Get to know, your SEGA All Star

Folks, if you're like me, you have picked up Sonic and SEGA All-Star Racing last week for ether the Wii, 360, PS3 or DS. But if you're like me, you may have picked up more than 1 version.

Today, I'm gonna talk to you about the playable characters. We'll discuss the ones available at start, then go into detail the characters that can be unlocked. This image contains the characters that you will be playing with(With the exception of Banjo-Kazooie, Avatars and Miis) courtesy of SEGA

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk282/Daimando/Game%20Reporter/Asrgroupphoto.jpg

1) Sonic the Hedgehog: The world's fastest hedgehog, known for battling the evil Dr Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, Chili Dogs, and the number of traffic tickets he received in one blow. Sonic uses the quills on his back and head to turn into a buzz saw(Or a ball) to rip through Eggman's machines. Hidden within the Speed Star are his Chaos Emeralds, used to turn him into Super Sonic as his All-Star move. That sounds very Dragon Ball Zish, doesn't it?

2) Miles 'Tails' Prower: Sonic's little buddy. Tails is known for his two tails that allows him to fly, but he's also a mechanical genius almost to the level of Eggman. He's also known to be afraid of lightning and will cower like a pussy cat when suspected to it. Tails modified his Tornado plane into a racer and when he goes All-Star, he'll summon Flickies to spin Tails into a Tails Tornado to suck up enemies and items. PETA will be knocking on his door in the future.

3) Amy Rose: She has the cuteness of Minnie Mouse, the attitude of Sonic, and the anger of Miss Piggy. She happens to have a crush on Sonic and will do anything for him. She drives the Pink Cabriolet in the race, which she previously used in Sonic R. Normally, she's a sweet girl, but if you piss her off, she'll get out her Pikopiko hammer as her All-Star move and smash you with it. Anger Management groups are too fearful of her hammer to allow her into the group

4) Dr Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik: Sonic's arch-nemesis since 1991. Eggman's favorite hobbies includes conquering the world, hating Sonic, encasing animals into robots, stuffing himself full of food, and watching Glenn Beck. Eggman decided to go big this time and turned his Eggpod into an Egg Monster of a truck. Features include giant tires, power steering, instant sandwiches, and a transformation button, used to go into his All-Star Missle Madness which sends his Eggpod into flying mode while he launches missles at everyone.

5) Shadow the Hedgehog: Sonic's rival since Sonic Adventure 2. Shadow's been known as an artifical life form created by Eggman's grandpappy: Gerald Robotnik. He's been known to avenge his fallen girlfriend Maria Robotnik, wield guns of many kinds, support the NRA, drive motorcycles, and slamming Michael Richards for that Laugh Factory incident. Speaking of cycle, Shadow is one of the few cycle drivers with his Dark Rider, courtesy of G.U.N. And apparently, he's also carrying Chaos Emeralds that turns him into Super Shadow as his All-Star move. 2 Super forms in one game? That doesn't make sense

6) Aiai(Super Monkey Ball): Though times are tough for this little monkey, Aiai is in good spirits as he represents Super Monkey Ball, known for trapping monkeys in a ball and rolling them around a play field. Aiai drives the Blazing Banana, a mobile shaped like a pair of bananas. When he goes All-Star, he jumps into his favorite Monkey Ball and calls his friends MeeMee, Baby and Gongon to bowl over anyone in his way. Those are some crazed monkeys

7) Amigo(Samba De Amigo): This world ain't big enough for two monkeys. But Amigo of Samba De Amigo is a wild dancing monkey. Despite his immigrant status, Samba De Amigo knows how to bring out the party animal within him. His vehicle, Car de Amigo, is shaped like his favorite instrument the Maraca. But don't get him into the music, or he'll bust out his All-Star move: Samba De Party, and get everyone nearby dancing with him. Wonder if they serve alcohol in this party.

