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This thread has been linked to the game 'Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity'.
I’m sure when you hear the name Sonic Riders Zero Gravity you turn your head in disgust. It’s hardly a big release and reviewers everywhere seem to be hating the game giving scores as low as forty percent. But this reviewer is different as he has found this to be a decent racer and one that after practice is extremely rewarding. Oddly enough it won’t be a huge flaw with the game that you need to overcome but rather the bad publicity it has gotten from the press.
In my eyes what made the original a good game was that it steered away from being a Mario Kart clone so the premise felt fresh and new. The same can be said here as the overall system itself remains intact with a few changes here and there. Unlike Mario Kart (where weapons have a big impact on racing), Sonic Riders focuses more on manoeuvring skill and management of your boosting ability. Using a hover board (which can later be turned into other modes of transport) you race over jumps, through loops and round tight corners. You can pick between three types of rider (speed who can grind rails, power who can smash objects and flying who can well... fly) giving each various routes in which they can exceed at on the track. For example sending Sonic who is using gear that only allows him to grind rails down an alley full of huge robots is a bad idea as he will get battered. But if you send Knuckles who has upgraded his gear from a board to bike you can string combos by knocking everything out of the way.
You also have a gravity bar which fills up every time you perform tricks and this is used for two special moves in the game. First up is gravity control which helps you freeze time and rotate in the air so you can navigate bends that normally would be impossible to get through without crashing. It’s a nice feature and definitely differs it from the competition out there. Then there is gravity dive which is simply a boost that you can keep going by comboing off objects you fly by. Finally another new feature is the upgrading system. Throughout each track are rings scattered for you to collect and when you have grabbed enough you can upgrade your gear increasing speed, your gravity bar or simply giving you better luck with items. It certainly adds an element of strategy to the game making decisions on what trait to upgrade first vital for victory.
But since the game is certainly fast how well do the controls work with the Wii? Well honestly they work, but not as well as they could have. While it’s nice to have three different control schemes it was obvious the Gamecube pad was going to be best as holding the remote horizontally or vertically just doesn’t feel as tight as it should. That isn’t to say it’s unplayable with the new controls because it’s not, just there is a sharper learning curve that may put some gamers off. 2 button operates jumping, 1 is “Gravity Break”, tilting is steering and a quick shake of the remote activates you “Gravity Dive” The controls are simple and with practice do work.
The story mode is split into two (Heroes and Babylon) and each feature around six or seven races with the goal being to come first every time. Each track is loosely tied with some cutscenes to develop the story but it’s so poorly told and boring you’ll end up skipping it. Once you have completed the story you are then given seven missions for every track you raced on. These contain objectives like completing a lap in a certain time and collecting XXX amount of rings to performing tricks worth so many points or destroying XX amount of vases. They are a nice variation and make a change from simply focusing on making pole position. If there is one downside however, it’s that missions make an all too familiar appearance. Collecting rings appears in every track and racing three other buddies/enemies is thrown at you too often. Fighting bosses, trying to collect as many gravity points as possible are great fun and it’s a shame that more random experiences like these aren’t used more.
Grand Prix is similar to the story mode playing two sets of six tracks in a Mario Kart style league system with your reward being a gold cup and rings for first place. Then there is time trial for those of you who love racing your previous attempts and perfecting laps. Survival mode offers three options that include a football style game but with the difference being you’re on boards, a team relay and finally a battle mode where attacking your foes with gravity breaks and weapons is the key to victory. While not the greatest multiplayer element of the game it’s certainly a change from flat out racing. Online play is included but disappointingly it is only leaderboards. Come on Sega you’ve yet to give us proper online play in a game and we’re getting bored of waiting.
As far as unlockable content goes your covered too with loads of characters, rides and tracks to uncover so those of you who love to get every little bit of content in a game are set here.
A racing game can fall flat on its face if the tracks aren’t up to scratch and luckily Zero Gravity doesn’t disappoint. There are plenty of loops to fly through and perfect opportunities to use gravity to its advantage. The multiple paths are also a great touch meaning you won’t see everything on your first few goes. I’m still discovering new paths now! However there are only sixteen of them and half are based on the first eight with changes here and there which while make it seem slightly new still reek of familiarity which is a shame. Sixteen totally different tracks would have been better.
