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Over at the Sega forums, Sumo Digital’s Steve Lycett dropped a big hint with regards to possible DLC for Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed. When asked if there was anything related to DLC that could be revealed he replied with this,
Actually… We got approval for a specific character this morning. But that’s all I can say right now… 😛
Sumo Digital’s Steve Lycett aka S0L has informed fans via the official SEGA Forums that the character roster for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed will differ across platforms. The total number of characters across all platforms is 29, but no single version will include all 29. Some will have low 20’s and others will have high 20’s. Steve says this is because some platforms feature characters that are unique to that platform, but won’t announce which right now. However, he does say that some are SEGA characters and some are not.
The full statement is available after the jump:
Continue reading S&ASR Transformed Character Roster to Differ Across Platforms
SEGA has today released many pieces of character artwork for Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Some of them you will have seen before, but a lot of them are new. The UK version of the 3DS version’s box art has also been unveiled today, and like its Wii counterpart, it has a more British background.
You can view all of the artwork in our gallery below.
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games will be released on Wii next week on November 15th in the US, November 17th in Australia and November 18th in Europe. The Nintendo 3DS version will be released on February 9th 2012 in Australia, February 10th 2012 in Europe and February 14th 2012 in the US.
Source: SEGA Press
Thanks to fluttersoard for the heads up!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvjLf21n9no[/youtube]
Sonic Colours for Wii and DS was made available to purchase in Australia today, the first official release for the game, with Europe receiving it tomorrow and the U.S. on the 16th. With the first official release has come many story mode spoiling details and media in the Sonic community for both versions, which we won’t relay here, but some interesting news you may want to hear is that more characters make non-playable appearances in the DS version than first thought. Joining already confirmed Amy & Knuckles are; Shadow, Blaze, Silver, Rouge, Cream, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Big and Chao.
You can hear some voice clips of the new voice actors portraying the characters in the video at the top of the page, courtesy of YouTube user MidniteWv4. The clips are played in the following order of characters: Sonic, Tails, Yacker, Eggman, Cubot, Orbot, Knuckles, Shadow, Blaze, Amy, Silver, Cream, Big, Espio, Charmy, Vector, Chao, Rouge, Omega and Wisp.
In other news, more reviews have been published across the net for both versions of the game, some scoring the game high and some scoring it low. British newspaper Guardian, along with Gamekult have given the Wii version its lowest scores of 3/5 and 6/10 respectively. Guardian cite dull presentation, lack of polish and an untidy interface as their reasons for an average score.
Eurogamer put their review of the Wii version out today and it was a positive one, with an 8/10 score awarded. The game received positive marks for its controls, simple storyline and replayability. Videogamer are equally positive in their review, where the Wii version got another 8/10. Videogamer’s Jamin Smith says “The controls are tight and simple, and even the camera is on its best behaviour throughout.”, the latter being something most modern console Sonic games are often panned for.
As for the DS version, Game Informer gave the portable outing an 8.5/10 for its fluid high-speed, the Wisps adding interesting gameplay and the addictive special stages. Elsewhere, the DS version was given a 7.9/10 by GameTrailers, a higher score than the 6.4 they gave the Wii version. GT’s reviewer appears to have really enjoyed the multiplayer modes of the DS version and the Wisp abilities that encourage exploring and replayability, but they say the game can get frustrating, because of the gap between the two screens resulting in you losing sight of Sonic from time to time.
You can check out more Sonic Colours Wii and DS reviews at Metacritic.
What do you think of the critics impressions of Sonic Colours? Have you picked up or will you be purchasing the game? Let us know in the comments.
Thanks to Woun at the SSMB for first revealing details about the cast of characters in the DS version!
Sonic Free Riders is out for Xbox 360 Kinect in the U.S. tomorrow, so SEGA has given a big update to the game’s official website. Shadow, Silver, Eggman, E-10000G, Metal Sonic, Blaze, Amy, Cream, Rouge and Vector have been added to the characters section with new artwork and profiles, while the tracks section has now been unlocked with Dolphin Resort, Rocky Ridge, Frozen Forest, Metropolis Speedway, Magma Rift and Forgotten Tomb on display. The Final Factory and Metal City tracks revealed in the Achievements list are nowhere to be seen at the moment, but we do get a look at the alternate expert map of each of the tracks, along with an image and description of each one. Finally, SEGA have also added a voice command guide to the site for you to download.
The character artwork is available below:
Source: Sonic Free Riders official U.S./EU website
Thanks to HunterTSF at the SSMB for the heads up and obtaining the artwork!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpLWHPXaD1E[/youtube]
After two recent appearances at Gamespot, SEGA continues their promoting of Sonic Free Riders with more brief demonstrations of how the game is played at IGN, such as items, jumps, shortcuts, skills and co-op. There’s nothing we haven’t already seen before, apart from some more colour variations of the E-10000 series robots. We do get to hear more Sonic and Tails voice clips from their new voice actors though. Check out the other two videos at the bottom of this article.