8) Billy Hatcher(Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg): Now here's a character that's been neglected. Billy Hatcher, along with his friends, once fought against the evils of the Dark Raven and his eternal night to save Morning Land and its inhabitants. When not battling Dark Raven, he rides around in his Raving Rooster vehicle. Ruffle his feathers and he'll go Egg Rodeo on a Giant Egg and chase you around with it. A dangerous All-Star move indeed as he goes from chicken to bull.

9) Knuckles the Echidna: The first unlockable character. Knuckles is Sonic's buddy, but he's so gullable, he sometimes turn against him. And in one case, his gullability almost made him join the Tea Party. Known for being all-terrain, Knuckles drives the Land Breaker ATV to go over almost anything. A secret compartment hides the Master Emerald and when he goes All-Star, he brings it out and unleashes his Emerald Power, gliding above the track while slamming his fist into the track creating shockwaves to shake up other racers, and nearby coconuts that will land on his head later on.

10) Big the Cat: Out of all the Sonic characters, Big is one of the most lazy characters on this game. He enjoys fishing, talking to Froggy, watching the grass grow, and watching Pro Wrestling. Big's enormous bulk is the result of too much fish, though we wonder how he can fit on his Green Hopper cycle. But if you pull this cat's tail, he'll get out a giant version of Froggy as his All Star move and hop onto the tail as it goes on a rampage, smashing anything in its path. Who said frogs aren't dangerous

11) Zobio and Zobiko(House of the Dead EX): Zobiko was an immate thrown in jail by a mad scientist. Zobio busted her out after quitting his job as a prison guard due to lack of health care. Even Zombies need their public option. While they were there, they also took the Doctor's Hotrod of Horror and use it in their races. Inside the glove compartment is an endless supply of potions used for their All-Star move: Run-a-way Love: Which turns Zobio into a hulking giant and Zobiko rides on top of him while he smashes everything that gets in his way. He's almost like the Incredible Hulk, only dead.

12) Beat(Jet Grind Radio): A member of the gang GGs in Tokyo-To, Beat is known for his vandalism by tagging buildings with his signature graffiti. His actions have caused Captain Onishima and the local Police to chase after him. Beat rides around in his De la GGs, a custom built car used for getaways from all that tagging. And when he gets bored, he busts out his All Star Tag Jamming and rides on his skates, spray painting any racer that gets in his way. He was recently spotted tagging Eggman's Egg Fortress in recent days.

13) Jacky Bryant and Akira Yuki(Virtua Fighter): Virtua Fighter fans will remember these two powerful fighters, who represent the 3D Fighting generation, which lacked super moves and projectile attacks. Jacky was involved in an accident that really no accident while Akira is the winner of the 2nd World Fighting Tournament and the master at Yuko Budokan. Jacky rides in his muscle car Red Lightning with Akira as passenger. Akira's fighting spirit is unleashed when they go into All-Star Virtua Fight. This causes Akira to jump out and punch the car so hard, it sends the car flying forward and running everyone over. How Akira gets back in is beyond me.

14) Ulala(Space Channel 5): Consider her the rival of Amigo. The top reporter of Space Channel 5, Ulala is also known to be a professional dancer. She was orphaned at an early age due to an accident leaving her a sole survivor. A very trageic past indeed. She drives around in her Futuristic Hover Craft. And when she's in a dancing move, Ulala summons her All-Star Tension Blast and dances to the beat while everyone dances to the music, slowing them down. I wonder why there aren't any No Dancing while Driving laws?

15) BD Joe(Crazy Taxi): If you need a taxi, the Crazy Taxi folks are there. For a lump sum of money, they'll get you to your destination while making your ride a living hell. BD Joe, one of the many taxi drivers, represents the Crazy Taxi business as he drives around. Believe it or not, despite his racing status, BD Joe is still working on his hours and when necessary, his All-Star requires him to pick up customers and go on a Crazy Boost, running over anyone in his way while getting his customer to his destination. Now that's service on a racetrack.

