Tag Archives: kart racer

Essentials, Racers, SNES

Super Mario Kart: Defining a Genre

3 Comments

“Which Mario Kart is best?” is one of those questions that can start bitter, terrible arguments. Or at the very least, send you into an endless cycle of analysis paralysis as you contemplate which one actually is the “best”.

Do you prefer Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s “best of everything” approach, blending brand new tracks with classics from yesteryear with a twist? How about Double Dash’s team-based mechanics? 64’s early attempts to move the series into true 3D?

For everyone, the answer is different, and I can’t even give you a definitive answer on my own preferences. But one thing we can hopefully all agree on is that even if Super Mario Kart for Super NES isn’t your favourite Mario Kart, it’s probably the most important.

Continue reading Super Mario Kart: Defining a Genre →

Essentials, One-Shots, Racers

Table Top Racing World Tour Nitro Edition: Less is More

3 Comments

One of the most commonly cited reasons for enjoying video games is allowing oneself to realise fantasies of various descriptions.

Frequently, these fantasies are heroic in nature, casting us into a world that is not our own and throwing us into conflict against a powerful foe that is nonetheless possible to overcome with enough determination. Sometimes they’re emotional, allowing us to engage with characters who are very different from people we encounter in reality. They might even be sexual, giving us the opportunity to explore a side of ourselves we find difficult to bring up even with people we know and love.

Or sometimes they might just be wondering what it would be like if your childhood toy cars could actually power themselves and race around an improvised circuit constructed of whatever happened to be on hand at the time. Enter the extravagantly titled Table Top Racing World Tour Nitro Edition, a game that can most certainly help with that last one, even if it won’t assist with your throbbing libido in the slightest. Unless you’re really into tiny cars.

Continue reading Table Top Racing World Tour Nitro Edition: Less is More →

Essentials, One-Shots, Racers

Team Sonic Racing: Always Better Together

1 Comment

One of the most interesting success stories of the last couple of console generations is the series of Sonic-themed racing games.

While the blue blur’s mainline adventures have had a somewhat mixed reception over the years, Sumo Digital’s Sonic Racing series (to date consisting of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and Team Sonic Racing) has been very positively received by press and public alike.

So how is the latest installment? Let’s take a look!

Continue reading Team Sonic Racing: Always Better Together →

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Sunday Driving, Videos

Sunday Driving: Pudding?! You Were Always So Quirky, Brian – Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed #6

1 Comment

It’s time for another Sunday Driving session as we continue our playthrough of Sega and Sumo Digital’s wonderful Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.

We’re making good progress through the World Tour mode — it should only be another episode or two before we clear all the available events on the normal difficulty we’ve been playing them all on so far.

But what then? Hmm, we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we… Hit the jump for today’s video in the meantime!

Continue reading Sunday Driving: Pudding?! You Were Always So Quirky, Brian – Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed #6 →

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Sunday Driving, Videos

Sunday Driving: Arrow of Light – Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed #2

Leave a comment

Let’s get ready to, uh, drive!

Yes, it’s that time of the week again when I rev up my engines, grab my controller and jump into some of my favourite arcade racers from over the years. This week we’re once again continuing with Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed on PC, one of my all-time favourite kart racers, particularly for its single-player mode.

Hit the jump for the new video.

Continue reading Sunday Driving: Arrow of Light – Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed #2 →

One-Shots

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed: Driving Into Dreams

1 Comment

There have been a number of attempts to dethrone Nintendo’s Mario Kart over the years, but none of them have been successful, at least in the multiplayer sphere.

There is one aspect of Mario Kart that has pretty consistently sucked over the years, though, and that’s the single-player offering. Offering little more than predefined Grand Prix championships, one-off races or time trials even in the most recent installments, Mario Kart has always struggled to provide anything of real substance for the solo player. Which is fine, as the series has always been known for being best experienced with at least one friend, right from its inception in the 16-bit era.

This has, however, left a decent-sized gap in the market for other developers to come along and offer more robust solo experiences in kart racing titles. And one game that succeeds admirably in this regard is the cumbersomely titled Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed from Sega.

Continue reading Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed: Driving Into Dreams →