Playing A Game Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed PC

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed might be a great game. Hell, I've heard it compared favorably to Mario Kart, which is about as good as an arcade racing game can hope for. But I don't think I'll ever really know for sure, because for all intents and purposes, this game is unplayable.

Obviously, some people are playing this somewhere, ... somehow. But my specific "playability" requirements, which include in their entirety:

  • On a PC
  • Local multiplayer, using Xbox 360 controllers (the de facto standard for current PC games)

...are not met.

The game is clearly able to recognize my controllers, but recognition and compatibility are two different things, a distinction I don't frequently have to make. Between myself and a friend, each with our own controllers, the best we've been able to manage - through multiple attempts and several configurations, including both wired and wireless controllers - is one of us being able to control a kart in-game, while the other's controller is capable of rumble but not of control. (Several of our attempts were met with neither of us being able to control a kart, both of our characters sitting idly at the starting line.)

It's worth mentioning that controllers are configured in a separate application, an amateurish, crash-happy pile of garbage that makes Binary Domain's similar "Configuration" application look excellent in comparison.

The game has been on Steam for over a year, and it doesn't look like I'm the only one having this problem. So the only conclusion I can draw is that no one at Sega or Sumo gives a shit about this game. And if they don't, then I guess I shouldn't either.

Fortunately I got this on a super-sale, so I at least didn't waste much money on this mess -- which, again, might be a really fun game, for all I know. Well, whatever.

Rating: Awful