Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
I may as well follow up one kart game with another. Ever since the first Mario Kart clone arrived on the scene I continued to dismiss every one almost completely. I just had no interest in a game that couldn't possibly be better than the original. Truth be told Mario Kart did everything so right from the beginning that I didn't see any reason to even bother trying anything else.
And even if any other kart racer had achieved what Mario Kart did technically, it still wouldn't have the same incredible roster of characters that Nintendo offered. With that, I put off playing any kart game. Any kart game that is, until the recently released Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. (Though, not entirely a go-kart game. I guess I should be calling it a 'themed racer' or something.) I gave this a go after downloading it on my Xbox 360 late last year and I was surprisingly happy with it. So happy that when I saw it on sale shortly after I made sure to pick it up.
Sonic the Hedgehog felt to me like one of the few properties that would be able to offer a character list comparable to Mario Kart's. Sega included a number of Sonic heroes and enemies like Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails, Amy Rose and Metal Sonic. But it also relied on including characters from a number of other Sega first-party games in order to flesh out the selection. Most of them are some pretty oddball choices and where in Mario Kart all the characters belong to the same world, in this game mixing them up seems so bizarre. Sega included a couple of the Super Monkey Ball monkeys, Knights, Beat and Gum from Jet Set Radio, B.D. Joe from Crazy Taxi, Pudding from Space Channel 5 and a number of other which vary depending on which platform you purchased this game on.
Though the character selection is a little oddball, the use of the various Sega properties for race track settings is really neat. Even though I would have been more than happy with a selection of tracks based on various Sonic the Hedgehog zones, racing through a variety of game worlds really sets your nostalgia ablaze. There are tracks based on Panzer Dragoon, Super Monkey Ball, Golden Axe, After Burner, Shinobi and more all with great musical themes that wrap the whole package together.
The whole 'Transformed' part of the title is great as well. Your cars all transition between cars, boats and planes as the track section are divided into various designs. This give you a bit of a strategic edge as certain paths will allow you to spend more time in different modes, some of which are actually faster depending on the vehicle you choose. Plus, the cars all look super cool when they transform.
I ended up putting quite a few hours into this game, competing for various unlocks including new levels and a number of new characters to race as. Considering how much I had shunned the idea of a series like this in my head, I was really impressed with how much fun it really was in the end. In fact, I'm starting to think I really missed out in the past with other themed racers I had overlooked.
I may as well follow up one kart game with another. Ever since the first Mario Kart clone arrived on the scene I continued to dismiss every one almost completely. I just had no interest in a game that couldn't possibly be better than the original. Truth be told Mario Kart did everything so right from the beginning that I didn't see any reason to even bother trying anything else. And even if any other kart racer had achieved what Mario Kart did technically, it still wouldn't have the same incredible roster of characters that Nintendo offered. With that, I put off playing any kart game. Any kart game that is, until the recently released Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. (Though, not entirely a go-kart game. I guess I should be calling it a 'themed racer' or something.) I gave this a go after downloading it on my Xbox 360 late last year and I was surprisingly happy with it. So happy that when I saw it on sale shortly after I made sure to pick it up.
Though the character selection is a little oddball, the use of the various Sega properties for race track settings is really neat. Even though I would have been more than happy with a selection of tracks based on various Sonic the Hedgehog zones, racing through a variety of game worlds really sets your nostalgia ablaze. There are tracks based on Panzer Dragoon, Super Monkey Ball, Golden Axe, After Burner, Shinobi and more all with great musical themes that wrap the whole package together.
The whole 'Transformed' part of the title is great as well. Your cars all transition between cars, boats and planes as the track section are divided into various designs. This give you a bit of a strategic edge as certain paths will allow you to spend more time in different modes, some of which are actually faster depending on the vehicle you choose. Plus, the cars all look super cool when they transform.
I ended up putting quite a few hours into this game, competing for various unlocks including new levels and a number of new characters to race as. Considering how much I had shunned the idea of a series like this in my head, I was really impressed with how much fun it really was in the end. In fact, I'm starting to think I really missed out in the past with other themed racers I had overlooked.
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