Blast From the Past is one of our new regular features at Completexbox, it’s a chance to look at a game from the yesteryear era that’s featured on Xbox at some point, that may be via original Xbox Console, The Xbox 360, or via Xbox Live Arcade. The one thing that is key to this feature, is that game must be available to play via backward compatibility on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One Consoles respectively.

In this walk down memory lane, we will be sharing our views of the game, our memories, lots of screenshots, and of course a link from the Xbox marketplace, so that you can add it to your game collection if you wish.

One thing we do hope, is that you enjoy the nostalgia, and the look back at the game of choice, maybe you can suggest a game for us to look at in the future that fits the bill of this feature.

Today’s Blast from The Past – Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

This week’s chosen game is Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Another classic game from the 360 era, a game full of energy, pulsating fun, and fantastic with a second controller. This racing gem is easy on the eye, and offers addictive racing action. Sega’s answer to Mario Kart, which was truly needed at the time.

The game is available to play via backward compatibility on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles respectively.

Sonic and the All-Stars cast line up on the starting grid once again to battle for supremacy in the ultimate race. Compete across land, water and air in incredible transforming vehicles that change from cars to boats to planes mid-race. Master your driving skills as you drift, barrel roll and boost to overtake your rivals, or use your weapons tactically and unleash your All-Star move to gain the winning advantage. It’s not just your fellow racers you need to watch out for: as the road falls away beneath you, or the river runs dry, new routes emerge and your vehicle transforms to take advantage of the terrain. Discover alternative routes and short cuts as you perfect the course in this adrenaline fuelled dash to the finish line – racing will never be the same again.

Features

• Each character is equipped with their own unique vehicle that can transform into a car, boat and plane to take advantage of the changing terrains.
• Take to land, sea & air as you race through 16 dynamically changing courses inspired by SEGA’s illustrious gaming history.
• Race as one of the 20+ legendary All-Stars. The starting line-up has been transformed as new iconic characters from the world of SEGA join the race.
• Utilize an arsenal of devastating weapons which require skill to aim, shoot, evade and block.

The Game

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, also known as Sonic Racing Transformed or Sonic Transformed, is a kart racing video game developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega. It was released for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Wii U in November 2012, for Playstation Vita in December 2012, for Microsoft Windows in January 2013, for Nintendo 3DS in February 2013, and for iOS and Android in January 2014. The PS3 and Wii U versions of the game were released in Japan on May 15, 2014.^[11]

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is the sequel to Somic & 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 Game Trailers, and was nominated for a Golden Joystick Award in 2013 for the “Best Multiplayer” category — losing to Payday

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 Dragon, 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 characters, 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.

• AGES
• AiAi
• Alex Kidd
• Amigo
• Amy
• Avatar
• D. Joe
• Beat
• Danica Patrick
• Eggman
• Football Manager
• General Winter
• Gilius
• Gum
• Joe Musashi
• Knuckles
• MeeMee
• Metal Sonic
• Mii
• NiGHTS
• Pudding
• Ralph
• Reala
• Ryo
• Shadow
• Shogun
• Sonic
• Tails
• Team Fortress
• Ulala
• Vyse
• Wilemus
• Yogscast

Developmental History

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 Total War: Rome II 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.