Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

"It's not just racing, it's racing transformed!"

- Tagline

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is the sequel for the first racing game of the SEGA Superstars series. The game was leaked by Kotaku at the New York Toy Fair by revealing, according to Kotaku, "Sega's Sequel to Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing". Pictures depicting the side-view of the shelf revealed boxes for Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Beat, and Aiai. Shortly after this event the website called Starland.com also added info on the game. They listed it in the pre-order list for the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii for $57, to be released on November 30th, 2012. This was then removed by SEGA.

On April 30th, an announcement trailer was released, revealing the game's official name, as well as a new mechanic that transforms the character's vehicles to land, air, and water forms. The confirmed platforms of release are PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PC, Vita and 3DS.

The game was released for the Xbox 360 and PS3 in Australia on November 15th, for the Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita in North America on December 11th, and in Europe on the 20th of November. The PC version will be released on February 15th, 2013. The Wii U version was a launch title, launching along with the console on Nov. 18th in North America, on Nov. 30th in Europe/Australia and on Dec. 8th in Japan. It was later revealed that the game will be available via digital download for the PC software Steam, which will allow racers to play as the DLC Team Fortress 2 characters.

Gameplay
Gameplay is similar to that of the game's prequel, in which players choose different settings and characters before a race. The most noticeable addition to the game is the three different modes of racing: land, sea, and air, a concept previously used in Diddy Kong Racing and Mario Kart 7. Racers' cars can now change into a plane when in the air and a boat when on water, after passing through a transformation gate. The Sumo Digital staff stated in some interviews before its release that Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed would be "proper boating, proper flying, and improved kart racing".

All-Star Moves and other items return, but now there are special stars that power up a meter for the All-Star Moves. Once the meter is full, the player can use his/her character's All-Star Move at any time. There are new weapons, such as a snowman's head that sends shots of ice which freeze opponents and a baseball glove that catches an attack from behind. There are also 17 new tracks, plus four favorite tracks from the previous game.

Players are able to earn XP points to put towards a leveling system, which can potentially unlock vehicle mods and other items. The more XP points are collected, the better characters become on the track.

On the loading screen before a race, there is a slot machine, similar to the one in Sonic Heroes. Once enough allstar coins are collected from previous races, players can pull the lever to try their luck. If the three slots match, a new item is obtained. The player can also win an item at the start of every lap or start with an item at the start of the race. If not, the player does not earn anything, and can spin once more if he/she has the required number of coins.

Stickers
Stickers are special rewards obtainable as Xbox 360 Achievements and PlayStation 3 Trophies.

Playable Characters
Twenty-nine playable characters (including three third-party characters) appear in this game. The game features specific platform rosters, and no single platform has all 29 characters. Players start with ten characters (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, AiAi, Beat, Amy, BD Joe, MeeMee, Ulala, and Wreck-It Ralph), and the other characters are unlocked by winning enough stars in the missions in world tour. Racers include:

Veterans

 * Sonic the Hedgehog: 'Speed Star' sports car with two of his trademark spines on the back.
 * Doctor Eggman: Red six wheeled 'tank' that has his face on it.
 * Miles "Tails" Prower: Upgraded version of the MTP-01 Whirlwind.
 * Amy Rose: New Rounded version of her Pink Cabriolet.
 * Knuckles the Echidna: Backwards trike with a design influenced by himself.
 * Shadow the Hedgehog: A black and white GUN vehicle with tank-like treads.
 * Metal Sonic (via Bonus/Limited Edition) Upgraded Metal Booster from the first game
 * Amigo: A four-wheeled toy train inspired by his previous kart.
 * Aiai: Yellow F-1 like car similar to his from the previous game.
 * Alex Kidd: A red capsule like vehicle resembling a Peticopter/V-22 Osprey hybrid. Unlocked on Christmas Day 2012.
 * B.D. Joe: A shorter version of his personal Chevy Impala
 * Beat: Quad bike themed after his gang and his game's titular radio station.
 * Ulala : White sports car similar to Sonic's "Speed Star" with Space Channel 5 logo
 * Mii: Exclusively for Nintendo Consoles. Confirmed during Gamescom 2012. Steve Lycett (S0L) on an official SEGA Forum also confirmed.
 * Xbox 360 Avatar: Exclusively for Xbox 360. Their car is a upgraded version of the Ava-car 720 that is now black and green.