16) Alex Kidd(Alex Kidd): Before Sonic the Hedgehog, there is Alex Kidd. Prince of Planet Aries, Son of King Thunder, and brother of Prince Egle, Alex Kidd fought against the evil Janken the Great to stop him from ursuping his father. Recently, Alex has came out of hiding to mark he return to gaming in tennis and now racing. Alex rides on a red motorcycle. But he also rides on a Peticopter: His All-Star move which lets him ride in the air and fire missles at his enemies. Will we ever see a Sonic/Alex Kidd team up in the future? Stay tuned

17) Ryo Hazuki(Shenmue): Ryo Hazuki has a troubled past. When his father was murdered by Lan Di, he sets off on a quest to avenge his fallen father and obtain the Dragon Mirror. He has close friends like Nozomi Harasaki, his girlfriend, and Naoyuki Ito, who gave him a motorcycle used for his quest and also used for racing. But Ryo also snuck in a Forklift which is his All-Star move. This makes him a Working Man by tossing opponents with said forklift. Who knew forklifts would make great racing tools.

18) The Chuchus(ChuChu Rocket): Cute Space mice, these Chuchus use rockets to escpae from the giant Space Cats known as KapuKapus. 4 Chuchus are represented for racing in the All-Star Racing. They ride around in a modified Chuchu Rocket. Little does anyone know, this rocket also houses a KapuKapu for when its the Chuchu's turn to use their All-Star, they become Cat Walker as they lead a KapuKapu into other racers. Even Big the Cat dare not face this giant Space Cat.

19) Bonanza Bros(Bonanza Bros): Mobo and Robo. These are no ordinary criminals. They are professions that can break into any secure area like a Bank, a Mansion, an Art Gallery, and even a Treasury. These two thieves ride around in their Get-a-Way wagon with many nasty surprises waiting for unfortunate fools. But when the situation is tough, they jump into their blimp and unleash their All-Star: Blimp Strike while they shower bombs onto the racetrack. Even Eggman never thought about this idea before

20) Opa Opa(Fantasy Zone): Our last SEGA character is Opa Opa, a sentient spacecraft that fought against the planet Meron from stealing money from other planets to build a fortress. What makes Opa Opa unique is that it doesn't need a race car. It is the Race car. And not only that, but when one goes to the Part Shop via All Star move, it can choose for a limited time to ether fire a unlimited barrage of missles, get unlimited nitro boosts, or fire off unlimited big rockets. A unique All-Star for a unique character. Missles, Nitro or Rockets, the choice is yours.

21) Banjo-Kazooie(360 exclusive): Hailing from the Rare series of Banjo-Kazooie, this Bear and Bird duo battles Gruntilda Winkybunion while getting the help from friends like Bottles the Mole, Seargent Jamjars, the Witch Doctor Mumbo Jumbo and the shaman Humba Wumba. They drive around in their Bolt Bucket, a custom-built Jeep using parts from Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. Their All-Star move uses Jiggy Power as Kazooie summons a giant wrench that rains Jiggys onto the racers. The forecast never called for a Jiggy Rain.

22) Avatars(360 exclusive): In addition to Banjo-Kazooie, 360 owners can also use their Avatars to race around. Avatars were introduced in a later update to the 360 as an alternative to the Wii's Miis. Your avatar can ride around in the Ava-car 720. As for the All-Star Move, it's Party Power time as Four of your Friend's Avatars will show up and pick up your car while carrying it forward. If you don't have any friends, they will supply you with a set of avatars to assist

23) Miis(Wii Exclusive): Wii owners will only have access to their own Miis(PS3 owners are out of luck). Players can race with any Mii and with up to 8 Miis on the track instead of the usual All-Star Racer. Each Mii is given a Super Zoomer, a Wii-style racer. Their all-star move is similar to the Avatar's all star move, dubbed Parade Power. Except Miis will be used instead of Avatars. It's a parade you don't want to be caught in.

And that does it with the playables of SEGA All-Star Racing. Remember, 360 and Wii owners will get their own exclusives. When they come out, I will discuss DLC characters and their all-stars.