Sonic &amp; All-Stars Racing TransformedSonic &amp; All-Stars Racing Transformed Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed "Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed" is the sequel to "Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing", and the fourth installment in the "Sega All-Stars" series. The game was a launch title for the Wii U in North America and Europe. "Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed" received positive reviews from critics, many praising the character roster and major improvements from its predecessor. It received a nomination for "Best Racing Game of 2012" from "GameTrailers", and was nominated for a Golden Joystick Award in 2013 for the "Best Multiplayer” category — losing to "Payday 2". Gameplay. "Sonic & All-Stars  Racing Transformed" is a mascot-based racing game in which players race against each other using over 20 characters from various Sega franchises, such as "Sonic the Hedgehog", "Jet Set Radio" and "Space Channel 5", although it features many new mechanics and improvements from the last game. The most obvious is that, at certain points in a race, vehicles can alternate between car, boat and plane modes. The car mode handles similarly to the previous game, in which players can earn boost by drifting around corners or performing tricks whilst in the air. Boat mode features true boating physics, requiring  players to consider their vehicle's turbulence. They may also be affected by waves made in the water, some of which can be used to leap into the air and perform stunts. Plane mode, the fastest of the three forms, gives players the freedom to move both vertically and horizontally. Like the other modes, players can 'air-drift' around corners to earn boost and can also perform rolls to quickly adjust their position, earning boost for narrowly dodging obstacles. Players alternate between these modes by driving through blue transformation gates. Certain tracks in the game terraform as players proceed through  them, offering different playstyles between each lap. Several new varieties of weapons have been added, including explosive hot rod engines, freezing snowballs, blowfish, and swarms of wasps that appear at the front of the pack. All-Star Moves return from the previous title, though these are awarded slightly differently compared to the last game, and can now be used in online multiplayer. During races, players can collect star tokens, found scattered around the course or earned by attacking opponents, which can be spent in a slot machine between events to earn random bonuses, such as enhanced items or faster recovery  from certain weapons. The main campaign is the Career Mode which, along with returning features such as Grand Prix, Time Attack and Single Race, mainly revolves around the World Tour mode. This mode involves going through a branching series of events, ranging from standard races to various challenges, including earning time by drifting, maneuvering through traffic or fighting against large tanks. Completing these challenges on various difficulties earn stars which are used to open up new branches and unlock new characters and mods. Racing with each character in any mode earns XP which unlock modifications that alter the stats of  each vehicle. The game features 16 new tracks inspired by games like "Nights into Dreams", "Super Monkey Ball", "Panzer Dragoon", "Golden Axe", "After Burner" and "Burning Rangers", as well as four returning locations from the first game and mirror versions of each track. The game also features online multiplayer in all versions and four player split-screen multiplayer for the console versions. Some of the career modes can also be played in split-screen multiplayer. The Wii U version also features unique minigames and features that utilize the Wii U GamePad and can support up to five players via split -screen. Playable characters. "Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed" features 24 characters in all major versions of the game, including one downloadable content character. The Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and Xbox 360 versions each received one additional playable character based on their respective console's avatar systems, while the Microsoft Windows version received seven additional playable characers, including two released as downloadable content. In the mobile version of the game, titled "Sonic Transformed", there were only 15 playable characters, five of which could only be unlocked through in-app purchases. Development and release. The game's development staff contains members of  Bizarre Creations, developer of "Blur", "Metropolis Street Racer", and the "Project Gotham Racing" series of racing video games, and of Black Rock Studio, developer of "Split Second: Velocity" and "Pure". The console and PlayStation Vita versions run on a new internal engine, codenamed "Sumo", at 30 fps, while the 3DS version was built from the ground up. Longtime Sega music composer Richard Jacques handled the game's soundtrack, which features both original tracks and remixed Sega tunes. The development team cites "Wave Race" and "Hydro Thunder" as their inspirations for the water-based racing segments. At E3 2012, it was  announced that JR Motorsports NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Danica Patrick would be appearing as a playable guest character in the game. She drives the "Danicar", a vehicle co-designed by Patrick for Mattel's Hot Wheels toyline. The game also features Ralph from the animated Disney film, "Wreck-It Ralph", in which Sonic, Dr. Eggman, and other Sega characters make cameo appearances. Ristar makes a cameo appearance as the game's flagman. The Xbox 360 version also features playable Avatars, while the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS versions include playable Miis. A Bonus Edition of the game was available for  pre-order or to get after release as long as it was available, which included Metal Sonic as a playable character, "OutRun" Bay, and additional stickers for the player's license. A port of the game for Microsoft Windows was released in January 2013 and featured additional exclusive characters, including characters from Valve's "Team Fortress 2". In response to fans requesting additional characters as downloadable content, game director Steve Lycett posted on Sega's official forums, challenging them to organize a vote to nominate characters for him to recommend to Sega. Seven characters were chosen for recommendation, including Ryo  Hazuki, Hatsune Miku, Segata Sanshiro, Vectorman, ToeJam & Earl, Bayonetta, and Ristar. On January 24, 2013, Lycett confirmed that one of those characters had been approved for development, later revealed to be Ryo Hazuki. An additional character, General Winter from "Company of Heroes 2", was released as part of a free update for the PC version on July 4, 2013. On August 5, 2013, Willemus from "" was also added to the PC version as a free update. As part of a collaboration with The Yogscast and Humble Bundle, Yogscast's Simon Lane was released as a downloadable character for the PC  version on December 6, 2013, with all proceeds going to charity. A stream by The Yogscast also showed Ryo Hazuki from the "Shenmue" series riding arcade machines. On January 14, 2014, Ryo became available for purchase as a DLC on Steam for the PC version. Due to technical issues, the iOS and Android versions were taken down soon after their release. The Xbox 360 version received an update on November 15, 2021 to increase the target frame rate to 60 frames per second on Xbox Series X/S. Reception. The game has received positive reviews from critics. It holds a  Metacritic rating of 82 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, 78 for the Wii U version, and 79 for the PC version. "IGN" gave the game a score of 8.6, calling it "a bright, handsome and thoroughly enjoyable ride." "Destructoid" gave the game 8/10, saying "Sega has cherry-picked the best elements of kart racers and applied it to the best arcade racing games to create a sleeper hit that’s great fan service and great fun." "GameTrailers" gave the game a score of 8.7. "Empire" stated that "Sonic's second turn behind the wheel is a surprisingly  complex offering, a kart racer that provides both an immediate surface appeal to newcomers and enough 'fair frustration' to maintain the interests of seasoned race gamers chasing that perfect result," giving the game 4/5 stars. "GameSpot" writer Britton Peele gave positive reviews to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, but gave a more mixed review to the Wii U version. While Peele described the title as "far from a poor man's "Mario Kart"", the Wii U version received a day-one patch that appeared to render the game's Boost Race levels unwinnable. Peele also  said the Wii U version's online Battle mode levels were also broken, with characters spawning in mid-air and collectable items for one of the version's exclusive modes not appearing at all. Sumo Digital has since released a patch to address the respective issues. As of March 2013, the game has sold 1.36 million copies worldwide. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed "Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed" is the sequel to "Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing", and the fourth installment in the "Sega All-Stars" series. The game was a launch title for the Wii U in North America