Newcomers

 * Vyse: old-fashioned steampunk race car similar in design to his airship,The Delfinius
 * Gillus Thunderhead: A bronze animal-eqsue statue. It appears as an Ox in "car" mode, Turtle in "boat" and Gryphon in "plane" mode.
 * Joe Musashi: A yellow and black quad bike which when transformed into a boat,becomes a Jet Ski
 * NiGHTS  NiGHTS itself becomes the vehicals while a Nightopian rides in it.
 * Reala Reala transforms into vehicals while a Nightmaren drives.
 * Gum : A white and neon green quad bike, similar to Beat's vehicle.
 * Mee Mee : a pink version of Aiai's F-1 car
 * Pudding: A green, futuristic car from Channel 42 resembling her aircraft from Space Channel 5: Part 2.
 * AGES: A transforming fusion of several elements from SEGA's past; the Hornet from Daytona, a Dreamcast controller, and a F-14 Tomcat from Afterburner.

3rd Party Characters

 * Danica Patrick: A neon green racing car with logos for Sonic, SEGA, GoDaddy.com, and Hot Wheels.
 * Wreck-It Ralph: A Jeep that has a wrecking ball in the boot

Others

 * Ristar: Ristar replaces NiGHTS as the flagman due to the latter becoming a playable character.However,He is being considered for DLC

Stages
There is a total of 21 tracks, with 17 new ones (one exclusive to the Limited/Bonus Edition) and 4 returning ones from Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing. The tracks have a set Grand Prix order, as follows:

Dragon Cup

 * Ocean View (Sonic Heroes) - Car/Boat
 * Samba Studios (Samba De Amigo) - Car/Boat
 * Carrier Zone (After Burner: Climax) - Car/Boat/Plane
 * Dragon Canyon (Panzer Dragoon) - Car/Boat/Plane

Rogue Cup

 * Temple Trouble (Super Monkey Ball) - Car/Boat
 * Galactic Parade (Sonic Colors/Colours) - Car/Plane
 * Seasonal Shrines (Shinobi) - Car/Boat
 * Rogues' Landing (Skies of Arcadia) - Car/Boat/Plane

Emerald Cup

 * Dream Valley (NiGHTS into Dreams) - Boat/Plane
 * Chilly Castle (Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg) - Car/Boat
 * Graffiti City (Jet Set Radio) - Car/Plane
 * Sanctuary Falls (Sonic & Knuckles) - Car/Plane

Arcade Cup

 * Graveyard Gig (The House of the Dead EX) - Car/Boat
 * Adder's Lair (Golden Axe) - Car/Boat/Plane
 * Burning Depths (Burning Rangers) - Car/Boat
 * Race of Ages (SEGA Tribute race) - Car/Boat/Plane

Classic Cup

 * Sunshine Tour (Samba the Amigo)(Returning) - Car Only
 * Shibuya Downtown (Jet Set Radio Future)(Returning) - Car only
 * Roulette Road (Sonic Heroes)(Returning) - Car only
 * Egg Hangar (Sonic & Knuckles) (Returning) - Car only

Bonus level

 * OutRun Bay (OutRun 2) (Bonus/Limited Edition Only) - Car/Boat

Mirrored versions of all the tracks, including Outrun Bay, can be unlocked.

