Each character can also be levelled up in almost Call Of Duty fashion, as a series of mods allow you to alter their stats. It’s still not exactly complex stuff but unlocking new characters and stages, and competing in drifting or boost challenges along the way, manages to keep your interest very well.
Where Sonic definitely outdoes Mario is in the range of single-player modes, with a career mode that makes it more than just a bland slog through a series of Grands Prix. Meanwhile, the hateful controls-inverting tornado power-up is somehow even more unfair and annoying than a blue shell. They’re not themed to any specific game and firing a remote control drone at a bad guy instead of a red Koopa shell never has quite the same thrill. The weapons are another disappointment, in that they’re just the usual collection of Mario Kart copies and only the odd original idea. That it’s different to Mario Kart isn’t a criticism in itself but it does mean that Sumo’s game never quite feels as tightly balanced as its inspiration. As excellent as the graphics are the screen can quickly fill up with so much detail it’s hard to work out where everyone is or even where you’re meant to be going. A kart game really is a different beast to a normal arcade racer and these are nowhere near as compact or technical as a Mario Kart course. The only problem with the tracks is that again they feel more like normal racing games in terms of length and circuit design.
Whether it’s a full vocal samba tune in the Samba De Amigo level or a mixtape of Jet Set Radio songs the aural nostalgia hits just as hard as the visual – although we have to say we were disappointed by the remix for the OutRun level from the limited edition version of the game. They’re not just there to please nostalgic thirtysomethings either: the circuit design is highly complex and often changes completely from one lap to the other, as an early Panzer Dragoon level feels the effect of the warring dragons flying around or a Sonic the Hedgehog stage suddenly diverts into a different zone.įrom celebrating After Burner with a race amongst a flotilla of aircraft carriers to barrelling through a House Of The Dead graveyard the themes are interesting and varied whether you know the games involved or not.Īs the icing on the cake the soundtrack, overseen by Sega favourite Richard Jacques, is set to be the stuff of legends. We’re desperate to spoil some of the more unexpected ones but their sudden appearance, especially after some of the more obvious early selections, is going to have some Sega fans punching the air with approval. These are essentially just palette swaps to make up the numbers though and the real fan service is in the tracks themselves. Especially as when Sega does dig someone really unexpected up from the archives it’s such a thrill.
We can understand the deluge of Sonic characters, but we’d rather have seen a wider range of games given the nod -rather than multiple Super Monkey Ball or Space Channel 5 characters. It’s still a bit lightweight but Sumo are able to throw in some thrilling aerial sections to the tracks, that see you weaving in and out of collapsing bridges or through an unexpected asteroid field.Īlthough the selection of playable characters is decent (we can’t believe Vyse from Skies Of Arcadia is even in the CGI intro) there’s too much doubling up of franchises. There’s still no game that creates the illusion of being on the water as well as Wave Race 64 (not even its sequel) and here it just means the controls get frustratingly syrupy until you’re out in the dry again.įlying through the air is a lot more fun though, and even has the option for proper aircraft controls. The difference in feel to Mario Kart is by no means a negative when in car mode but on the water the handling is disappointingly stodgy and we always wanted to get off as soon as possible.
The handling is much looser than you’d expect – much more like a regular arcade racer, and although drifting is a big part of the game it’s more a physical necessity for getting round the track than an excuse to get a free turbo boost. Surprisingly though it doesn’t really feel like a kart game.
On the tarmac this feels like a proper racing game, with a nuanced driving model that demands a surprisingly high level of skill even on the medium difficulty setting.