For more on Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, check out our full Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed review. Or, for more of the best Nintendo Wii U games for a 10 year old, why not try our Family Game Finder
Taking a mix of SEGA characters from games gone by, Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed is an arcade racing game in the style of Mario Kart, but with more than a few tricks up its sleeve. With an emphasis on drifting, power-ups, and crazy jumps rather than tweaking your engine, it's a game for those who like their racing fast, and their drivers friendly.
Anyone who's a fan of Mario Kart will quickly find themselves at home here - after choosing your racer from a selection of classic SEGA characters, and choosing a track themed around an old game, it's a boost powered race to the finish, as you dodge, and return fire with a variety of crazy weapons. The twist for Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed, though, is that mid race, your cars, and the track itself can transform. Passing through a blue circle will cause your vehicle to change into a plane, boat, or car form, while with each lap, the track will slowly change, with bits either falling away, or moving to open new shortcuts, or different routes, and changing the pace of the race entirely.
As complex as it may sound, though, Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed is surprisingly easy to pick up and play - helped in no small part by the controls, which let your child play exactly how they want to. Whether their using the stick, or the motion sensors in the GamePad and tilting it like a steering wheel, tilting the Wii Remote a la Mario Kart, or using any combination of a nunchuck or classic controller, kids will be able to mix and match to find a controller combo that suits them.
One of the things parents should bare in mind with Sonic Transformed, though, is that the game can get quite tricky, particularly in the World Tour mode. Asking you to complete a series of races and challenges in order to earn stars (you'll get one to three stars depending on which difficulty you play on), the problem comes thanks to the dual powers of the hard difficulty being very hard, and the fact you'll need to play at least some of the races on hard to unlock four of the characters and finish the World Tour mode. The fact so many characters remain unlockable for those who simply can't manage hard difficulty (which includes us) may put some children off.
On the bright side, however, Sonic and All Stars Racing Transformed is perfectly suited to family play, as every single mode in the game support five player split-screen, thanks to the Wii U GamePad. Letting the whole family join in and play together, you can take on a variety of co-op (where the only result that counts is the player that ranks the highest) or competitive modes and minigames, in a mode that sets a new standard for what's expected of split-screen multiplayer games.
As a bright, colourful, kart racing games, there's nothing for parents to be concerned about here. While you can fire weapons at other racers, these are all over the top, cartoon power-ups, like snowballs, a firework, or even some giant bees. The most the weapons do is make your opponent flash, and slow down slightly, with no realistic impacts whatsoever.
Age Ratings
Format Reviewed: Nintendo Wii U
