I’ve been told that it’s more playable with a GameCube controller plugged-in but a) I don’t have one to hand and b) call me strange, but shouldn’t a game work properly with this system’s default controller? I hoped this was something I’d adjust to with time, but several hours into the game I started to suspect that it might not be all me, but that the controls simply aren’t sensitive enough to cope with the game’s twisting tracks. Unfortunately, here the controls don’t work so well – half the time you’re tilting the remote almost vertical to get around a corner, the other half you’re over-correcting and bouncing from wall to wall to wall. You control the game ExciteTruck style, holding the Wii remote horizontally and tilting it left and right to move left and right and forwards and backwards to accelerate and brake. Unfortunately (for me) I have played the thing, and it’s only when you have the controller in your hands that Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity falls apart. If I hadn’t actually played the thing, I might think it was a decent enough title for the kids. The music is also pretty good if you’re a fan of the silly Sonic school of eighties Rock. The graphics aren’t exactly stunning – I could have been told that this was a 2004 GameCube game and only the odd water effect would have made me bat an eyelid – but a few of the tracks have spectacular stretches, and the character modelling and animation is up to the usual Sonic standard (albeit not the standard of the Wii-specific Sonic and the Secret Rings, which remains the Hedgehog’s most visually attractive game). Now, I’m guessing that all this stuff sounded good during the briefings, meetings and presentations that must have taken place early on in the development cycle, and in many respects Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity is a perfectly competent game. What this actually means in practice is that a) your rider can press a button to activate a kind of slingshot device which enables you to brake and catapult him or her around tight corners and b) by storing gravity points through the correct use of stunts, he can also employ a ‘gravity dive’ speed boost, which throws objects out of the way and propels you at high speed above the track. The big thing this time around is Sonic’s discovery of a peculiar object that enables the team to harness the powers of gravity. Nor is the Zero Gravity subtitle just for show. On the subject of these, each track is packed with them, some being simple side-passages, others being complex sequences of bumpers, jumps and swings that can give you an instant leap on your rivals. Sonic riders zero gravity characters list upgrade#Also, by collecting gold rings you can upgrade your ride on the fly, enhancing specific attributes or opening up new routes through the course. First, our chaps can pull stunts over the many jumps on the course – timing the press of the stunt button gives you different results and different rankings. Obviously the fact that our heroes are riding on hoverboards gives the game a little more spice than the average cookie-cutter Kart game, but Sega hasn’t been afraid to ring further changes. Come second, third or anywhere after that, and it’s back to the restart menu for another crack. Come first and it’s onto the next stage of the adventure. Taking to the air above a selection of tracks on hoverboards, each member of the team has his or her own chance to shine in a race against the robot menace. Basically, Sonic and his mates get embroiled in mysterious goings-on with meteorites and a sinister robot factory, and the only way they’ll get to the bottom of it all is through the unusual investigative medium of racing. While manufacturers of similar kiddie-friendly efforts are content to stick a bunch of cutesy characters on a collection of generically themed tracks, Sega has actually gone to considerable effort to add new features to the gameplay and frame it all with a story. Nobody could have intended this game to have come out this way. This year Sega releases a Wii sequel, but this time it’s not merely average or uninspiring. Sonic riders zero gravity characters list plus#Last year Sega released Sonic Riders – a rather mediocre attempt at combining the general style of the kiddie Kart racer with hoverboards, stunts and a certain well-known hedgehog plus entourage. Well, I guess this is progress of a sort.
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