Sega have just announced the first Sonic driving game in a long time – Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing. The game is similar to Sega Superstars Tennis in that it lets you take control of a variety of characters from Sega games of the past, including Sonic, Tails, AiAi, Dr. Eggman and Amigo and race on circuits inspired by the games. It’s coming to Xbox 360, PS3, Wii and Nintendo DS early next year. Players will have the choice of cars, planes and motorbikes in a similar fashion to the Nintendo 64 title Diddy Kong Racing.

Of course there are powerups and weapons to disrupt the action and each character has their own “All Star Move” which will no doubt allow for some serious rubber-banding. Split screen and online multiplayer modes are also confirmed for inclusion. A semi-guarantee of quality comes from the news that Sumo Digital are developing the game. The first screenshots and a pre-rendered trailer have been released: