Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Arcade by Sega

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Arcade

DEVELOPER: Sumo Digital

PUBLISHER: Sega Amusements

RELEASE: March 2011

TYPE: Racing

PLAYERS: 1 player per cabinet; up to 8 linked units supported

HARDWARE: Sega Ringwide

ARCADE EXCLUSIVE?: No, although the software features do vary slightly from the home versions

RATING: Green label – Suitable for All Ages

REGION AVAILABILITY: USA and Europe; Japan unknown

SYNOPSIS: Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Arcade is a port of the same game which was released for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS and PC in 2010. The game is Sega’s answer to titles like Mario Kart, featuring power-ups for characters to obtain on the track and a roster that features characters from various Sega franchises. Beyond that simple comparison however, SSASR also includes features such as drifting. Tracks reflect environments seen in Sega games over the years. This game marks the first time Sonic will appear as a star of his own arcade game since Sonic The Fighters was released in 1996.

The game was first seen on location test at a Chuck E. Cheese in Illinois and was officially introduced at EAG 2011 in London during the last week of January. You can read a preview of the game here by Arcade Heroes editor Heavy Electricity. Part of that review states: “The drift pedal allows players to slide through corners and perform tricks in the air, charging a turbo boost. Meanwhile, the full range of items is available to each player, and includes the usual projectiles as well as shields, speed boosts and even a horn which knocks out nearby racers.” (Note to our readers: please keep in mind that the versions of the game shown so far are still betas and anything could change about the game prior to it’s release)

To maintain player accessibility a couple of tracks from the console version were removed(particularly the Super Monkey Ball levels) but the game includes a ticket redemption option that could be added to the game. The game also uses a separate pedal for drifting and has buttons on the steering wheel (similar to R-Tuned) for power-up usage. It also has three game modes to pick from:

Time trial – Race alone to set the fastest times on each track – there are “Staff Ghosts” to beat

Quick Race – Race and battle against others, single or multiplayer

Grand Prix – Progress through a single player, three race championship

The cabinet design is similar to what Sega has used recently with arcade titles such as Sega Racing Classic and GRID but with a notable upgrade: the sides and seats are translucent and constantly change color, as a part of the attract mode. The screen included with these cabinets has typically been a 32″ HD LCD.The arcade standard wheel/pedal controls should mean that the game will have superior control over the home versions. The game can also link up to eight units locally.

VIDEO/PICS:

Video from EAG 2011, where Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Arcade is the first game shown.

Another video of the game from EAG, includes a trailer for the game near the beginning, by BMI Gaming

Pictures of the game at EAG 2011