Yes, that is Big the Cat being dragged around by an enormous Froggy you see in the image above. And it is but one of many new additions of character art and screens added to our galleries, with screens respective to the DS, Wii, and HD twin versions of the games, so pick your console of choice and check 'em out.

A ton of news has spilled out of TSSZ, and if you'd like to see really, really high resolution images of the character art (about a minimum of roughly three times what our archives can store), check out their gallery here.

SEGA France recently held an event for Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, and there has been plenty of info to come out of it. But before going into that, a small detour to Germany and Spindash.de (by way of TSSZ reveals a few interesting tidbits of its own.

Those wondering if the narrator can be turned off will be pleased to know that yes, he can indeed. However, one may want to reconsider:

The narrator describes the whole action on the track, also things that you as the player can't see. For example the narrator says "Beat just got his all star move!" and you think, "hey, I just passed Beat, he will come from behind!" you can avoid him!

So as you can see, there is a tactical advantage to having him scream his fool head off.

As for releases, all versions are said to be launched simultaneously, and a demo will make its way to the PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE. "I don't know when and the content is not sure yet," said Sumo Digital's Craig Duncan, "but a demo will come."

Moving on, Eversonic (via TSSZ) reports from the France showing that no new characters were revealed at the playtest, and "the final roster for ASR has not yet been determined." They add, "Expect characters to span more than 10 Sega franchises."

Each character will have their own vehicle, one per character, and those vehicles will each have their own stats, accessible via the main menus.

New tracks were revealed, including Billy Hatcher's Dino Mountain and Jumble Jungle from Super Monkey Ball.

The Mission Mode previously reported by Nintendo Power won't include a story. "There will be a Grand Prix mode, a versus mode, and the multiplayer modes both off and online, which will include anything from a Free Racing mode to an Arena mode. These modes will be highly customizable, down to weapon choice and time limits."

And speaking of weapons, the variety seems to include single and triple boosts, bombs, missiles, banana peels, and the disorienting rainbows.

About the different versions:

Many have wondered whether the Wii edition will be watered down some from the other ones, and it will to an extent. During the Q&As, Duncan confirnmed that the XBOX360, PS3, and PC editions of ASR will all be identical. The Wii edition will be as faithful as possible, containing the same tracks and characters, with some alterations to account for a Wiimote/Nunchuk setup. It is not clear at the moment whether such a setup will be required to play the Wii edition. The DS edition of ASR will also see redesigned tracks.

Regarding DLC, which Toejam and Earl have been spoken of as a consideration, it all depends on how well the game does. "The Q&A confirmed that DLC will only be included if the game becomes a commercial success," TSSZ notes. "Ideas such as new tracks or new characters was discussed, but none of that will happen unless ASR sells well. That philosophy may also trickle down to things such as customizable avatars or alternate costumes."

As previously reported, Bentley Jones is doing music for the game, with a soundtrack spanning 80 pieces of music. And one of those is even Sonic R's "Can You Feel the Sunshine." Perfect.

A Shenmue track is unconfirmed (but with a smile), and it seems they might consider a SEGA fighting game in the same vein as Super Smash Bros. Brawl or Fighters Megamix, though "For the moment, Duncan said SUMO is treating this also as a fighting game unto itself–but in cars. It's intended to be more aggressive than the Mario Kart franchise, according to the Q&A notes."

Finally, also via TSSZ, JV247.com conducted a video interview with Sumo Digital's Craig Duncan, complete with some new footage:



The interview is ten and a half minutes, with answers in English, and a lot of information is given. Unfortunately, the questions are in French, and sometimes the answers lack the proper context to know what is being said.

Of particular note, including that there may be one more Sonic Team IP to be added to the game. TSSZ notes "That could span a lot of characters, including ChuChu Rocket! or even Phantasy Star Online, but it also means NiGHTS does remain in the mix for consideration."

Duncan also notes that "20-40 courses are being proposed, if not outright included in the game," and tells how Ryo Hazaki and the Shenmue universe came to be included.

What makes me happy is the method of unlocking; unlike Mario Kart Wii, you can earn "SEGA Miles" in All-Stars Racing to use to open up new things.

Finally, some other notes taken from the show:

- PS3 version runs fluid
- 360 version has some framerate issues
- Each vehicle has it's own stats
- Right Trigger to accelerate on PS3/360
- Left Trigger to brake on PS3/360
- X/A button item button on PS3/360
- Big Drifting emphases, preform a good drift and get a boost
- Snaking not possible
- Earn SEGA Miles which you can spend on music and other stuff not revealed yet
- Wii version has either wiimote/nunchuck or just wiimote
- No Mii support for the Wii version
- DS version has controls aimed at young children
- Sumo Digital thinking about DLC
- Music from Sonic R, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic CD, and other old SEGA games confirmed
- Game will also have a lot of new original music

We'll bring you more on Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing as it comes.