Unlocks are spaced wide; you'll rarely progress a few races without some pop-up proclaiming your accomplishment. Characters dazzle in their implementation, and unlocks for each car require dedication to a single racer. As you level through your race placement and skill, you'll earn mods for your transforming cars that tweak stats. Earning them all is for the dedicated at heart.
Seeing everything is the crux of Transformed's ills. Each race carries three difficulties with three possible stars to earn. Only a first place finish on the highest challenge level will earn the final star. Good luck. Transformed doesn't have the usual kart racing complications; AI almost seems to hold back and shoot others with track-laid power-ups. The issue is more concerned with speed, or the player's lack thereof on, late courses. Transformed demands a perfect run. A single bump on a corner can mean second place and therefore a loss.
This of course covers all race types. Some are unique, including a three-man run where players take on one character at a time. As each is dispatched through distance or time, the next is tagged in for another go. There are boost challenges, drift challenges, timed challenges, traffic dodging challenges, and battle challenges. You will even be subjected to a struggle against a giant tank in one of the odder design choices.
Still, all of this hinges on a feel that isn't always there. It is only partial, and that's difficult to ignore. In their quest to freshen up something still completely new, Sega took a shot at their fan base and lost their edge. Transformed is still a gem, but an unpolished one that doesn't lean as heavily on their own internal culture as it should. Inserting real life racing star Danica Patrick in a driver's seat instead of Ristar is a marketing miscalculation that's almost unforgivable.
Sega All Stars Racing Transformed is rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and older) by the ESRB for Comic Mischief, Lyrics, Mild Cartoon Violence . This game can also be found on: PS3, Wii U.
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