The game looks to be difficult again vs like Mario Kart, so that's nice. I also think the Cross Roads gimmick has some potential here to try to make each race feel a bit more different to each other, and I particularly like how there's an option to pick random. I'm hoping it doesn't 100% take away from a course identity, like the crossover parts are at least customizable like the stage morph in Smash Bros (one of my favorite Smash Ultimate options) and not are always just at the second lap of the course. Like, there's time trials for the game... it'll probably be disabled. I'm a fan of how the third lap actually changes too (which I think was also the case for the previous Sumo racing games), similar to the lap changes in certain Mario Kart tracks like in Music Park, Rosalina's Ice World, and Lakeside Park, but they're certainly more drastic than what we've seen in Mario Kart. Again, this at least helps these tracks be less repetitve (but I guess this means lap count modification won't be a thing unless they can just keep the same track between the laps until the final lap.
Also nice to see customization for the karts, I wonder what they'll offer. Gadgets do help differentiate your playstyle a bit and seem fun to try out several.The video doesn't really show the other customization parts in detail, so expect more of that to be revealed. Oh, and I hope the board offers some neat gameplay differences from the car, since it seems like the more attractive of the two options (I prefer using bikes in Mario Kart games).
I see some ugly business practices for this game and I realize, yeah, this is Sega all right, so keep your expectations in check. From the Steam store page, this game is going to use Denuvo (again, common practice for Sega games unfortunately) so we just have to hope there's not much debilitating performance issues for this game. There is also an advertised Digital Deluxe Edition which has a DLC season pass and """""early access""""" to game which I recommend you pass on those until well after release. Still kind of sucks we have to have DLC announced for a game right away.
Awful, awful pun aside, I'm probably not up for this one. My memory of the All Stars Transformed demo is that I didn't like it. Then again, it has been over a decade since that game. (Also it was the Nintendo 3DS demo)
You remember which part of the game you didn't like? It's certainly more arcadey than Mario Kart and it does feel bulkier overall. There is also the difficulty of these games, which Mario Kart fans can find a bit offputting. I like Mario Kart, but I enjoyed plenty aspects of these games over Mario Kart such as the sense of speed, the sound effects, the trick system, the car designs, the single player content, the track designs, and the difficulty. Mario Kart does have a much more reliable homing item (the eagle from Team Sonic Racing DOES actually work tho, but the drone from Transformed? lol) but both Team Sonic Racing and Sonic & All Stars Transformed have a much better first place baffle item where it still can screw first place up but unlike the much maligned Spiny Shell, there is actualy counterplay involved. Both games have these items put major obstacles in your path you crash into to lose speed or you have to drive around, which can still slow you down since you're not going to be taking the most optimal racing line.
Mario Kart is also just more stable, including overall performance, with much more manueverable cars (might be owing to the slower feel of the game tho) and I guess it feels a lot less cheap concerning the AI, and I think the tracks themselves tend to be much more tight (tho there are some really nasty points in the previous racing games such as
the unforgiving last left turn on the Billy Hatcher level in Transformed that is so bad you shouldn't trick off the ramp leading to that turn; even the AI slams into the wall there). Mario Kart also just has a more recognizable cast of characters, more varied cars that include some whimsical picks like the Teddy Bear ATV or the elegant horse carriage-like vehicle and it has that Battle Mode I like to keep coming back to.
You can finally use parts from other characters of a shared type, customizing the front, back, and tire parts of your car. Oh and paint jobs, which include the main body, tire, glow, and cockpit and the paint's texture.
