For SEGA fans that also like a bit of karting, racing sequel Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is sure to be stirring some interest. With 3DS a confirmed platform, some have observed the water and air-based sections of the title as being copied from Mario Kart 7, which isn't necessarily fair.
In an interview with GamesTM, Sumo Digital producer Jem Lee shares the moment that they saw the Mario Kart 7 reveal, and why its racers offer its own unique style.
It was quite funny, right. We were sitting in a meeting room at work watching the E3 conferences and Nintendo came on and we all wondered if they’d be doing a new Mario Kart. Then they had a montage of things and you had a kart sprout wings, and we all looked around the room, and then you saw a car go into water and we were all like ‘no f***ing way!’
But then they went into each one in depth, and although it’s kind of flying, it’s more falling with style because we’d discussed something similar to that in pre-production as we were trying to work out how to get these three modes in and we called it falling with style as you’re always falling but you have some choice. Whereas the driving under water… that’s not boating. So what they have is a kart game with additive options which are really well built on and add to the experience but we’ve gone away with that in what we were doing.
There will be a few people who think we’re copying them but no, we’ve been making this game for 18 months. But that’s the nature of it and we feel confident from watching people play it and hearing opinions that people are really enjoying it, especially the freedom of flying and that the boating is actually quite challenging to do. It’s a different game.
After watching the announcement trailer we'd tend to agree with Lee that his team are taking a different approach; check it out below and see what you think.
[source gamestm.co.uk]
Comments 52
This title reminds me of Diddy Kong Racing, except that you don't have the ability to go through the whole course with your selected vehicle. I'm interested to see how this fairs.
Yeah its still SEGA version of Nintendo's Diddy Kong Racing! Anyway, insta-buy unless its a disaster
... I got nothing...
But hey, if it's gonna be like the one on Wii, then I'd take a look.
I agree w/ Sega. If you actually fly and "boat'? for a racing triathlon then this is a different game than MK7. Has that ever been done before, racing in 3 types of vehicles in 1 race? Would be nice to see some in game footage. If it has online multiplayer (unlike some Vita racing game which should be embarrassed for itself) then I can see this being a big seller.
Looks cool enough, but it's have to get really good reviews for me to start to consider buying it.
Personally, other racing games like this sometimes feel like a waste of money when I already have Mario Kart which I always enjoy playing a lot more.
But hey, for the sake of everyone who wants it, I hope it turns out well.
@rjejr Nope, new to this game. Never been done before. Never.
Granted, you transform in Sonic and All-Stars Racing, but still...
"falling with style" toy story reference ftw
@Jumbif I'm pretty sure that rjejr was going along the lines of driving on land, on water and flying in the air all in one race. Last time I checked, you can't fly in the air in Diddy Kong Racing.
Hmm...yes, Ill probably pick this up.
I'll wait for reviews. This honestly looks unapealing to me. but i will look at gameplay footage when availible
Great News! Now leak a US release date
This and little big planet karting are looking far better than any mario kart tbh...
It would also be great for sega to have a little more confidence in their Ip's, avoiding a 70%price cut for all of their games one month later like they always do. I hope sega does well with this one, and i am pretty sure i will be picking up this game
@MrArcade
Hehe, I was just about to say something along the lines of "he sounds like a jealous vintage cowboy doll," but you beat me to it.
The first one wasn't too bad, so I may give this one a try when it comes out.
I'll want it; I love racing and I love colorful games, I know Sega knows what they're doing.
I loved the first one, except that Nights was NOT a playable character. I will be getting this game day one!!
They've had this in development for 18 FRICKING MONTHS? Why didn't the just unveil it at GDC or E3?
looks interesting, can't wait to see more.
I'm getting it. I'm going to have to buy two, one for my son and one for me.
I have confidence Sumo will make another great karting game. After all, they did make Doctor Who: The Adventure Games! If I'm being honest though, I hope they don't devalue this brand - Mario Kart is special because you only get one per console, which sees ypu through the generation. This will be the second on PS360 so I'm a little worried people will not be as interested in it.
Sega does what Nintendon't?
To be honest, I didn't even think of Mario Kart 7 when I saw the trailer, I was to busy comparing it to Diddy Kong Racing!
I enjoyed the first one, even though it felt a bit bland, but I am certain that Sumo will do a good job with this one. Hopefully this will be the last one they release on the PS3/360, otherwise the series is going to get real old, real fast.
SEGA unintentionally does what Nintendo kinda did before.
Give the game this slogan and you've got a buy here.
Looks like a combination of Mario Kart 7 and Diddy Kong Racing, with a SEGA feeling. Looks good, but I'm not getting it.
Sounds pretty situational to me, a lot like using Tails or Wave in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. You could already ride across large bodies of water and fly through the air if you were using their respective gear. The only difference this time around is that you will be able to do all of this in a vehicle with your favorite Sega character.
