Preview: ‘Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds’ offers twist to kart racing

Although Mario is the biggest name in kart racing it s not the only match in town Plenty of other franchises have expended into the family-friendly genre Crash Bandicoot Mickey Mouse Sponge Bob and the Family Guy crew have all had specific time behind the wheel but the Sonic Racing series is the one that has seen the bulk success outside of the plumber Personally I ve never spent much time with the franchise I wasn t sure what it had to offer compared to Nintendo s landmark series but I jumped into a hands-on preview with Sonic Racing CrossWorlds and came away surprised by Sega s fun approach to the genre VERSATILE VEHICLES The upcoming entry carries several elements of its predecessor Crew Sonic Racing Vehicles transform based on the terrain so that they can passage across water as boats or soar across the sky as planes Each form controls differently and has a distinct emphasis On land it s about drifting which works differently from Mario Kart Players hold a shoulder button to drift but they don t have to wiggle the stick to get a boost It s more about finite control when hitting the turns During jumps players can perform tricks which offers boost upon landing With water players have to handle waves but they can also charge jump to gain more speed In the air players usually have to guide their planes toward speed boost rings They can also drift in the air for tight turns but it was surprising how much time is devoted to air tour in general Players can perform air tricks in Sonic Racing CrossWorlds to gain a speed boost Sega SOMEWHAT FAMILIAR ITEMS Just like other Kart games competitors can snag items and use them against rivals They can toss them forward or use them from behind The competition s gadgets all seem to have a Mario Kart counterpart so it will be easy for fans to learn them No matter what form kart racing takes general principles hold true Competition brings out the the greater part diabolical behavior in people and despite the unfamiliarity they ll inevitably find a way to mess with the people around them Interestingly enough Sonic Racing CrossWorlds doesn t have rubberbanding so if players are in the lead they can stay there Players in the lead will still have the chance to acquire powerful items White Space is a track in Sonic Racing CrossWorlds Sega AN INNOVATIVE SURPRISE A major difference between this project and others is the wagon depth The event features four main truck classes based on speed acceleration power and handling traits Each of the cars excel at one of those and players can customize them by earning Donpa Tickets which are used to purchase new parts Related Articles Niantic increasing the Pokemon Go trainer level cap to on Oct Niantic ends summer with big events for Pokemon Go and Monster Hunter Now Preview Resident Evil Requiem amps up mind games to the horror element Preview Pragmata has an unconventional twist to the sci-fi shooter Preview How Onimusha Way of the Sword reinterprets PS -era games for modern times The slight tweaks from the pieces are just the beginning The vehicles also have gadget sets that they can load up before a Grand Prix These are perks There are of them that augment a players racing style Particular upgrades increase the items that a van can hold while others power up a car based on air tricks Naturally selected gadgets mesh well with certain vehicles For example I used a power car that looked like a bulldozer and paired it with a collision combo set that gave my racer Ichiban Kasuga a boost each time he knocked into another race It also allowed him to steal their rings It worked well with the bigger carriage that was slow but hard to knock off a racing line When it comes to the races themselves Sega offers an innovative twist to track design Each race is divided into three laps The first one is normal and gives players a feel for layout but on the second lap a portal opens up and the person in the lead pick which world they ended up racing That will force the other competitors into new environments before returning to the third and final lap which is the original unit albeit with changes The design offers more variety and makes it feel as though no two races will be alike across the courses and CrossWorlds Players are introduced to their rival in Sonic Racing CrossWorlds Sega I counted seven Grad Prix events available These long competitions will have players wheeling around in four races across three tacks The first three follow the CrossWorlds familiar pattern while the fourth and final race lets players do a lap in each of the previous courses via the portal rings When tackling these contests players even get a rival and the competitor s character and the rival will have witty banter across each of the events It s a way to lend the whole competition particular charm and give the Sonic-dominated cast more personality All of this shows that new horizons do exist in the kart racing genre and the developers behind Sonic Racing CrossWorlds touch upon new ground while also sticking to the genre s formula Sonic Racing CrossWorlds is scheduled for release Sept on Nintendo Switch PlayStation PlayStation PC Xbox One Xbox Series X and Series S A Nintendo Switch version is also coming out during the holidays and those who buy it on the Switch can purchase a upgrade pack to play it on the Switch