The original Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing was a bit of a surprise, we hadn’t seen Sonic in a racing game with cars since the Sonic Drift games. It was also a pretty good game that received lots of praise from fans, so it makes sense that the spin-off title is getting a sequel. Like the title implies, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed has vehicles that transform. During a race the vehicle changes into either a car, boat or plane whenever the track needs it to, making it more similar to Diddy Kong Racing than Mario Kart, which certainly isn’t a bad thing.
A trailer showcases this along with better graphics and a stage based on Panzer Dragoon, another stage based on Super Monkey Ball is shown in the screenshots. As for new characters, there’s Vyse from Skies of Arcadia and Gilius Thunderhead from Golden Axe (who was going to be in the first game but got scrapped) joining the roster, with more newcomers to be announced. Scripted events change the course every lap, which you could compare to Motorstorm Apocalypse, though much more colourful. The game’s soundtrack won’t just consist of old tracks, as they are remixed with composer Richard Jacques doing some contributions. There’ll also be a story mode and the annoying commentator is no longer present.
IGN has a preview up with more details along with a video with some of the folks at Sumo Digital talking about the game with more gameplay being shown. The game will be coming to Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation Vita, Nintendo 3DS and PC Digital Download later this year. Screenshots can be found after the jump.
[Via IGN and Sonic Stadium]