Graphically the game looks very impressive with design being the key component here. Character models are nice and solid while the tracks themselves have a decent amount of detail in them too pushing the Wii’s hardware a little at times. While the environments aren’t anything new, (there are still snowy, jungle and temple levels here) what is creative is the way Sega mesh those old stereotypical surroundings with futuristic, mechanical areas. While you will be racing through jungles and water paradises, it is nicely blended with advanced bio domes and water shoots giving the game a unique look.
Sonic music is known for it’s over the top cheesy rock tunes and don’t get me wrong I like them. They suit the pace and feel of the game and I don’t mind if they stay that way, but in Zero Gravity the audio steps away from this area and instead boasts some techno-style beats that are great too. Tunes are delivered a little differently with “Gravity Dives” initiating new instrumental sections that layer over the previous rhythm (a la SSX Blur) creating some excellent music tracks that develop as you play. The character voices aren’t too bad either. While you have racers like Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow that all sound great and actually cool for once you also have the likes of Tails, Wave and Amy who ruin it with their cringe worthy high pitched childlike voices. Sound effects are great though and one cool feature I liked was the noise as you enter a gravity control or dive and all music fades out leaving a slow blurring noise as if time is slowing.
Another high note is the fact that there is so much to do in this game. Collecting rings throughout races total up and can be spend on new gear which alone will take ages to purchase everything. Then there is getting the best grades in mission mode and online leaderboards. Plus a multiplayer for up to four people which works really well for racing but is too confusing for the survival modes.
What's wrong with the game though. Well the controls could be better, the tracks would have been preferred to be all new rather than repeats of past ones with small changes, missions more varied and sometimes that sense of speed can be lost at times especially on straight roads. Also I guess if you're a Sonic fan the retro environments like Green Hill will be missed with a new futuristic setting taking its place. Plus no online play Sega! Shame on you!
I urge you not to overlook this title because of what you’ve heard. Give it a chance and you’ll uncover a fast paced game that may have its fair share of flaws, but still offers an experience that is great fun and definitely unique. A surprisingly solid effort.
79%
In my eyes what made the original a good game was that it steered away from being a Mario Kart clone so the premise felt fresh and new. The same can be said here as the overall system itself remains intact with a few changes here and there. Unlike Mario Kart (where weapons have a big impact on racing), Sonic Riders focuses more on manoeuvring skill and management of your boosting ability. Using a hover board (which can later be turned into other modes of transport) you race over jumps, through loops and round tight corners. You can pick between three types of rider (speed who can grind rails, power who can smash objects and flying who can well... fly) giving each various routes in which they can exceed at on the track. For example sending Sonic who is using gear that only allows him to grind rails down an alley full of huge robots is a bad idea as he will get battered. But if you send Knuckles who has upgraded his gear from a board to bike you can string combos by knocking everything out of the way.
You also have a gravity bar which fills up every time you perform tricks and this is used for two special moves in the game. First up is gravity control which helps you freeze time and rotate in the air so you can navigate bends that normally would be impossible to get through without crashing. It’s a nice feature and definitely differs it from the competition out there. Then there is gravity dive which is simply a boost that you can keep going by comboing off objects you fly by. Finally another new feature is the upgrading system. Throughout each track are rings scattered for you to collect and when you have grabbed enough you can upgrade your gear increasing speed, your gravity bar or simply giving you better luck with items. It certainly adds an element of strategy to the game making decisions on what trait to upgrade first vital for victory.
But since the game is certainly fast how well do the controls work with the Wii? Well honestly they work, but not as well as they could have. While it’s nice to have three different control schemes it was obvious the Gamecube pad was going to be best as holding the remote horizontally or vertically just doesn’t feel as tight as it should. That isn’t to say it’s unplayable with the new controls because it’s not, just there is a sharper learning curve that may put some gamers off. 2 button operates jumping, 1 is “Gravity Break”, tilting is steering and a quick shake of the remote activates you “Gravity Dive” The controls are simple and with practice do work.
