GamesMaster Reviews ASR

By
Tristan Oliver
– February 3, 2010

83% for All Console Editions, 70% for DS

We got a lot of news tips about this Tuesday–no worries, we didn’t ignore the story, we simply had to catch our breath after the smorgasbord of information we delivered yesterday.  It was pretty intense.

Among the details that had to wait to today was the first review of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, from the UK’s GamesMaster, run by Future Publishing.

All three home console versions–Wii, XBOX360, and PS3–received an equal score of 83 percent.  The portable Nintendo DS edition received a 70 percent.  So far, by the numbers alone, it’s a good start.

But it’s not all roses.  GamesMaster does make a direct comparison to Mario Kart Wii, with Nintendo’s crown jewel edging just ahead of this offering.  GamesMaster does say ASR comes in at “a respectable second place.”  For reference, MKWii was scored a 91% by the same magazine.

The review also takes to task the Sega Miles system:

It’s here again that the game comes unstuck–or at least falls unfavourably under Mario Kart’s shadow.  There’s lots of stuff to purchase, which is great, but the selection does serve to underline that competing with Nintendo’s hugely popular icons is always going to be a tough race to win.  The inclusion of well known faces [....] is inspired.  But some of the other unlockable racers–most notably The Bonanza Bros and Fantasy Zone’s Opa-Opa–are only likely to please raving fanboys or gamers of a certain age.

There is good news, though, especially for Wii lovers.  GamesMaster states the Wii edition, aside from graphical inferiority, “is as good as the 360 one.”  That should quell a lot of fear, especially after so many visuals that suggested otherwise.

Now, we’d like to show you some scans of the review, part because we serve an international audience, and part because they include the first known in-game photos of the ChuChus and Opa-Opa–the final two of four characters to fill the roster that we told you about in January.  There are in fact scans circulating, and they originate from Sonic Stadium reporter Shadzter, who hasn’t made his personal scans overtly public and does not wish to, to our understanding.  We want to respect his personal wishes.  However, that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to send your own scans into us!  If you’d like to scan the GamesMaster review for us, send it in–we’ll be sure to give you full credit for your work.

And of course, the best way to see what’s up–particularly in the UK–is to pick up the March 2010 issue of GamesMaster, which is out now.

Share it Now: