The official Sega Addicts Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed Topic

[alexriggen]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, to Scott--

I agree for the most part on the Burning Rangers track being disappointing. There are bits and pieces, like the voice navigation blurb at the beginning and the water bits at the end, that do a good job of referencing the game's design. But yeah, overall it was a bit of a bummer. There wasn't nearly enough fire or explosions, and the visual style seemed a bit dull in comparison to most of the other tracks in the game. Also, there are a surprising amount of hard turns in there that really got on my nerves.

Yeah, Burning Rangers is hard. It took me a ton of attempts to beat the Time Trial challenge in this stage during the World Tour mode. I did eventually get pretty good as I memorized when the sharp turns were and how soon to start drifting. It's definitely not a track you can do well on on your first attempt.

[ScottyMoFoSho]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, to Scott--

I agree for the most part on the Burning Rangers track being disappointing. There are bits and pieces, like the voice navigation blurb at the beginning and the water bits at the end, that do a good job of referencing the game's design. But yeah, overall it was a bit of a bummer. There wasn't nearly enough fire or explosions, and the visual style seemed a bit dull in comparison to most of the other tracks in the game. Also, there are a surprising amount of hard turns in there that really got on my nerves.

Yeah, Burning Rangers is hard. It took me a ton of attempts to beat the Time Trial challenge in this stage during the World Tour mode. I did eventually get pretty good as I memorized when the sharp turns were and how soon to start drifting. It's definitely not a track you can do well on on your first attempt.

The turns are definitely what destroyed me the most. After a few more attempts, the course isn't as difficult but it's still not as fun as the majority of the tracks. I probably had my hopes set pretty high, because this is a reference I was very much not expecting, but pleasantly surprised to see. But still, I'm just happy to see them acknowledge a game that only had one iteration. Now BR just needs more references to compete with Billy Hatcher...

[Shiggidy]

Oddly enough, the tank "Pursuit" events are my favorites. I dunno, I suppose it's the feeling of being in a high speed chase against an enemy. For me it does the most to alter the way you play the game. The heavy focus on boosting completely disappears, and instead you have to pay strict attention to your health and dodging cyclical attacks. I'm normally one to hate this kinda stuff but I really enjoy it this time. They're actually the first events that I got the Expert rating on.

I'm also a big fan of the traffic ones. They can get frustrating, but once you get into the higher difficulty dodging and weaving successfully can be really satisfying.

I HATE the Ring Race events though. Those are in so many flying games, and precision with any kind of flying is really freaking annoying, especially when there's a time limit. Every time one of these popped up I cursed at my TV.

In terms of characters, yeah I think Meemee and AiAi are the worst offenders. Meemee's involvement is almost like a synecdoche for the entire Monkey Ball series--way more of the same when nobody even wanted it.

My regulars though have mainly been Knuckles (of course), Joe Musashi (easily the most badass in the game) and NiGHTS (most inspired design, and the best All-Star Move of any of the characters). I usually cycle between those three while playing online.

Well it seems our thoughts are quite the opposite. Tank chases are my least favorite and I like the ring races the most as I found them to make the flight sections much more enjoyable than in actual races. I do enjoy the traffic challenges for the same reasons you do. They seem more purely skill based than any other mode.

I don't really have a main character I use yet. I've just been using them in order until they're leveled up and I haven't really had a chance to notice much of a different between them. Design wish I like Joe Musashi quite a bit and the Golden Axe character is pretty unique.

So I rented this bad boy last night and got hooked for a 6 hour marathon (I haven't done that in YEARS.)

To the points above: I LOATHE the drift challenges, & and sprint(?).  I don't mind the tanks, it's kind of fun and fairly easy, as was the mode where you take on multiple racers one at a time (name escapes me).  The rings are irritating as well, but not horrific.  Drift challenges...man those pissed me off. 

By about hour 2, anytime I encountered a non racing stage, I dropped down to easy just to get it out of the way.  The only reason I stopped playing at 6 hours was because I got as far as I could beating all the normal races on medium, and I am in no mood to play the medium versions of those challenges.