The story mode is split into two (Heroes and Babylon) and each feature around six or seven races with the goal being to come first every time. Each track is loosely tied with some cutscenes to develop the story but it’s so poorly told and boring you’ll end up skipping it. Once you have completed the story you are then given seven missions for every track you raced on. These contain objectives like completing a lap in a certain time and collecting XXX amount of rings to performing tricks worth so many points or destroying XX amount of vases. They are a nice variation and make a change from simply focusing on making pole position. If there is one downside however, it’s that missions make an all too familiar appearance. Collecting rings appears in every track and racing three other buddies/enemies is thrown at you too often. Fighting bosses, trying to collect as many gravity points as possible are great fun and it’s a shame that more random experiences like these aren’t used more.
Grand Prix is similar to the story mode playing two sets of six tracks in a Mario Kart style league system with your reward being a gold cup and rings for first place. Then there is time trial for those of you who love racing your previous attempts and perfecting laps. Survival mode offers three options that include a football style game but with the difference being you’re on boards, a team relay and finally a battle mode where attacking your foes with gravity breaks and weapons is the key to victory. While not the greatest multiplayer element of the game it’s certainly a change from flat out racing. Online play is included but disappointingly it is only leaderboards. Come on Sega you’ve yet to give us proper online play in a game and we’re getting bored of waiting.
As far as unlockable content goes your covered too with loads of characters, rides and tracks to uncover so those of you who love to get every little bit of content in a game are set here.
A racing game can fall flat on its face if the tracks aren’t up to scratch and luckily Zero Gravity doesn’t disappoint. There are plenty of loops to fly through and perfect opportunities to use gravity to its advantage. The multiple paths are also a great touch meaning you won’t see everything on your first few goes. I’m still discovering new paths now! However there are only sixteen of them and half are based on the first eight with changes here and there which while make it seem slightly new still reek of familiarity which is a shame. Sixteen totally different tracks would have been better.
Graphically the game looks very impressive with design being the key component here. Character models are nice and solid while the tracks themselves have a decent amount of detail in them too pushing the Wii’s hardware a little at times. While the environments aren’t anything new, (there are still snowy, jungle and temple levels here) what is creative is the way Sega mesh those old stereotypical surroundings with futuristic, mechanical areas. While you will be racing through jungles and water paradises, it is nicely blended with advanced bio domes and water shoots giving the game a unique look.
Sonic music is known for it’s over the top cheesy rock tunes and don’t get me wrong I like them. They suit the pace and feel of the game and I don’t mind if they stay that way, but in Zero Gravity the audio steps away from this area and instead boasts some techno-style beats that are great too. Tunes are delivered a little differently with “Gravity Dives” initiating new instrumental sections that layer over the previous rhythm (a la SSX Blur) creating some excellent music tracks that develop as you play. The character voices aren’t too bad either. While you have racers like Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow that all sound great and actually cool for once you also have the likes of Tails, Wave and Amy who ruin it with their cringe worthy high pitched childlike voices. Sound effects are great though and one cool feature I liked was the noise as you enter a gravity control or dive and all music fades out leaving a slow blurring noise as if time is slowing.
Another high note is the fact that there is so much to do in this game. Collecting rings throughout races total up and can be spend on new gear which alone will take ages to purchase everything. Then there is getting the best grades in mission mode and online leaderboards. Plus a multiplayer for up to four people which works really well for racing but is too confusing for the survival modes.
What's wrong with the game though. Well the controls could be better, the tracks would have been preferred to be all new rather than repeats of past ones with small changes, missions more varied and sometimes that sense of speed can be lost at times especially on straight roads. Also I guess if you're a Sonic fan the retro environments like Green Hill will be missed with a new futuristic setting taking its place. Plus no online play Sega! Shame on you!
I urge you not to overlook this title because of what you’ve heard. Give it a chance and you’ll uncover a fast paced game that may have its fair share of flaws, but still offers an experience that is great fun and definitely unique. A surprisingly solid effort.
