VG Review: Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed (2012)

Available on: PS3, X360, Wii U, PC [Version Reviewed: X360]
Released (UK): 16/11/12 - 30/11/12 - 31/01/13

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Due Soon

Sumo Digital have a history with racing games; with previous experience on Outrun and Sonic Racing, in addition to having staff from defunct studios such as Bizarre Creations and Black Rock Studio - and as a result Sonic ASRTransformed feels like a 'greatest hits' collection of the best karting games around. If you have ever played a mascot-based kart racer before, the core gameplay will be familiar to you instantly, but Sonic ASRTransformed does make one or two nice additions in what might be one of the finest 'kart racing' games in recent years.

'Transforming' is the new addition to the Sonic Racing formula: karts transform into boats and planes upon going through gates spread across the courses - which also transform before your eyes, as paths get smashed and routes are opened up with each new lap. While kart racers have done this before Sonic ASRTransformed does such a polished job of it; each vehicle mode has slightly different physics which may feel a bit foreign at first - but after a test run it'll feel natural and the vehicles handle great as a whole. The level design also makes good use of each vehicle type; transforming multiple times in a single lap, while making them flow effortlessly, without any sense of disconnect.

Clearing races as your chosen character earns you experience which unlocks 'mods' - stat loadouts which allow you to change how your racer handles - allowing for a more balanced character or and all out speed demon! The end result is a more balanced racing experience with some higher risk, higher reward set ups for serious players.

Even on some of the lower difficulty settings this game can live up to the Sonic name when it comes to speed. There are four settings (C, B, A and an unlockable S rank); raising the difficulty results in smarter AI, more challenging pass conditions and most noticeably - insane levels of speed! S rank racing with a speed mod is incredible and can even make the most frustrating race enjoyable. Chaining and stacking your boosts, tricks and evasions together also rewards you with a lot of extra speed in an already fast game.

The items, while generic in design (fireworks and pufferfish don't really feel very SEGA-y) are worth mentioning as they feel balanced; there is no real blue shell equivalent - instead the two most powerful items are a swarm of hornets, which while effective, can be avoided by a skilled player and the All-Star move which is a buffed-invincibility star with added projectiles. Compared to Mario Kart, which can barrage you with blue shells, lightning, and bullet bills, Sonic ASRTransformed feels like it has the right level of chaos; offering sufficient ways of catching up, without punishing those in the higher ranks unfairly.

Unfortunately the character line up is a little disappointing. 'Sega All-Stars' has been downplayed in the title and while fans will be excited to see that Vyse (Skies of Arcadia), Joe Musashi (Shinobi) and NiGHTs have been added to the roster, some characters from the original, including Billy Hatcher and Ryo (Shenmue) didn't make the cut. Having a reduced cast but having 'Guest Racer Danica Patrick' doesn't exactly soften the blow either.

The core game can be divided into four main sections: World Tour, Grand Prix, Time Trials and Multiplayer. Grand Prix is your standard karting affair with 5 regular cups and 5 mirror cups and Time Trials sees you racing against competent AI ghosts and other players data from across the globe. World Tour mode is the real meat of the single player; in addition to standard races you also get to compete in arcade-style challenges such as 'Traffic Attack' (which sees you clearing checkpoints against the clock, while avoiding traffic - prepare to hate blue cars!), Drifting, Boosting and Ring challenges and 'Battle Race' - a devilish combination of the standard kart race and battle mode - three hits sees you (or your opponent) out of the race.

Clearing these challenges earns you Stars which you use to gain access more challenges and unlock additional characters and special mods - but the quantity of Stars you unlock is dependent on the difficulty you clear the event on (clearing an event on 'C' earns you 1 star, B earns you 2, etc..) which is where a lot of the challenge (and occasional frustration) comes from. You can't expect to unlock everything by breezing through on medium - the game actively encourages you to push yourself further in a rather old school manner that feels refreshing. Some S rank challenges may require a perfect run - but clearing them is immensely satisfying and feels like a genuine accomplishment.

What I don't like, however, is some of the unlock conditions - coming 2nd in an standard 'A' race is a fail condition (1st only) but anything above 3rd is OK for a 'B'; but despite coming 2nd against tougher opponents the game will not award you a 'B' - instead you must downgrade and do another race on B Rank or succeed on A rank - I like a challenge but this just feels a little archaic.

Sonic ASRTransformed has a great range of options for Multplayer - both local and online.

Free Play offers traditional races, two types of battle modes, boost races and a 'Capture the Chao' (flag) mode which can be played locally or online with friends. Career modes such as World Tour and Grand Prix can also be played with up to 4 players locally. Ranked and random online unfortunately doesn't offer this level of support, but it does offer 4 local players the ability to play online split screen via guest accounts which is a really nice addition worth mentioning.

From what I tested, online is a blast, with minimal to no lag issues. The only downside I can think of - other than the omission of Grand Prix - is the waiting times in lobbies can be overly long as it searches for additional opponents; Sonic ASRTransformed is at its best playing with friends but the matchmaking option is much appreciated.

Visually, Sonic ASRTransformed is very appealing; especially in the level design which does a great job at covering a wide array of SEGA games, with beautifully crafted courses based on Panzer Dragoon, Skies of Arcadia, Burning Rangers, NiGHTs and Golden Axe (and so much more) standing out in particular - a lot of love has gone into crafting these tracks and ensuring there is plenty of variety.

The sound design is also fantastic; Richard Jacques has gone all out on this soundtrack with a strong line up of memorable nostalgia-fueled remixes, which even 'transform' as you progress through the race. For example 'Sonic Warrior' mixes into 'Super Sonic Racing' as you blast across Ocean View - the soundtrack is an absolute treat, especially for SEGA fans. The announcer returns from the first game and is (thankfully) less obnoxious - but if you aren't a fan, you can always turn him off (and have a laugh in the process).

The performance of the 360 version was great - everything ran smooth and the frame rate was stable despite all the intense speeding and chaos. I did notice however that having the game installed seemed to cause some sort of issues with the shadows in the game, but that's and uncommon and relatively minor issue.

If I had a complaint about the presentation it would be that the game feels a little barebones compared to the original - while the character bios were throwaways, the original had additional music to choose from per track and a few more extra - perhaps a behind the scenes look at the game or a concept gallery would have been a nice addition.

Verdict:

Overall, Sonic ASRTransformed stands out as a 'greatest hits' of the kart racing genre -  while still standing out on its own; with challenging AI, breakneck speeds, beautiful presentation, a good amount of variety - and best of all - at a bargain price! While at times I do wish we could have had a few more characters and tracks, the ones that are here are memorable, are well presented and hopefully there will be more post-support content on the way (Additional characters have already been given the green light!) and for the current asking price you can't really argue with it. 

Despite a few flaws Sonic ASRTransformed is a fantastic purchase - if you are looking for a good challenge with plenty of options for local and online multiplayer with friends, then this game is practically essential.

*HIGHLY RECOMMENDED*

[28/01/13]
And there you have it! My first review is now live with the video review now in production! Let me know what you think in the comments. This review is a little more 'ramble-y' than intended and I hope to get better as I warm up (-it's been a long time since I did some serious writing). Sorry once again for the delay of the video review! 

If you are happy to have these written transcripts up before the video reviews then please let me know in the comments - personally I would rather upload them 'near' the same time as when I start video production I start streamlining and editing the transcript. If you are happy to have an unabridged review up first and then I replace it with the edited, more streamline review when I finish recording then I can do that.