Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing DS Review

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing saw its release on the big three home consoles, but it was also released on the Nintendo DS. And Sega have definitely put the effort into making it as important as the console versions, which is definitely good news. It means that racing violently against Sega's favourite characters continues to be the main focus and gamers couldn't really ask for more, right?

There are several modes available within the single player offering, the main being Grand Prix mode which has three difficulty settings and six cups to win. There are 4 races per cup and competing in these allows players to see all 24 tracks that the game has to offer. The good thing is that these tracks are all based on familiar themes from the games that are featured. Single Race and Time Trial give players the opportunity to practice in general and Time Trial also has the ability to race staff ghosts. The last mode, and perhaps the most interesting, is Mission Mode.

Mission mode is a subdivided pyramid with 55 events in total. These range from gate based objectives, races, eliminations, collections and obstacle events. There are plenty of variations to keep players compelled to race through them all with each becoming steadily harder as the player progresses. However, for the most part some events just seem more easier than others, although some of this simply boils down to the auto-assigned character. Each mission awards players a star rating out of 10 and a certain amount of stars is required to unlock further missions.

Surprisingly, the core gameplay doesn't actually utilize the touch screen functions, and they are mostly used for menu selection, which can also be done using the directional pad. The game employs the d-pad for steering and the face buttons for braking and accelerating. Shoulder buttons control drift, tricks and item usage. This works especially well and feels quite intuitive. There is, however, one dire issue. Since the upper screen is used for actual racing, it becomes quite taxing on the eyes when playing for any length of time especially since the game is quite detailed and it tries to focus on every single object and opponent on screen at once. This is rather noticeable, especially on older DS models.

Generally, the game can be both quite fun and, like many other kart racing games, become relatively frustrating at times when just about every power-up is thrown in the players' direction. Overall, power-ups are somewhat balanced. High Speed Shoes and Shields, however, seem to be the most efficient for a swift victory. Getting an initial lead on the pack can be maintained simply by holding onto the Shield power-up. Rockets can also be somewhat overpowered depending on the situation, especially when all three rockets can be deployed simultaneously and track down whoever's leading indefinitely. Most weapons work without a hitch with the exception of the Giant Rocket since it requires players to detonate it as enemies approach. This is done via the lower screen which displays a mini-map and the locations of the other racers and getting the timing right can become quite difficult while trying to focus on both the top and lower screens.

Drifting seems far too easy in this game providing fairly consistent boost chains for limited speed loss while snaking the vehicle, especially when it's all done through one button. While there is the ability to trick for a boost as well, there aren't a vast amount of tracks that actually allow players to utilize it successfully. One thing that needs addressing is the track difficulty. While the very last few tracks are actually quite hard, all the ones prior vary completely in difficulty due to the computer AI. Some of the earlier tracks can actually be harder because of this and with some dodgy hit detection on some barriers on open sided levels, accidentally slowing down because a player tried to take a corner as sharply as possible can be frustrating. However, all the tracks are still quite fun to play and offer a completely unique experience.

Graphically the game is rather detailed for its size. It excels exceptionally well in this department. However, as mentioned before, there will be plenty of strain placed on players' eyes with the amount of chaos going on-screen at once. Despite this, character models are very distinguishable and the tracks look pretty good. The music is compelling and keeps players psyched throughout the races, but the sound effects does tend to suffer in places. Certain vehicles present a very monotonous drone that almost becomes an unbearable background noise to contend with while trying to complete a race as the sound from an engine will barely ever alter in pitch.

There's a vast amount of replayability since the game offers lot to complete and do. For the hardcore players there's Time Trial mode and beating the staff ghosts can be a challenge. As will getting a perfect score on every mission. Beating the grand prix on hard can also be quite difficult. In addition, there is an extensive multiplayer component that allows players to use the DS's WFC to play over the internet as well as locally with other DS consoles. Add this with the fact the game has its own achievement system in the form of challenges to complete and a shopping area to purchase characters, tracks and music, players will find that there is a wealth of things to keep them entertained.