This is a late review for a really good game and by now, I'm sure everyone is on the Mario Kart 8 wagon but this game should by no means be overlooked. The simple fact is that this is a faster, more complex, more skill oriented Kart racer.
This is a game where you have transforming vehicles, everything from cars to boats and planes featuring characters from Sega games. The controls are tighter than Mario Kart and also controlling the different vehicles requires more skill and dedication. The items also require more skill because with most items you have to aim them and the items also feel more balanced and fair. This game also lets you drift and also stack up to three boosts, you can also perform tricks in air, which can provide a up to three boosts. The thing about tricks is also that in games like Mario Kart 8, once you hit a ramp, you can simply tap the right button in order to do a trick and get a boost but in this game, it requires more timing and precision. You can fail tricks if performed at the wrong time and not get the boost.
The game has various modes including Grand Prix, Matchmaking, Single Race, Career and a few other modes exclusive to the Wii U version(haven't gotten around to those yet). The Career mode is among the best of all modes. This mode is essential to unlocking characters, tracks and mods for vehicles. The thing that impressed me about Career was the fact that they give you more things to do other than just racing. They are basically like little challenges such as avoiding traffic or destroying a huge tank, to name a few and these challenges add variation to the game. With that said I definitely like the Career mode though it can feel like a drag at times because it's long and can get very difficult. If there is any mode thats a pain, it's the Matchmaking. This game is from late 2012 so it isn't super old but anytime I've tried online, I've never found anyone, not one single person. This is sad to me because this is a very good game and wish more people played it but I'm guessing most are playing a certain other Kart racer...
The tracks range anywhere from Super Monkey Ball, Shinobi, and Golden Axe, which might be the coolest looking track ever in a Kart racer. These tracks are well designed and very fun to race on and I might even say that I like them better than Mario Kart 8.
This is a really good game but not perfect, it has it flaws such as sometimes when there are odd glitches (though while experiencing most of those glitches, I was playing the PC version) or times when you will lose control over you boat and be flipping all over the place. Also the fact that they added a completely irrelevant character being Danica Patrick. It is certainly not a game for more casual gamers or gamers who won't be patient enough to learn how to play since this is a game more reliant on driving skills and not quite as much on items. It's a difficult game but once you learn it, the experience is well worth it.
Pros
+Transforming vehicles
+Excellent track design
+Vehicle mods
+Career mode adds variety
+based around skill more than luck
Cons
-sometimes glitches
-Danica Patrick
-may not appeal to casual gamers due to the steep learning curve