Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed - Xbox 360

XBOX 360 ARCADE DEMO AVAILABLE FOR FREE: Before my review, I wanted to make it clear that Xbox live Arcade has a free demo available for download that allows to to play a race, and another "boost" game mode on a different track as Sonic. Why read the reviews when you can give it a try yourself? (The final product's menu screens appear more polished looking in the final product. Also, there was one case in the demo I finished first on that hard setting and the next screen said I finished 2nd... I have not seen such a glitch in the real game.)FYI, BONUS CONTENT INCLUDES: Download code for: Outrun Bay track + Challenges and Time Trials, Metal Sonic & Transforming vehicle + Metal Sonic Mod Pack, Stickers for your in-game driver's license.POSSIBLY RELEVANT BACKGROUND INFO: I discovered this game by chance - and upon discovery, was very excited being a former Mario Kart and Sonic player. I'm 27 years old, and my Mario Kart experience ended after N64 (with some Wii play at friends sporadically). After having seen the first Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing game was such a success, and couldn't find a single negative review on this game (except by some Nintendo magazine...which was obviously biased), I immediately ordered two copies (one for a buddy/his wife). It's unfortunate I never knew the first game existed - and I wasn't willing to try it out considering it's priced higher currently (360 version) and this game is two years newer, and improved in nearly every way from what I could tell/read.First, many seem to indicate that this game is geared towards kids (or give that impression) in there reviews. Do not be mislead - as stated in other reviews, this is a more challenging Kart racer good for ANY age. The controls are simple enough to be picked up and played with ease by anyone, yet difficult to perfect. They've really done a fantastic job of requiring skill to truly succeed with not only racing, but weapon use and defense. Drifting for boost can involve a careful balance of throttle, stunts require timing and aren't a simple gimmick like what I've seen in newer Mario Kart games where just jumping up and down randomly gets you a boost (stunts can actually fail if timed poorly, thus slowing you down in the game). Skill in planes also rewards you for risky maneuvers - barrel rolls and flips aren't only useful for evading weapons - but they encourage risky/cool flying because you get boosts for risky behavior.CHARACTERS/KARTS: Of the negative points made in other reviews, characters are mentioned. They are not as familiar as Nintendo - and even to Sega fans, may not be familiar. They aren't to me - as I really only recall the Sonic type characters... but I do not care what the characters look like. The "fresh" and "new-to-me" characters are welcome, whoever they are. Each character drives a different Kart, and each Kart has a unique handling style that isn't simply based on "weight" like the N64 Mario Kart days. Given the same Kart mods, there is still something unique in the way they handle and you will quickly develop favorites to choose for the various types of races depending on whether or not you need better handling for a flight challenge, speed for a timed lap race, or acceleration (among other attributes).KART vs BOAT vs PLANE: Another point criticized in other reviews is the sense of lost speed for boats and planes. This may feel true at first when hopping into a boat, but as a boater myself... a sense of speed typically is lost on water. When all you have is blue surrounding you and no road signs or pavement texture below you passing by, it's hard to gauge how fast you're going. Just like when you're in a plane.. so arguing that a sense of speed is lost is just perception. Additionally, boats do accelerate poorly in water as they do in this game compared to Karts... so don't let your boat come to a stop (i.e. don't hit rocks). Additionally, waves play a roll - hit the waves properly, and choose gently turns to maintain speed. The boosts hit while boating or within a plane generate lots of speed - and if I were going any faster to begin with, some of the flying "ring" challenge modes would be near impossible to handle. I found the handling and control of each of these modes to be right on as well. Kart mode is awesome, boat is "fluid" and you get the sense of being tossed around if not adjusting properly - gentle turns and gradual direction changes are best for maintaining speed. Plane controls and feel works very well - left stick steers, right stick for barrel rolls and stunts... truly one of those games where the Xbox controller works with you and not against you.GAME MODES: Single player mode is really well thought out, and unique. The progression through the game is not linear, and involves a great variety of options. It's best not to get into too many details here - just know that nothing disappoints. Multiplayer modes include battle style racing, where players are eliminated as they lose their three lives given. To win.. not all players need to be eliminated - you could also cross the finish line first (alive). There are also racing modes that keep weapons out - pure racing. Nearly any game mode can be play split screen with a friend cooperatively. I do not have a whole lot of multiplayer experience yet, which leads me to one of the few negatives - this is not a very popular game online yet. I was not able to find a game to play in late at night when I first tried. I don't know if I needed more patience because I'm used to starting up Halo 4 and finding players immediately or what. Hopefully this will change as the game gains popularity.BALANCE (vs Mario Kart): Most weapons shoot in a straight line, requiring skill to hit targets. When hit by a weapon, your Kart doesn't come to a dead stop, and the speed loss while there isn't devastating. It can make the difference in a race, but can also usually be avoided if skilled. All shots can be blocked (technically) if you are equipped to do so. There is no stupid blue shell. Mario Kart really abuses that thing... it's sad that if you're racing a Mario Kart game and you're in first, the only way to avoid being hit is to drop out to second place (hoping they haven't launched the shell already while in first) - which jeopardizes you race since the pack may be close behind second place, and just isn't fun. It's stupid. There are two targeting like weapons in Sonic - one is somewhat rare and scrambles your controls (not much a problem if you just remember to reverse your steering), and the other a drone bot. This targets a vehicle in front of you - not first place automatically, and an indicator on your screen lets you know when it's near... so if you have a boost item or drift boost just at the right time, you can avoid it. There is a weapon that targets the lead cars, however it places objects in front of them so skilled driving around them (bees..actually) overcomes that. These more balanced approaches make for a much more fun game in my opinion. You'll more consistently place where you deserve to - as there aren't as many devastating chains of bad luck that take you from first to last.OTHER: Polished graphics, creative tracks (landscape often changes for each lap allowing different vehicle use), shortcuts are fun along with great variety of options in track paths (the arcade demo is relatively linear, and a bad representation of this). Transformations are cool and well thought out - unique look to each character's vehicle.There are too many good things to list, which is why this review has focused primarily on contradicting the various cons I've seen in other reviews throughout the internet.

