If there's one game that's become a staple of any Nintendo console's multiplayer, it's Mario Kart. But with Nintendo's upcoming Wii U just over a fortnight away and no Mushroom Kingdom racer in sight, what are people going to do for their over-the-top-kart-based-racing-with-crazy-weaponds-fix?! Well have no fear - Sega are here, with Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed, a contender for the Mario Kart crown if ever there was one. Despite being a bit of a mouthful, the game boasts a seriously awesome single-player mission mode, a distinct lack of blue shells and a series of funky multiplayer modes to sink your teeth into.
Every character has their own unique transforming vehicle (with air, land, and sea versions) and special All Star power up for when the going gets tough.
But while all versions of the game will feature split-screen multiplayer for up to four players, it's the Wii U version of the game that tips the balance in favour of those who prefer to play their multiplayer games with friends and family. For starters, the Wii U version ups the maximum number of players to five, with four sharing the TV screen and playing with Wii Remotes, while the fifth has their own personal screen on the Wii U GamePad. Better still, it's not just limited to head-to-head multiplayer either; you can play in split-screen throughout the entire World Tour mission mode too, which sets you various themed challenges across the game's many tracks. And as the proverbial icing of the cake, if your party decide they'd like to play online against someone on the other side of the world, you can, as the game supports split-screen online. It's multiplayer nirvana.
But as you may expect, Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed has more than just a series of straightforward races up its local multiplayer sleeves, with a selection of minigame-style modes to blast through with your friends - although we only know details about two of them at the moment. Again, the Wii U version comes out on top, with at least one exclusive mode, in the form of Monkey Ball, where a single player is encased in one of the trademark capsules and rolls around the stage trying to squash everyone else - but like the game that inspired it, you don't move your ball independently, instead using the Wii U GamePad to tilt the stage and roll it around, most likely confusing your opponents in the process.
Another multiplayer mode - which, as far as we understand, is exclusive to the Wii U - is based on one of our all-time favourite modes from Xbox 360 racer PGR 4. This time themed around the classic ninja-tastic Shinobi game, Bulldog plays in much the same way as before - a single player is 'on' and must scour the map searching for the other drivers, and tagging them to switch them from being the hunted to the hunter. Eventually, you're left with all but one of the cars on a team searching for the final player as they try to evade you, with huge cheers and celebrations when they're finally caught. Basically, tag with a load of cars, it's a lot of fun.
Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed hits the Wii U on launch day, the 30th of November - but for those of you that don't want to jump into the Wii U just yet, you'll also be able to get it on the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, 3DS and PS Vita from this Friday, the 16th of November. In the meantime, Sega have released a little trailer to help make the extra fortnight wait a little bit more bearable for all you Wii U-ers, showcasing some of the extra features you can look forward to:
