Has pretty much everything you want out of a kart racer: balanced power-ups, great level design, large cast of characters, plenty of challenge, smooth online play, local multiplayer, and some fantastic visuals. If you can look past the fact that you might not recognise some of the racers then you have no reason not to give this game a try. Seriously, it's easily one of the best kart racing games ever made... it's up there with CTR, Diddy Kong Racing, and whichever Mario Kart you prefer.

I know it can be easy to write this game off. After all, how many Mario Kart clones did we see after the N64 version blew up? But instead of merely copying another franchise and putting a Sega skin over everything, you'll quickly notice that the developers genuinely tried to take full advantage of every licence they got. Putting as much detail as possible into each racer's kart and respective tracks. The tracks are really well designed; they never get too long or feel too short, they contain plenty of variety thanks to the ability to jump between car/plane/boat, and often change dramatically as the race progresses. The gameplay itself is a sweet mix of CTR and Diddy Kong Racing, but with their own unique take on the two.

The game's one weak point (outside of maybe the initial learning curve) is some of the character selection. While they do try to include plenty of female characters, a few of their choices are kinda lame side characters, but it's a minor complaint and the roster is otherwise very creative and varied. Plus the PC version has 31 (!) total characters, which is great.

If this is a style of game you enjoy or have ever enjoyed previously, I highly recommend picking this up. If you can manage to play it with friends then you are in for some competitive gaming bliss.