PLEASE NOTE: THIS REVIEW IS ALSO ON CIAO UNDER MY USERNAME "MONSOONBABY88".

The first time I saw Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing in a game store, I did, if I am being honest, have my doubts about it. On first glance this looks nothing more than a Mario Kart rip-off, but looks can be deceiving. Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is surprisingly pretty damn good.

The aim of the game is simple. Get your car from start to finish, avoiding the obstacles along the way, and hopefully finishing with a shiny gold trophy. Whilst this is a simple summary of the game, there are so many other features available to enjoy within the game which provide hours more fun. There are 24 tracks to choose from, and 22 characters to select from. There are several game modes to play around with. The main one is the Grand-Prix mode. This mode is found in most racing games, where you will race against a set of competitors in order to try and bag yourself the first place position. Each race will score you points, which at the end are added together to determine your overall position. Gaining enough first places in the race will inevitably score you first place in the overall cup, winning you a gold cup. Lagging behind in last place for most of the races will of course unfortunately land you the last place overall, meaning you will have to try again if you are intending to progress further along in this mode. The Grand-Prix mode however is relatively easy. Players are able to choose to play on three difficulties, Beginner, Medium and Hard, but you do not necessarily have to go through to the hardest races in order to unlock everything in the game, and gain all the Grand-Prix achievements. If you do not feel like you are up for a challenge, you can play it on the easiest setting and still get just as many rewards as you would on the hardest setting.

Another mode is the Single Race mode. If you do not feel like playing a long set of races, then the single race mode is for you. This will allow you to select your desired character, vehicle and race track, and compete against the other racers for one race only. You will still earn Sega Miles through this mode, but unlike the Grand Prix mode, you will not earn yourself race cups.

The third mode is the Mission Mode. On here, you will have to succeed in certain criteria's that are outlined at the beginning of the mission. This may range from simply beating a character to the finish line, to performing particular tricks or actions. Once you pass a mission, you will unlock a new one, thus progressing further into the mission mode. Sega Miles are earned once again, and you will get the opportunity to earn Xbox achievements depending on the mission. The forth mode for single player is Time Trials, which you will try to finish a race in the fastest time possible.

The game has quite a range of multiplayer options too. Players can compete against one another in multiplayer races in split-screen mode, and compete against one another in modes called "King of the Hill", "Capture the Chao", "Collect the Emeralds" and "Arena". All of these modes are extremely fun if you have a bunch of mates over, so I highly recommend giving each a try. The game is Xbox Live compatible, so if you feel like racing against 11 other players around the world in one race track, then by all means give this mode a go. Racing online is extremely fun, and gives single players an opportunity to earn multiplayer achievements if they have not got anyone to play the offline multiplayer mode with. However I do advise you check you have a decent connection, as the game often lags in races if you find your internet is on the slow side. This is not a good thing if you are trying to get to first place!

Now it is obvious that Sumo Digital, the creators of Sonic & Sega All Stars-Racing looked at Mario Kart for some inspiration. The Mario Kart franchise is, after all, the most successful game of its kind. Many companies have tried and (mostly) failed at creating a game that has the same formula as Mario Kart, and with Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, it appears that a developer has finally cracked it. Sumo Digital borrows the elements of Nintendo's Mario Kart that made that franchise so excellent, and have managed to recreate them for the Sega fans. Sega's effort features the battle and grand-prix modes that the Mario Kart series always features, and have added bonus game modes too, which helps to make Sonic & Sega's All Star Racing a refreshing take on this popular format. It is fair to say that everything about this game is, essentially, a celebration of all things Sega. Players get the choice of playing as a possible 22 characters, but a lot of these will have to be earned through the Sega Miles. However as this game is rather addictive, it will not be long before you end up with the full collection of characters! One of the best characters to choose from, in my opinion, is your Xbox 360 Avatar. It is quite fun watching the digital version of yourself race around the tracks alongside Sonic and his Sega amigos.

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is a simple game to set up game modes for. When playing the game, you will see that vehicles are divided up into three types which are bikes, hovercrafts and cars. Each of these types of vehicle have their pros and cons, which vary depending on the terrain and conditions of the race track. Players will have to do a bit of racing to determine which of the vehicles they prefer to race with, and I advise trying all the different types of tracks before judging which of the types you prefer to use. Cars also vary in weight and speed, and some may have considerably better handling than others, but to be honest, this can be put down more to personal preference.

Players will earn "Sega Miles" when playing through the game. These are determined on how many miles you are doing during races, so of course the more you play the game, the more you will earn. Sega Miles can be spent in the Sega store, and exchanged for new characters, race tracks, vehicles and game music. Please be aware though that if you are playing any of the multiplayer modes, only the first player will earn these.

However, the other players can unlock some of the achievements if they succeed in them. For those who are concerned about the look of the game, it is typical Sega. Bright, bold and beautiful, and rather fun too. The graphics are great, and look even better if you are lucky enough to have access to a HD TV. The games soundtrack features tracks from each of the character's original games, and you will get the option to purchase more, including remixes, with your Sega Miles.

Overall, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is a hugely fun game, which is a lot better than I originally thought it was going to be. It pays homage to the great aspects of Mario Kart, whilst putting its own Sega spin on those. There are plenty of modes to choose from in the game, although it is mostly enjoyable when played in the multiplayer mode with up to three other friends. Online play is also hugely addictive, and the achievements are relatively easy to get. There are three difficulty settings so you can choose to either give yourselves a bit of a challenge, or take it a little easy. A must have for fans of the Mario-Kart style racing games, and Sega fans will probably love this game, especially when looking back over some of their most famous game characters. A fun and addictive racing game for the Xbox 360, go check it out!