Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Transformed

[Soapy]

If the game was unlikely to escape Mario Kart comparisons in the first place, its new central mechanic makes it impossible not to discuss the similarities. As with Mario Kart 7, Transformed doesn't just restrict its vehicles to the track, instead sending them skidding across water and soaring into the sky.

Hit the water here, however, and you'll immediately notice tweaks to the handling – it's closer to something like Hydro Thunder Hurricane than a land-based arcade racer.And on the occasions you zoom above the track, there's a fully-fledged flight model, as you guide your now-winged vehicle through floating boost gates.

Whether you're travelling across land or sea, or through the air, there's a robust and convincing physics model that generates a sense of weight all too rare among racers of this kind. Handling is still that same blend of Mario Kart and OutRun, but with a little more heft to it – perhaps down to the involvement of lead designer Gareth Wilson, who worked on Blur and Project Gotham Racing during his time at Bizarre Creations.

The two stages we played through were packed with shortcuts and alternative routes. A Panzer Dragoon-themed course naturally has you spending a fair bit of time in the air, while the Monkey Ball track allows you the choice of winding, narrow, barrier-free strips of track up above, or the wider stretches below that are slower but easier to negotiate.

Which brings us to the character roster, and there are a few surprise names on there. Naturally, there are some familiar faces, too – Sonic obviously returns, though this time he's driving a Koenigsegg-style supercar, part of a conscious decision by Sumo to make the vehicles a little cooler. But Dreamcast owners will be particular thrilled to see Skies of Arcadia's Vyse, in a vehicle based on the Delphinus. Golden Axe's Gilius Thunderhead – who was originally planned for inclusion in the original – gets to ride a Ray Harryhausen-esque bronze creature that morphs into a turtle and an eagle.

In addition to Vyse from Skies of Arcadia and Gillius from Golden Axe being revealed this morning, TSSZ has learned from this source that Ristar and Vectorman were also playable characters based on a build received. We are also told this game may be very Dreamcast centric, with Ryo Hazuki making a return to the game and perhaps gracing the cover when sold in stores. The source also tells TSSZ that the NiGHTS franchise should be included in some form, and while we’re not certain to what extent, it should be more than a flagman role.

Sources: IGN,TSSZ

 

[Jennifer Walters]

The first game is a fun alternative to Mario Kart. So I'm liable to pick this up.

 

[Union Jack]

Yup. This looks cool.i have a wii and mario kart is still cool but I love sonic and have the first game which I enjoyed a lot. This will be on my radar.
I hope billy hatcher is still in it!!