@Kinioka
Don't start doing handstands over this one minute trailer with no actual gameplay just yet. Sega All Stars Racing on the Wii was buggy, imbalanced, had awful controls, frustrating course design and a unstable online mode. Let's just hope that Sega isn't Sega.
I gotta admit, those transformation sequences are a little slicker than MK7, where the propellers and gliders just sorta pop out of your current kart.
It's got my interest... I wasn't all that interested in SEGA's recent Sonic racers but I may give this one a look. It looks good in the trailer, so I'm hoping it comes together as a game.
@aviator: Check harder.
@navi: i distinctly remember flying in Diddy Kong Racing...
It might be coincidence but I still don't want the game. I would rather get Diddy Kong Racing and there are a million things I want more and I'm still having fun with MK7.
I did borrow the first Sega/Sonic All-Stars Racing, and it wasn't bad. One step up from "this actually doesn't suck" to "Hey, this is kinda good". This looks even better, but unfortunately, I only need one good racing game.
@Onett - 1) I've never played the wii version ( Ps3 only).
2) That's your opinion and i don't agree with it.
So what they're REALLY copying is Diddy Kong Racing then? =P
It's not a rip-off of Mario Kart 7! It's just a rip off of Diddy Kong Racing.
I appologize, allow me to reiterate. Maybe it wasn't so much the controls fault as it was the wacky course design throwing hairpin turns at you that seemed to blend in with the over all color scheme of the stage which made it difficult for me to tell where to turn.
@Neram
From what I can see so far, yes. I say that because Diddy Kong Racing gave the player the option to choose between the Plane, Car or Hovercraft on stages that were built to support all 3. In this case, you have all 3-in-1. The only thing that suggests that this game rips off of MK7 is the fact that the vehicle transforms when it hits air or water.
@Aviator Yes you can fly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLwfEoRnDxY
D'oh, silly last night posting.
Meant to say that you can't fly with a hovercraft.
This is nothing like Diddy Kong Racing, if any of you remember correctly you were dedicated to a specific class in that game, this you can switch.
Looks pretty good, actually. I didn't like the way Mario Kart 7 handled transformations much. It just didn't add any real innovation to the game. Now this game looks good! SEGA may just surprise all of us this time
@Some_Chords
Yeah, that's true. It's sort of like MK7 and Diddy Kong Racing combined.
whats up with everyone trying to copy nintendo's ideas!
I might buy it it looks cool
i think it looks wicked even if it is kind of like mk 7. would it not be cool if sega and nintendo did a mario kart with a mix of sega and nintendo karts.
I bought Both Mario Kart and Sega All Star Racing, needless to say, I no longer have MK. I thought Sega did a much better job and I'm looking forward to this one, PS MK did the alternate vehicles poorly anyway, they felt tacked on or an after thought, not really a benificial part of a new experience...don't even get me started about balance and glitches... in MK.
@nesrizo96 I have several examples of where N copied others idea and released them before the originating company were allowed to thermselves System flaw and Face Fighters anyone? that's just one minor example... it was released after but a copy for sure. there have been many others, There's NOTHING new under the sun... NOTHING, and I mean nothing.
Uhh... I thought this was obvious.
I mean, anybody who is stupid enough to think it is a downright copy of MK7 should not play crossover racing games at all. Not only did sumo come out with SIMILAR ideas BEFORE them, but they are NOT the EXACT same thing.
MK7: Gliding
S&ASR: Actual Flying
MK7: Going Underwater
S&ASR: Boating
Similarities - Yes.
Copy - Definitely Not.
Now that i think about it, the do have a point. Rather than gliding (a.k.a. falling with style) and racing underwater, they do have differences considering they are flying rather than being in the air for a couple of seconds, and that they don't go underwater and just race on the surface on the water like a Chuk E. Cheese arcade game. That is true. So yes, there are differences to this than Mario Kart 7. I am looking forward to the gameplay change when I buy this later in the year.
I dont really get why they announced it now...
Shouldn t they have announced it at E3??
Announce it now and get more attention pre-E3.
Announce it at E3 and have the possibility of getting lost under a sea of new stuff.
This looks pretty cool, but I'm going to pass on it unless all of my friends get it.
Ha! A Toy Story reference. Noice.
It's funny that a lot of people have been completely dismissing this game and assuming it's going to be bad. I thought the first game got good ratings, didn't it?
I MIGHT buy it. I just hope when he says "The boating is quite challenging to do" he means that it's quite different from driving, and not that the controls are abysmal.
@theblackdragon He meant you can't drive on land, on water and in the air, all in one race in Diddy Kong Racing. The hovercraft can be on a land and in water, but not fly around.
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