Putting aside the fact that Sonic doesn't seem to realise he's faster on foot than he is in a vehicle, All-Stars Racing Transformed is actually a very, very good racing game and it, dare I say, one that even rivals Mario Kart in quality. I mean, it's generic as hell as far as mascot-led racing games are concerned, but it doesn't need to be the next big innovator if the core mechanics are as solid as a brick wall - which they are. What elevates this particular Sega-brand racing game above all others though, is the sheer amount of fan service packed into it. Yeah, you have the disc-selling Sonic name attached to the title, but it's the rest of the roster that you should care about. The select screen is jam-packed with Sega icons old and new, some obscure, others well-known - even Shinobi's Joe Musashi gets a look-in, and has there ever been a more exciting prospect of playing a ninja in a racing game? I think not. Now all we need is a Sega-brand brawler à la Super Smash Bros. and nobody will ever need another video game ever again.
Joe is a freelance games journalist who, while not spending every waking minute selling himself to websites around the world, spends his free time writing. Most of it makes no sense, but when it does, he treats each article as if it were his Magnum Opus - with varying results.
