Call me stubborn, but I’ve been a staunch believer in the fact that nothing can top the Mario Kart franchise. Besides the fact that it created the genre, the vast majority of kart racers haven’t even come close to matching the series’ quality, regardless of which version of Mario Kart you put under the microscope. While I’ll always have a spot in my heart for the franchise that started it all, Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed takes a serious run at the crown.
The last Sonic kart racing game was a solely on-wheels experience. This time, all of the vehicles have received crazy upgrades that allow them to transform into hovercrafts or jets. Unlike Diddy Kong Racing, where you stuck with one of the vehicle types the entire time, you’re constantly switching between vehicle types as the game requires. All three vehicles are great to handle while feeling very distinct from each other. Also, the tracks do an amazing job of optimizing themselves for each vehicle. For instance, you might spend all of lap 1 driving your car, and on lap 2, the world has fallen apart and you now have to fly through it. The excellent way the game handles this new dynamic adds a ton of excitement and depth to every race. Though different vehicle types have been done in the past, this does it so much better than anyone else before it that it feels wholly unique to this game.
Even without the nostalgia for Sega, the moment-to-moment action is enough to draw anyone in. With that said, there’s no shortage of nods to old and new Sega franchises. There are a great mix of characters to choose from beyond the Sonic franchise. In particular, if you’re enough of a driving savant, you can even unlock the Daytona USA car. My personal favourite, besides Danica Patrick for her ridiculousness in this game, is Vyse from Valkyria Chronicles. The courses go even further, as they do a tremendous job of paying homage to their respective franchises while providing an exciting race experience through constantly evolving environments.
At times, these environments really take a toll on the Wii U. While it runs smooth most of the time and is always playable, certain worlds hold up better than others. One level where the frame rate definitely took a dip in was the After Burner level, where you’re racing while in the midst of an on-sea battle between fighter jets. Based on my experience with the Xbox 360 demo, these issues are not platform-specific. At launch, there were some notable Wii U-specific issues, but those have since been patched. Besides the on-the-box benefits of having an additional track and Metal Sonic unlocked and fully equipped out of the box, the Wii U version has other distinct advantages. With 5 friends and 4 additional Wii remotes, you can play 5-player split-screen. What also comes as a huge bonus is Off- TV Play support, which allows you to play the entire game on the Wii U GamePad without the television. However, the game nor the manual makes it clear that you can even do this. If you swipe down, you can switch to Off-TV Play, or swipe up to return to default settings.
I spent most of my time playing through the single player content, which is surprisingly well done. The main career mode in particular is the big draw, as there’s a ton of stuff to do in there. This mode breaks out its races in a Mario World-esq map, and you gradually unlock more races as you earn more stars. Between this and the rest of the single player content, the game will keep you busy for many hours. Once you’ve burned through that, hop into the online multiplayer and put your driving skills to the test.
Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed not only holds its own against the genre’s finest, it arguably surpasses it in many ways. This feels like an awesome step forward in a genre that’s been pretty stagnant for awhile. It should be equally great on the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, but in particular, if you’re starving for quality Wii U titles, grab this one for sure.
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In Third Person 
Man, I really wanted to play this game before, and now I just want to play it more. I think I’d grab the Wii version just to play with my nephew as well, but either way, it sounds like the kart racing itself is grand. Not being the biggest fan of Mario Kart Wii, I’m glad to see there’s a title worth getting over that one.