The controls are simple enough to be picked up and played with ease by anyone, yet difficult to perfect. They've really done a fantastic job of requiring skill to truly succeed with not only racing, but weapon use and defense. Drifting for boost can involve a careful balance of throttle, stunts require timing and aren't a simple gimmick like what I've seen in newer Mario Kart games where just jumping up and down randomly gets you a boost (stunts can actually fail if timed poorly, thus slowing you down in the game). Skill in planes also rewards you for risky maneuvers - barrel rolls and flips aren't only useful for evading weapons - but they encourage risky/cool flying because you get boosts for risky behavior.
CHARACTERS/KARTS: Of the negative points made in other reviews, characters are mentioned. They are not as familiar as Nintendo - and even to Sega fans, may not be familiar. They aren't to me - as I really only recall the Sonic type characters... but I do not care what the characters look like. The "fresh" and "new-to-me" characters are welcome, whoever they are. Each character drives a different Kart, and each Kart has a unique handling style that isn't simply based on "weight" like the N64 Mario Kart days. Given the same Kart mods, there is still something unique in the way they handle and you will quickly develop favorites to choose for the various types of races depending on whether or not you need better handling for a flight challenge, speed for a timed lap race, or acceleration (among other attributes).
KART vs BOAT vs PLANE: Another point criticized in other reviews is the sense of lost speed for boats and planes. This may feel true at first when hopping into a boat, but as a boater myself... a sense of speed typically is lost on water. When all you have is blue surrounding you and no road signs or pavement texture below you passing by, it's hard to gauge how fast you're going. Just like when you're in a plane.. so arguing that a sense of speed is lost is just perception. Additionally, boats do accelerate poorly in water as they do in this game compared to Karts... so don't let your boat come to a stop (i.e. don't hit rocks). Additionally, waves play a roll - hit the waves properly, and choose gently turns to maintain speed. The boosts hit while boating or within a plane generate lots of speed - and if I were going any faster to begin with, some of the flying "ring" challenge modes would be near impossible to handle. I found the handling and control of each of these modes to be right on as well. Kart mode is awesome, boat is "fluid" and you get the sense of being tossed around if not adjusting properly - gentle turns and gradual direction changes are best for maintaining speed. Plane controls and feel works very well - left stick steers, right stick for barrel rolls and stunts... truly one of those games where the Xbox controller works with you and not against you.
GAME MODES: Single player mode is really well thought out, and unique. The progression through the game is not linear, and involves a great variety of options. It's best not to get into too many details here - just know that nothing disappoints. Multiplayer modes include battle style racing, where players are eliminated as they lose their three lives given. To win.. not all players need to be eliminated - you could also cross the finish line first (alive). There are also racing modes that keep weapons out - pure racing. Nearly any game mode can be play split screen with a friend cooperatively. I do not have a whole lot of multiplayer experience yet, which leads me to one of the few negatives - this is not a very popular game online yet. I was not able to find a game to play in late at night when I first tried. I don't know if I needed more patience because I'm used to starting up Halo 4 and finding players immediately or what. Hopefully this will change as the game gains popularity.
BALANCE (vs Mario Kart): Most weapons shoot in a straight line, requiring skill to hit targets. When hit by a weapon, your Kart doesn't come to a dead stop, and the speed loss while there isn't devastating. It can make the difference in a race, but can also usually be avoided if skilled. All shots can be blocked (technically) if you are equipped to do so. There is no stupid blue shell. Mario Kart really abuses that thing... it's sad that if you're racing a Mario Kart game and you're in first, the only way to avoid being hit is to drop out to second place (hoping they haven't launched the shell already while in first) - which jeopardizes you race since the pack may be close behind second place, and just isn't fun. It's stupid. There are two targeting like weapons in Sonic - one is somewhat rare and scrambles your controls (not much a problem if you just remember to reverse your steering), and the other a drone bot. This targets a vehicle in front of you - not first place automatically, and an indicator on your screen lets you know when it's near... so if you have a boost item or drift boost just at the right time, you can avoid it. There is a weapon that targets the lead cars, however it places objects in front of them so skilled driving around them (bees..actually) overcomes that. These more balanced approaches make for a much more fun game in my opinion. You'll more consistently place where you deserve to - as there aren't as many devastating chains of bad luck that take you from first to last.
OTHER: Polished graphics, creative tracks (landscape often changes for each lap allowing different vehicle use), shortcuts are fun along with great variety of options in track paths (the arcade demo is relatively linear, and a bad representation of this). Transformations are cool and well thought out - unique look to each character's vehicle.
There are too many good things to list, which is why this review has focused primarily on contradicting the various cons I've seen in other reviews throughout the internet.
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