Source: IGN
Thanks to Woun at the SSMB for the YouTube conversions!
In other news, JPX Brutality, the Xbox360Achievements.org forum member with an early copy of the game, has shared some more details from the game’s manual.
New details with quotes from the manual include:
– Story Mode/World Grand Prix Mode synopsis.
“If you consider yourself the fastest Extreme Gear rider, why not enter the World Grand Prix and prove it? Riders who enter the Grand Prix will tour around the globe to compete on various courses designed solely for this extreme racing event. The season opener will kick start on a brand new course on Dolphin Resort, so don’t miss your chance to become the undisputed champion of the world. See you all at the starting line with your Board Gear!”
– A shop run by Omochao, where you can buy new parts to customize your Extreme Gear with.
“Access the shop from the Main Menu to purchase additional Extreme Gear and parts with accumulated Rings. Select an item from the list to display details and parameters, then drag the item onto the Cashier panel at the bottom right to purchase”
– Character bios
Sonic the Hedgehog
“Sonic is a hero who loves to live free and does not tolerate any devious deeds. He can be short tempered at times, but is always there for those who are in trouble. He usually travels at supersonic speed on foot, but with his new and advanced Gear, he’ll be cruising even faster in style at the Grand Prix with his teammates Tails and Knuckles.”
Miles “Tails” Prower
“A kid fox with two tails- hence his nickname “Tails.” He loves tinkering with machinery, and has developed various devices to support Sonic’s adventures in the past. All of Team Heroes’ Extreme Gear are built and customized by this brilliant engineer.”
Knuckles the Echidna
“Knuckles is the defender of the giant Master Emerald on the floating island in the sky known as Angel Island. To bring toughness to the track, his Extreme Gear is built to enhance his physical abilities.”
Jet the Hawk
“Jet is the captain of a treasure hunting team known as Babylon Rogues. He is considered the most technically gifted Extreme Gear rider with the ability to accurately read the wind streams. He holds high standards and considers Sonic as an ultimate rival since he is the fastest on land. As a team leader, Jet also dislikes showing any sign of weakness to anyone.”
Wave the Swallow
“Wave is the only gal on the Babylon Rogues, who also happens to be their top mechanic. Being a super achiever, she’s in charge of upgrading all of the Extreme Gear and their airship and even analyzes unknown treasures in her spare time. Although she is older than jet, she faithfully respects and follows him as her leader.”
Storm the Albatross
“Storm is the heavyweight rider of the Babylon Rogues. As his frame indicates, he has enough strength to crush a boulder with little effort. He is scorned by Jet for many of the things he lacks but he is happy to defer to Jet’s leadership and to be his right-hand man.”
Amy Rose
“Amy is always hot on Sonic’s heels as his self-professed girlfriend. With a spark of energy and her trademark item- the Piko Piko hammer, she is ready to track down the blue blur wherever he goes. Hoping Sonic will be racing at the Grand Prix once again, she decides to join the event.”
Dr. Eggman
“An evil scientific genius who is always coming to blows with Sonic and his friends, since he is always scheming for world domination. The question is how this mad scientist will attempt to crash the party this time around.”
Shadow the Hedgehog
“This dark hedgehog boasts running speeds to rival Sonic’s. Though uninterested in the Grand Prix itself, he is eager to test his riding skills and would like to beat Sonic.”
– Specs
Offline: Players 1-2, Co-op 2-4
Online: Multiplayer 2-8, Leaderboards, Voice
No downloadable content feature is listed.
– Kinect specs
KINECT sensor required, Voice enabled, Players 1-2, Co-op 2-4, In-game Avatar, Activity level: Standing/active
JPX Brutality finishes by explaining the various offline and online modes in the manual:
Tag mode is really cool. Its the games version of co-op. You work as a team to win the race and you can combine riders by facing eachother and locking hands. This brings the screen to just one instead of split and you share rings, air, and have increased speed and jump capabilities. Very cool looking. So far this game looks like one of the best actual co-op games for Kinect. You actually interact with eachother instead of just standing in the same screen.
Relay race is also really cool. 2 players race one lap with the other two waiting outside of view and once you get back the the start line your player enters the pit and you trade spots. While in the pit you can pump your arms up and down to collect air to use. This can be done 2 vs 2 or you can can do 4 vs cpu.
For Xbox live you can race online against up to 7 other players. Modes include Quick Match: Quickly search and enter available online races. Custom Match: Use search filters to find online races you wish to enter. Create Match: Create a race and invite other Xbox LIVE players. Xbox LIVE party: Set up an online part to easily connect with up to eight players.
