Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

[NICKtendo DS]

So Metal will only be available via DLC or in the special version, right? Is that version out yet?

The Limited/Bonus Edition (it includes a unique DLC code in the box) is the first edition to come out. It's basically an insentive for people to pre-order the game. As far as I know, the normal edition has yet to come out.
Also, unless I'm mistaking, the WiiU version is the Bonus Edition by default. Metal Sonic and OutRun Bay are on the disc itself.
There has been no straight answer as to whether Metal and OutRun Bay will be offered as paid DLC in the future, but it'd be weird if it wouldn't be the case.

[Cobalt Blue]

what ever happened to unlocking characters

[Tellis]

I always thought the general consensus on unlockable characters, especially in multiplayer-focused games, was that it was a dumb trend that you can't play as everyone in the game out of the box. Not that I really care either way, myself. I actually find unlockable stuff fun (like unlocking stages and characters in Smash Bros), but a lot of people have been pretty vocal about how much they hate it. I won't be surprised if we see less and less of it as time goes by, especially from Western developed games.

[Kriven]

I always thought the general consensus on unlockable characters, especially in multiplayer-focused games, was that it was a dumb trend that you can't play as everyone in the game out of the box. Not that I really care either way, myself. I actually find unlockable stuff fun (like unlocking stages and characters in Smash Bros), but a lot of people have been pretty vocal about how much they hate it. I won't be surprised if we see less and less of it as time goes by, especially from Western developed games.

So we'll be seeing less and less good games then?

Sounds about right.

[Ton]

I like unlocking shit.

[NICKtendo DS]

How are unlockables bad? Unlocking a character or (hidden) stage feels so satisfying.
On the subject related to the topic, I think it's great that you unlock characters as you progress through World Tour. You can get quite some characters just playing on normal, but the last character requires you to clear some on hard or expert. What's best is that not all characters are unlocked in World Tour and that you need to play Grand Prix all the way to unlock Eggman (which is coincidentially the same unlock criteria for Eggman in Sonic R).

[Dazz]

I remember getting a new Tekken game and playing through it as each character to unlock new ones. It made me play the game, learn each character, and find out which I was more comfortable with.
It also made playing single player have a purpose.

[Garamonde]

When a single-player game has multiple characters to play as, it actually gives me a real reason (other than replaying it just because of course) to play through a game I enjoyed again.
It's also fun because the character usually has their own unique abilities (for example in the MMX games I prefer Zero's fast and close sword-slashing playstyle, it feels more nimble and free, and that kind of attack style is actually better suited for some bosses), so yeah as Dazz said that's fun too.

[OverlordNext]

i LOVE unlocking characters but i heard many new games now use this DLC instead? I do not like that...

[NICKtendo DS]

i LOVE unlocking characters but i heard many new games now use this DLC instead? I do not like that...

If you're talking about an unlock-all key, then yes, that's pretty lame.
Transformed has a bunch of unlockables. Even if you'll only get a mod exclusively for 1 character when you get all stars in World Tour makes you feel you've worked towards something clearing everything on Expert.

DLC in this case is additional content not on the disc (not including Metal Sonic and OutRun Bay on the WiiU disc). More content is better, right?

Speaking of which, the voting is over in a few hours. Ryo is the big leader with 3000+ votes, which will definitely spark the attention of SEGA. Segata and Miku also passed the 3000 milestone.
In case of licensing issues, Vectorman, Bayonetta and Ristar are the current runner-ups, all of which have passed the 1000 milestone.
Aside from the mentioned characters, only Toejam & Earl has 1000+ votes.

About tracks, Steve Lycett mentioned on the SEGA forums that it takes a lot of time to make just one to be on par with the tracks already in the game. I'd be satisfied with a simple track, but when there are standards, who am I to judge? He told us that if Sumo Digital was to make another track, it wouldn't be available until April. That's a bummer. I'd pay for something as simple as a Sonic Drift track (a SNES Mario Kart track counterpart).

[Omegajak]

I dislike that Pulseman isn't a contender. Sega and Nintendo (GameFreak) have such close ties that Pulseman should be a character or have a homage.

Was he not on the voting list either or something? Or is he too obscure?

[NICKtendo DS]

I dislike that Pulseman isn't a contender. Sega and Nintendo (GameFreak) have such close ties that Pulseman should be a character or have a homage.

Was he not on the voting list either or something? Or is he too obscure?

He didn't have enough nominations in the nomination phase to make it to the list.

By the way, voting is now over. Instead of the intended 3, Steve decided to take every character that passed the 1000 milestone to present to SEGA as a response to the immensity of the campaign the fans created.
The votes are being checked for duplicates, but so far, the following will be presented to SEGA:
Shenmue - Ryo Hazuki
Vocaloid - Miku Hatsune
SEGA Saturn - Segata Sanshiro
Vectorman
Bayonetta
Ristar
ToeJam & Earl

[Helmo]

Ristar, Ryo, and Segata Sanshiro.

[Kriven]

You know, with all the water everywhere, Ecco should have a cameo somewhere.

[Cobalt Blue]

the 3 character per car formula works so well, you could put ecco with another 2 critters into the thing.

also, if they manage to get miku into the thing(most likely to happen) expect a tidal wave of attention into the game.

---

in fact, i wouldn't be surprised if they can even get mario into the game.