This game is very entertaining. You can play 4 player on on Xbox 360, in split screen. There might be a bit of screen degradation, to display 4 player split screen,but play back is still silky smooth. Very nice implementation of the Cryware Engine.Maps are all inventive and colorful. My 7 y.o. loves playing it, and can play it without any problems and comes in first almost always on the easy setting, and can place first a lot of times on the medium setting, and can sometimes place in the top 3 on hard, so the difficulty settings are good for those with novice skills. I play with her quite often, and enjoy the heck out of the game. We have played at least 4 hours in the title, and just scratched the surface of the title, with plenty of characters to unlock and a bunch of maps,characters and modes left to unlock. (I think the game has 10 characters unlocked by default with 9 or 10 left to unlock in the game) I look forward to seeing what else this title has to offer. I think Sega is planning more DLC for it as well. Sega gifted Alex Kidd on Christmas day. I'd love to see Vanellope von Schweetz as a DLC character.A couple of things of note for ease of access to the game. The controls for flying were very difficult for my 7 year old, and not too easy for me frankly. The game detects if you are having difficulty flying and offers to invert the controls, and offer flying aids, which makes it much more accessible for a younger gamer, and even myself, not to become to frustrated over sections of the game. Kudos to the developer for offering this. Also there are stages, that aren't racing against opponents but time challenges, and these are very difficult, in my opinion, but if you fail them (I think 3 times), the game lets you skip that portion of the career mode, and go on to the next track.This game is a highly polished kid's racing game that parents will appreciate and have fun with too. Giving it 5 stars. Hopefully they won't price DLC too high. Graphics are fun, bright, imaginative and colorful. This is a very polished racer, and Sega should be proud.

fun game

I bought Sonic ASRT to have a multiplayer x-box game that didn't involve shooting people. Even the skeptics among my friends, who thought they'd hate it, have come to enjoy playing it for hours when I come over.The maps are visually interesting and range from moderately challenging to very difficult. Besides straight racing maps, the career mode also throws in a variety of challenges to mix things up. Some of these challenges are actually more fun than the actual races (in my opinion of course). The transitions between cars, boats, and planes keep the game fresh, interesting, and challenging.As for multiplayer abilities, the game lets you play up to 4 players through the entire career mode. Players can join in and drop out at will, and a level is passed as long as one player meets the race/challenge requirements. Also, you can do up to 4 players in circuit race, which pits the players against computers just like in career mode, except that this time each player (human and computer) is given points based on how they place in each of 4 or 5 races. The player with the most points at the end wins.Now for the reason I only gave it 4 stars. As far as I can tell, the game doesn't have a "Team Circuit Race" option where 4 players could join up with a couple computers and share points while racing a circuit against another team of computers. This means that my multiplayer options are limited to career mode and circuit race. Circuit race isn't cooperative, and makes it feel like each player is doing their own thing. Career mode is cooperative, but since only the best racer matters, only one person is really benefiting the team, and a bad player might not feel like they're contributing.Still, it's a fun little racer that my group of twenty-somethings enjoys wasting the occasional evening on.