There’s still no picture proof, so we’re still going to have to treat this all as rumour for now.
Source: Xbox360Achievements.org forums
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-nx2-uEP2I[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmBx3hfhygo[/youtube]
SEGA has today opened the characters section of the U.S. and European official Sonic Free Riders website, revealing new artwork, small profiles and a new music track from the game. The only characters unlocked at the moment are Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Jet, Wave and Storm, but the website states more are “Coming Soon”. Thanks to Gamespot’s exclusive demonstration of the final build, we currently know of 17 characters, which include Metal Sonic, Vector and a blue E-series robot likely called E-10000B that are new entries to the series, so we can expect plenty more profiles to be featured on the site.
Check out the rest of the new artwork below:
Source: Sonic Free Riders U.S. and EU official website
Thanks to Woun at the SSMB for the heads-up!
Steve Lycett from Sumo Digital has just revealed over at the SSMB that there are at least 4 more characters left to be revealed in Sonic & SEGA All Stars Racing with some being very old school. This means we could possibly be seeing more than the 20 character total listed on retailer websites product pages and this also 100% confirms Banjo-Kazooie, Avatar’s and Mii’s are excluded from this character count.
Steve also inform’s us that the now revealed Crazy Taxi character BD Joe is the reason why he visited AM3.
That Pirate Ship stage isn’t Skies of Arcadia, it’s our take on Monkey Target – mixed up with a whole heap of pirates from Monkey Ball 3.
I know you guys are super enthusiastic, but remember that we have constraints when making these games. 24 tracks are a HUGE undertaking, especially when you have to consider I also need to make versions for next-gen, Wii and DS. That’s really 72 tracks. Not to mention the optimised versions for splitscreen (so it’s nearly an extra two thirds on top of that again!).
As such, we do need to be careful we don’t stretch too far – so yep – we’ve got 3 Monkey Ball levels, but even then, they’re all based on different themes. It’s not easy making totally new designs even when you’re basing them on existing ideas
Anyway…
I guess now they’re out there – I can confirm that it was indeed BD Joe that we asked AM3 for! And yes, finally Ulala is officially confirmed, even if Nintendo Power and the ESRB kind of let the cat out of the bag. Plus believe me, on the ones that are still secret, there are some surprises still – some are definately old school fan pleasers – there are at least 4 characters that haven’t even been hinted at
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S0L
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U.S. retailers Gamestop and Walmart have updated their product pages for Sonic & SEGA All Stars Racing with some new tid-bits of information. If the information is true the game will have 20 characters and 24 tracks total.
Here’s the information as listed on their site’s –
* Party racing fun Battle it out in single player, challenge your friends in 4 player split-screen or compete in 8 player online action! Game modes include Grand Prix, Arcade and Time Attack.
* All your favorite racers Choose from 20 different characters from the Sonic & SEGA universe including Sonic, Tails, AiAi and Amigo.
* High Velocity Vehicles Every character drives their own unique vehicle including sports cars, bikes, monster trucks, planes and even a giant banana to perform special maneuvers!
* All-Star moves Race by a competitor with a variety of pick-up weapons (missiles, mines and other obstacles) or one of the 20 unique character moves such as Tails’ tornado, Samba’s conga line, and much more!
* Stunning visuals Race over medieval castle ramparts, under lush rainforest canopies and through bustling cityscapes as you battle through 24 challenging tracks from the Sonic and SEGA Universe.
The information looks like a legit press release of sorts that SEGA could have passed on to retailers but we’ll wait for a full confirmation from SEGA/Sumo Digital. In terms of the character and track totals, we could hopefully see more via downloadable content though if the leaked box art info is right plus Sumo Digital have previously expressed an interest in it so fingers crossed.
Hey, dudes, The Crossfire is back! I’m tied up with school and a few loose ends on the ooool’ fangame project, but SSMB member, Cake, is here to fill the void with a guest Crossfire! Let’s see how this goes, shall we?
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Everyone craves getting caught in The Crossfire so we can’t just stop, can we? What do we have for today’s topic? Each Sonic game seems to throw out the welcome mat for a new character, and the simple question is, are all these characters contributing to the series in a positive way, or are things getting crowded to the point that the blue blur has no room to run?
POINT: New characters take away from Sonic, while serving no purpose in the long stretch of things.
Why are we still calling these things Sonic games? The games barely even feature the blue blur anymore, he’s usually overshadowed (pun completely intended) by someone else, or his time is taken up by some other random character. Who is usually stronger then him too. I mean, Shadow is a seemingly darker version of Sonic, able to match our hero in speed and abilities. But, Shadow has a better grip on Chaos Control. And he knows his way around guns. Lots of guns. Continue reading The Crossfire: Guest Edition