[Shiggidy]

I am not a huge Tails fan, but I fully upgraded him and gotta admit, he's my early favorite.  I almost exclusively used his "balanced" mode, except for the Joe Musashi challenge, when I had to switch to "speed" mode after losing about 15 times in a row (on EASY!?) and quickly beat him on the second lap.  Also got the Ulala mod, which makes her kick some ass , she sucks initially.

I actually could feel an appreciable difference between the different racer stats, which is definately to Sega's credit!

[ScottyMoFoSho]

I am not a huge Tails fan, but I fully upgraded him and gotta admit, he's my early favorite.  I almost exclusively used his "balanced" mode, except for the Joe Musashi challenge, when I had to switch to "speed" mode after losing about 15 times in a row (on EASY!?) and quickly beat him on the second lap.  Also got the Ulala mod, which makes her kick some ass , she sucks initially.

I actually could feel an appreciable difference between the different racer stats, which is definately to Sega's credit!

Yeah some of the racers definitely differ in their abilities outside of re-color clones. The biggest difference I notice in handling is when you go into boat mode. Holy crap. Some drivers make 90-degree turns when all you mean to do is drift slightly in the water. It's nuts. I've learned this can be crucial knowledge for the Vs. Races (those are the ones where you face multiple opponents one at a time), as well as the boost challenges.

I think it's safe to say that I enjoy the Pursuit races a bit more, because I realized there is no time limit for the match. I still can't stand the Ring Races, and doubt I will get the S Rank on any of them. The Battle races are a joke sometimes as all you have to do is let everyone boost ahead and pick them off one by one, which I find very satisfying sometimes.

But yes I do agree somewhat that the different challenges slow the game down, especially if you find yourself having to repeat them because some douche blasted you with a BLOWFISH just before the finish line. Grrrr.

[SpunkyLoveChild]

So, in the past week or so I've gone from adoration to outright rage with Transformed. I still love everything about the game, sure, but I'm not sure I've ever played a kart racer (or even a fighter) that's more tight-lidded about its unlockable characters. I have been playing certain events for hours, just so I can get a precious star or two, and I'm still far behind what I need to unlock

Spoiler

Reala, AGES, or Robotnik.

It's cool that the game makes you work for your rewards, but really this is overkill. They're going to make me sick of the game before I can even enjoy all of the characters, and that's a problem.

Anybody else experiencing this?

[Shiggidy]

So, in the past week or so I've gone from adoration to outright rage with Transformed. I still love everything about the game, sure, but I'm not sure I've ever played a kart racer (or even a fighter) that's more tight-lidded about its unlockable characters. I have been playing certain events for hours, just so I can get a precious star or two, and I'm still far behind what I need to unlock

Spoiler

Reala, AGES, or Robotnik.

It's cool that the game makes you work for your rewards, but really this is overkill. They're going to make me sick of the game before I can even enjoy all of the characters, and that's a problem.

Anybody else experiencing this?

Due to the challenges, absolutely. If the player needs to replay 1 race more than 10 times, you're doing it wrong Sega!  Ridiculously hard tasks are fine if you relegate it to achievements, for those masochists that want to 100% a game, but when you make them requisite for game features/characters, SCREW YOU!

[ScottyMoFoSho]

Ok. S Ranks are positively unfair. I'll be sure to mention them in my review, but HO-LY-CRAP.

You have to make no mistakes, memorize the tracks, take every secret route possible, and THEN hope that you don't somehow get hit with a random weapon at the last second. I just played the After Burner track a solid 10 times before getting 1st place simply because the boxes on the secret turn in the final stretch were never cleared out by the AI players before I got there, which in turned caused me to slow down tremendously. Cripes.

Ironically enough, I have found that Pudding is one of the better racers for Expert races. I know right? She has great handling (har har), and can handle all the crucial turns really well.

I could almost see a patch coming in the future, because I haven't played against many people online who have all the stars collected.

There's nothing more frustrating than rage-quitting in the campaign because you just drilled into a wall thanks to an idiot opponent.

And I swear every weapon auto-targets you when playing on Expert mode.