Trivia

 * This is the second time in which a Sonic game was leaked due to the premature release of toys, the first time being when toys of Rouge the Bat and Shadow the Hedgehog had been revealed before both characters' debuting game, Sonic Adventure 2, was even announced, both of which happen to be sequels.
 * This game's transformation feature resembles 3 other games:
 * Hot Wheels Extreme Racing for the PlayStation, a game which also utilized the ability to transform into a plane and boat during gameplay.
 * Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64, a game with cars, boats, and planes that raced on different tracks.
 * Mario Kart 7 for the Nintendo 3DS, a game that allowed players to drive underwater and hang glide during gameplay.
 * Sumo Digital claims that they had the idea of the transforming vehicles before Mario Kart 7 was announced.
 * Unlike the first game, the PC version will feature an online multiplayer mode.
 * There is a minor change in the title from the first All-Stars Racing game, as the "SEGA" is missing, just making it Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed rather than Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing Transformed. This is likely an effort to make the title shorter.
 * The first three trailers for the game use the song "Promises" by Nero for the BGM. All the trailers after the August trailer use a generic techno beat.
 * All-Stars Racing Transformed is the second Sonic game to have a trailer that uses non-Sega music, the first being Sonic Generations, which had trailers that used the songs "Tenderoni" by Kele for the Gameplay/Green Hill trailer and "Na Na Na" by My Chemical Romance for the City Escape trailer.
 * Although Beat appeared in the first All-Stars Racing game with his Jet Set Radio Future design, he appears in All-Stars Racing Transformed with his original design from Jet Set Radio. but a bit shorter in height
 * The karts in the game have undergone a radical design change, probably due to the transformation mechanics in this game. Notable examples include Sonic's Speed Star, which now has sharper angles, different wheels, and less "Sonic spines"; Amy's car loses the tire cover, gets a bigger wind shield, and becomes rounded; and Doctor Eggman's monster truck is now a six-wheeled red "tank". Every racer now has a kart, a tank-like vehicle, or a quad bike instead of a bi-plane (e.g. Tails' Tornado Racer) or a motorcycle (e.g. Shadow's Dark Rider).
 * This is the first Sonic the Hedgehog game (as well as the first spin-off title) on the PlayStation Vita (not counting PSP re-releases on the PlayStation Network) and the Wii U..
 * At the end of the Comic-Con 2012 trailer, and during the Danica Patrick trailer, some of Sonic's voice clips from Sonic Generations are used. The same applies for Doctor Eggman.
 * Wreck-It Ralph, from the 2012 Disney film of the same name, is a playable character in the game, which is likely a reference to the fact that in the film, Ralph "game jumps" through different arcade games. The game including Ralph might reference the fact that Sonic, Dr. Eggman, Tails, and other Sega characters appear in Wreck-It Ralph.
 * The tracks on this game are split up into eras, like in Sonic Generations.
 * With the exception of Tails and Amigo, all of the characters that appear on Transformed's cover also appear on Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing cover.
 * Similarly, Aiai is the only non-Sonic character on Transformed's cover.
 * This is the first Sonic game to have a guest character that is not a video game character.
 * This is also the first Sonic game to feature a real-life celebrity as a playable character.
 * It is noticeable that Danica Patrick has the Hot Wheels and GoDaddy logos on her car.
 * Just like its prequel, this game uses recycled voice clips from previous Sonic games, especially from Sonic Generations.
 * This is the first Sonic game since Sonic and the Black Knight to get a Everyone 10+ ESRB rating.
 * Ocean View is the only new stage in the game that has been based off a stage (that stage being Seaside Hill) previous used on SEGA All-Stars Racing  tracks, which are Whale Lagoon, Lost Palace, and Ocean Ruin.
 * This is the second time that PS3 owners do not get an exclusive character.
 * Big the Cat is the only playable Sonic character from SEGA All-Stars Racing that is not playable in Transformed; however, he cameos in the game.
 * Despite the fact that Amy and Metal Sonic can use the Genesis Mod, they did not make their debut on that console. They made their debut on the Sega Mega-CD.
 * However, the CD is an add-on to the original Genesis, and cannot function independently, implying it is still a part of the Genesis.

Reception
For the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of  Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, IGN gave an 8.5 score, saying that it is better than several of the racing games of 2012 and that it is a true arcade-like racing game, but not as fresh as Mario Kart 7. The second review released was from UK's Official Nintendo Magazine, giving it an average score of only 62%. The reviewer stated that "the early excitement of the transformations doesn't make up for an interminable world tournament, poor local multiplayer and uninspiring weapons. The mixture of Sega and Sumo (with a hint of Bizarre) should have made for a game that was as accomplished as it was nostalgic. Instead, it just feels pallid." Eurogamer, however, gave the game a score of 9/10, saying "This manages to be more than just a tribute to the great and good of Sega's past - it does enough to earn its own place alongside them." The Daily Mail reviewer gave the game their perfect score (5/5), saying that the game was bad on multiplayer, but overall a revisit to Sega's greatest memories. GameTrailers gave the Xbox 360 version an 8.7/10', saying that "it’s a fun, challenging, and easily enjoyable racing game that uses a lot of familiar mechanics and ideas but knows well enough to try and do its own thing". In their last Sonic game review, Nintendo Power gave the Wii U version an 8/10, commenting on its "well-behaved mutiplayer and tracks that were born to become a race track."

Gallery
For more, see: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed/Gallery.