Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Preview

Kart racing fans, start your engines! In a week of big game announcements, two iOS titles will easily make their way to the top of karting enthusiasts wish lists. One of these is Nexon’s KartRider Rush. The other? Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing.

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Think you can beat Sonic in a race? Find out this spring.

Kart racing fans, start your engines! In a week of big game announcements, two iOS titles will easily make their way to the top of karting enthusiasts wish lists. One of these is Nexon’s KartRider Rush. The other? Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing.

Originally appearing on home consoles and the Nintendo DS in early 2010, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing brings the popular blue hedgehog together with a slew of classic Sega characters for a little kart-racing action.

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing

In addition to Sonic franchise staples like Sonic, Tails, and Dr. Eggman, players can choose to play as characters from Samba de Amigo, Jet Set Radio, Shenmue, Crazy Taxi, Super Monkey Ball, Billy Hatcher, and ChuChu Rocket. There will be 10 characters in all. There’s no word yet on whether or not some of the additional characters from the previous versions (like Space Channel 5‘s Ulalu or Alex Kidd’s Alex Kidd) will be included as unlockables, though Sega’s claim of “10 characters” makes this a rather unlikely scenario.

In addition to the 10 characters, players can expect to do their racing on 12 different tracks in both single player and local multiplayer experiences. The single player will be comprised of Grand Prix and Challenge modes, while the multiplayer will offer 1-on-1 over WiFi and support for 2-4 players over Bluetooth.

The iPhone version of the game appears to be based on the DS release, however the visuals appear to be much improved over its predecessor, no doubt taking advantage of the iPhone’s superior capabilities. In another nice twist, this version of the game will also feature tilt steering like other popular racing titles on the iPhone, such as Real Racing 2.

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing

The original version of the game received positive reviews, with the DS version garnering a 78 average on Metacritic, and the home console versions not falling far behind. Considering how well Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2 performed on the iPhone, it seems as though Apple’s popular handhelds might just provide the perfect home for karting excursions. Will Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing on the iPhone manage to outperform even its earlier incarnations? Hopefully we’ll find out soon – Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is set to debut on the App Store this spring.

Jim Squires is the Editor-in-Chief of Gamezebo. Everything you see passes his eyes first, so we like to think of him as "the gatekeeper of cool stuff." He likes good games, great writing, and just can't say no to a hamburger. Also, he is not a bear.