ____ really hurts its versatility. I do, however, remember reading somewhere that Sonic hates racing due to it being an empty gesture. Maybe limiting his innate ability is the only way to logically put him in a race; it's no longer an empty gesture but a genuine challenge for him.

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

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Kogen wrote:And something about this game that bugs me is it seems too Sonic-related. If they want to sell a Sonic game, then just make a Sonic game. The other SEGA characters deserve just as much 'respect' as Sonic characters. And even if the game was all foot racing, I could still see other characters working. NiGHTS and Joe Musashi can move fast, for example. Then you can count stuff like Virtual On robots or whatever.
Too Sonic-related? We only seen one track and four Sonic characters. If you have qualms about the title, then it should be obvious why Sonic would get top-billing and why it isn't simply called "SEGA All-Star Racing". As sad as it is, the Sonic franchise is Sega's most popular one, and that its financial successes worldwide overshadows their other IPs in comparision. If they only had one or two Sonic characters, and called it SEGA All-Star Racing then it wouldn't be much of a big seller since the SEGA's franchises in general aren't really that popular.

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

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I kind of disagree with how 'creative' Sonic is. Yes, he is a hedgehog and it acts like a saw, but what else do you really have there? A Micky Mouse ripoff, an established platformer genre, and just general good quality games. It is certainly creative, but not something entirely unique. It is the result of competition.

And what is this game? The same thing. They saw Mario Kart on Wii and DS sells in the double digit millions, then they tried to copy the formula. I do not think it is any lamer than Snake doing or the old guy from Tekkan doing it. That is way out of character too.

What I was whining about is why they are making it like this. I am certain this game will at least be good, making it enjoyable for kids and people who just want to see all the SEGA references, but I think they should have did a Sonic game if that is what SEGA wants them to do. Yes, Sonic sells, and there will probably be more than four Sonic characters in it. No other franchise will likely get the same attention. So why not just do a Sonic game in the first place?

It is just the image of Sonic looks stupid in a car. Mario tends to get away with it since he is fat and people drive cars; just as Robotnik looks fine in the Egg Mobile.

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

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Kogen wrote:I kind of disagree with how 'creative' Sonic is. Yes, he is a hedgehog and it acts like a saw, but what else do you really have there? A Micky Mouse ripoff, an established platformer genre, and just general good quality games. It is certainly creative, but not something entirely unique. It is the result of competition.
Missing the point. I'm not talking about how inventive or ground breaking Sonic was as a character, I'm talking about the consistency and inherent link between the character design concept and the function of the character within the game.

Sonic is a hedgehog. He rolls into a ball because he is a hedgehog. Hedgehogs have spikes. Sonic's spikes damage the enemies whilst he is rolled into a ball. There's a consistent line of thought there. These game play functions tie in directly with the visual of the character. That is a good implementation of a character.

Tails in Sonic 2 had the exact same game play functions as Sonic. He rolled into a ball because Sonic did. Tails rolling into a ball damaged enemies because Sonic rolling into a ball damaged enemies. That is a poor implementation of a character.

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by Kogen »

Perhaps he conducts static electricity that causes Badniks to explode?

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by Zeta »

A better question would be why his tails don't spin around with the rest of his body, instead floating off to the side in one position while the rest of his body spins, seemingly independent of the two.

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by Neo »

Because it looks cute.

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by Crowbar »

Zeta wrote:A better question would be why his tails don't spin around with the rest of his body, instead floating off to the side in one position while the rest of his body spins, seemingly independent of the two.
If you're gonna take issue with that then we need to get started on how his tails can even rotate around eachother like helicopter blades in the first place. Think about it.

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by Crazy Penguin »

Every time Sega does one of these big crossover games I cross my fingers for the Burning Rangers. They didn't even get to be egg friend helpers in Billy Hatcher or anything. =\

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Re: Sega announces Sonic & SEGA All-Star Racing

Post by Kogen »

Because it is called 'SEGA Superstars' or 'All-Stars'.

Most people do not know what a burning ranger is.

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