Maintaining pole position in the kart racing genre isn’t as easy as it used to be for Mario and friends. Mario Kart 7 was a lackadaisical cruise around the block, while Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing: Transformed ate its lunch through the use of dynamically-changing tracks that required your vehicle to transform between a go-kart, jet plane and hovercraft. Sure, it’s framerate could have used some work and it doesn’t fully execute on all of the ideas it brings to the table, but it was built with a level of passion and innovation that Nintendo’s 3DS kart racer sorely lacked. Mario Kart 8 may not pack enough fresh ideas to completely close the gap, but it makes up for it with great track design, quality online play and a level of polish that makes this game sparkle.

Continue reading →