It may not be Mario Kart, but this is easily the next best thing.
Two years on and there's been another game released in the All-Stars Racing series; Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. I picked this game up for the Wii U purely because I'm a Sonic fan and wanted to have a few more games for my newest console. From what I know, there really aren't many differences between the versions of the game currently available so I guess it doesn't matter much. The major difference between the Wii U version and the other versions is the implementation of the GamePad. You can switch between playing your game on the TV or on the GamePad so if somebody else wants to watch the TV they can, without interfering with your gaming. If you're playing on the TV, the GamePad will display racers on the track. It's not something I ever really glimpse at, but it's there. Also in multiplayer, GamePad users will see themselves racing on the GamePad while users of other controllers will have their race shown on TV. I'm not quite sure if and how things will change if and when it becomes possible to have multiple GamePads though.
So what's the goal of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed? Well, you race. The goal is to try and get into first place by defeating other characters from various Sega franchises. You can use boost pads to up your speed, perform tricks off of ramps to give you boost speed and use items to either help you out or put competitors at a disadvantage.
Gameplay-wise, things have changed quite a bit from the first game. The first game as I said before felt a lot like a Mario Kart clone but this game feels a lot more unique, mainly due to the transforming gimmick. See, you're not just racing in a car this time around; you're racing in a car that can transform into a boat and a plane. This means that track designs are fairly different and may even change drastically from lap to lap which certainly makes races a LOT more interesting. The car controls much like it did in the first game; it's smooth and easy to handle. The flying is also pretty fun once you get the hang of it. You can guide your plane up, down, left, right and perform barrel rolls like Star Fox. If you don't like the controls inverted, you can switch them so it all falls down to whatever you feel most comfortable with. The boats don't feel AS smooth as the cars or the planes but they're not bad. It can get annoying though when you try and pull a trick off of a wave and you fail because you didn't judge the height correctly and I don't like drifting when in a boat either because it doesn't feel right somehow. I can't really explain what it is. It's not bad but I definitely prefer the other two vehicles which handle pretty much perfectly.
The items have pretty much changed completely from those found in the first game. You have drones which home in on a racer in front of you, snowballs that you can throw to freeze opponents both in front or behind you, hot rods which temporarily boost your speed but will explode after a while and giant wasps. Yes, giant wasps. The only thing that made a return was the All-Star Move, a powerful move unique to each racer which in the first game could often turn the tide of a race. In this game, I personally found that the All-Star Moves seemed rather toned down. For example, in the first racing game, Sonic could turn into Super Sonic if he got the All-Star, but in this game, he's just surrounded by rings. I suppose this was so that the All-Star move wouldn't be overpowered which is fine, but I quite liked the way they were. They just seem less interesting than what they were in the first game.
So far, so good. But what about the characters or the tracks? One of my biggest issues with the first game was the lack of variety in track design. There would be about three or four tracks based around one concept and I found that dull. Thankfully, the sequel fixed this and there is a TON of variety this time around as far as tracks go. There are tracks based on multiple levels from multiple Sonic game eras this time around instead of there only being tracks from one game, and there are tracks based on other Sega franchises that may be considered more obscure, such as Panzer Dragoon and Burning Rangers. Not to mention that the tracks are really well designed. Not only do they look fantastic, but as I mentioned before, the tracks are open to change which enables you to utilize the transforming mechanic to become other vehicles.
The character line-up is pretty decent too but I do have a couple of minor nitpicks. I felt there were a few characters that should have been in this game, such as Billy Hatcher or Ryo from the Shenmue series, two characters that appeared in the first game. At the same time, I really didn't see the need to include characters like MeeMee, Gum, Pudding and Reala. To me, I think those slots could have been used to represent characters from other classic Sega series. But again, this is MY personal nitpick and it doesn't damage the game in any way, it's still awesome and there are still a ton of good character choices that appear in this game.
Gameplay wise you can play with friends both offline and online as I mentioned earlier. But what about if you're playing alone? Well, that's where the World Tour comes into it and I have to brutally honest here, while it is fun to go through the World Tour I do have a few nitpicks with it as well. World Tour sees you going from track to track fulfilling certain objectives. It works a lot like the mission mode in the first game. You'll find yourself racing to beat certain characters, keeping your boost going, drifting within a set space, chasing tanks and a ton of other different missions. You can tackle them on any difficulty and depending on the difficulty you choose you'll earn one or more stars. But if you want to unlock all the characters in this game, you will need to tackle the harder difficulties, and they are HARD. I suppose this is where my nitpick comes in, why is it that you need so many stars to unlock the later characters? Some of the missions are really tough and there were times when I found myself wanting to tear my hair out in frustration.
Outside of the World Tour mode, there are also the standard modes you'll have come to expect from a racing game such as this; a Grand Prix mode in which you race through a series of cup tournaments trying to reach first place. There's your typical time trial mode which sees you hitting individual tracks in order to try and get the best time you possibly can on a lap. You can even choose to race on individual tracks either by yourself against the computer, or with friends. In addition to the multitude of offline content, you can also go online and race against others. I've personally found that it's an awful long wait in order to get into a race, however, though this may not necessarily be down to the game and may be a result of lack of online players.
In conclusion, this is an incredibly solid racing game that I recommend to anyone looking for a fun, goofy racer. It's certainly challenging for those that wish to pursue the harder difficulties on World Tour but for those that are content without the extra unlockables will still manage to find an enjoyable experience. It may not be Mario Kart, but this is easily the next best thing.