/rant

[alexriggen]

I agree on all of this and I now wish Sumo Digital would of stuck with the 'Sega Miles' idea to unlock characters. While this game is aimed at Sega fans it's also going to be played by lots of younger children and there's no way they're going to be able to unlock even half of the characters available. I'm only left with 2 characters to go but I'm 20 stars away from getting SegaBot and with every challenge already beat on medium I have no idea how I'm going to find the time or motivation to beat 20 more on Hard or higher. I haven't even touched the game for about a week so I have a feeling that's it for me until I play some local multiplayer occasionally.

[Stooball]

I bet I know what is going to happen.

I noticed on the first All Star Racing that there is a 400 pt download to 'Unlock all characters and tracks' that came out almost a month after release

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Unlock-All-Characters-Tracks/00000000-0000-400c-80cf-000453450815

It's all about money1!!

[ScottyMoFoSho]

I agree on all of this and I now wish Sumo Digital would of stuck with the 'Sega Miles' idea to unlock characters. While this game is aimed at Sega fans it's also going to be played by lots of younger children and there's no way they're going to be able to unlock even half of the characters available. I'm only left with 2 characters to go but I'm 20 stars away from getting SegaBot and with every challenge already beat on medium I have no idea how I'm going to find the time or motivation to beat 20 more on Hard or higher. I haven't even touched the game for about a week so I have a feeling that's it for me until I play some local multiplayer occasionally.

Yeah there's no way kids are going to be able to complete these game in its entirety unless they are happy with the standard characters and just playing through on Easy mode.

I'm determined to unlock a certain character, and am slowly making progress, but I'm afraid I will never touch the game again after that outside of online multiplayer.

I bet I know what is going to happen.

I noticed on the first All Star Racing that there is a 400 pt download to 'Unlock all characters and tracks' that came out almost a month after release

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Unlock-All-Characters-Tracks/00000000-0000-400c-80cf-000453450815

It's all about money1!!

I could see this happening again, and probably for the children. Think of the children!

[Stooball]

So for some reason, I'm pretty good at Ring Races (all S rank). Also, the Pursuits are doable, once I realised it wasn't a race. I'm just going back and seeing which ones I can do on Expert, and it's surprising!

[alexriggen]

So for some reason, I'm pretty good at Ring Races (all S rank). Also, the Pursuits are doable, once I realised it wasn't a race. I'm just going back and seeing which ones I can do on Expert, and it's surprising!

I'm the same way with Ring Races. I found them to be easier than I expected and it makes you feel like a pretty awesome pilot once you're able to properly navigate through all the rings.

[ScottyMoFoSho]

So for some reason, I'm pretty good at Ring Races (all S rank). Also, the Pursuits are doable, once I realised it wasn't a race. I'm just going back and seeing which ones I can do on Expert, and it's surprising!

I'm the same way with Ring Races. I found them to be easier than I expected and it makes you feel like a pretty awesome pilot once you're able to properly navigate through all the rings.

If I use someone with their handling maxed out then the Ring Races are no problem as I basically do boosts the whole way through aside from tight turns. But at first, those things were the bane of my existence.

I actually ran out of time for one of the Pursuits, which I didn't even know was possible since, ya know, there is no clock on the screen during them. I was flabbergasted when this happened, but then realized I just spent 20 minutes on a single Pursuit.

I think the only challenges I legitimiately enjoy are the Versus races. It reminds me of the good ol' days in Sonic R when you would face off against an individual racer to unlock them.

Speaking of Sonic R, I noticed the melody for "Super Sonic Racing" playing during the Ocean View track thanks to Josh pointing it out. Anyone else catch that, or any other subtle throwbacks for that matter? I know I heard another Sonic R melody somewhere else but can't remember where right now.

Really though, the fan service in this is beyond ridiculous. And so awesome.

[alexriggen]

I actually ran out of time for one of the Pursuits, which I didn't even know was possible since, ya know, there is no clock on the screen during them. I was flabbergasted when this happened, but then realized I just spent 20 minutes on a single Pursuit.

I think this is my main problem with the Pursuit challenges. They never seem that hard but they can go on much longer than any of the other challenges. That's what makes getting more stars so frustrating because you can play an entire race or long challenge and if you lose right at the end you've wasted 10+ minutes.