79%
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I’m sure when you hear the name Sonic Riders Zero Gravity you turn your head in disgust. It’s hardly a big release and reviewers everywhere seem to be hating the game giving scores as low as forty percent. But this reviewer is different as he has found this to be a decent racer and one that after practice is extremely rewarding. Oddly enough it won’t be a huge flaw with the game that you need to overcome but rather the bad publicity it has gotten from the press.
In my eyes what made the original a good game was that it steered away from being a Mario Kart clone so the premise felt fresh and new. The same can be said here as the overall system itself remains intact with a few changes here and there. Unlike Mario Kart (where weapons have a big impact on racing), Sonic Riders focuses more on manoeuvring skill and management of your boosting ability. Using a hover board (which can later be turned into other modes of transport) you race over jumps, through loops and round tight corners. You can pick between three types of rider (speed who can grind rails, power who can smash objects and flying who can well... fly) giving each various routes in which they can exceed at on the track. For example sending Sonic who is using gear that only allows him to grind rails down an alley full of huge robots is a bad idea as he will get battered. But if you send Knuckles who has upgraded his gear from a board to bike you can string combos by knocking everything out of the way.
You also have a gravity bar which fills up every time you perform tricks and this is used for two special moves in the game. First up is gravity control which helps you freeze time and rotate in the air so you can navigate bends that normally would be impossible to get through without crashing. It’s a nice feature and definitely differs it from the competition out there. Then there is gravity dive which is simply a boost that you can keep going by comboing off objects you fly by. Finally another new feature is the upgrading system. Throughout each track are rings scattered for you to collect and when you have grabbed enough you can upgrade your gear increasing speed, your gravity bar or simply giving you better luck with items. It certainly adds an element of strategy to the game making decisions on what trait to upgrade first vital for victory.
But since the game is certainly fast how well do the controls work with the Wii? Well honestly they work, but not as well as they could have. While it’s nice to have three different control schemes it was obvious the Gamecube pad was going to be best as holding the remote horizontally or vertically just doesn’t feel as tight as it should. That isn’t to say it’s unplayable with the new controls because it’s not, just there is a sharper learning curve that may put some gamers off. 2 button operates jumping, 1 is “Gravity Break”, tilting is steering and a quick shake of the remote activates you “Gravity Dive” The controls are simple and with practice do work.
The story mode is split into two (Heroes and Babylon) and each feature around six or seven races with the goal being to come first every time. Each track is loosely tied with some cutscenes to develop the story but it’s so poorly told and boring you’ll end up skipping it. Once you have completed the story you are then given seven missions for every track you raced on. These contain objectives like completing a lap in a certain time and collecting XXX amount of rings to performing tricks worth so many points or destroying XX amount of vases. They are a nice variation and make a change from simply focusing on making pole position. If there is one downside however, it’s that missions make an all too familiar appearance. Collecting rings appears in every track and racing three other buddies/enemies is thrown at you too often. Fighting bosses, trying to collect as many gravity points as possible are great fun and it’s a shame that more random experiences like these aren’t used more.
Grand Prix is similar to the story mode playing two sets of six tracks in a Mario Kart style league system with your reward being a gold cup and rings for first place. Then there is time trial for those of you who love racing your previous attempts and perfecting laps. Survival mode offers three options that include a football style game but with the difference being you’re on boards, a team relay and finally a battle mode where attacking your foes with gravity breaks and weapons is the key to victory. While not the greatest multiplayer element of the game it’s certainly a change from flat out racing. Online play is included but disappointingly it is only leaderboards. Come on Sega you’ve yet to give us proper online play in a game and we’re getting bored of waiting.
As far as unlockable content goes your covered too with loads of characters, rides and tracks to uncover so those of you who love to get every little bit of content in a game are set here.
A racing game can fall flat on its face if the tracks aren’t up to scratch and luckily Zero Gravity doesn’t disappoint. There are plenty of loops to fly through and perfect opportunities to use gravity to its advantage. The multiple paths are also a great touch meaning you won’t see everything on your first few goes. I’m still discovering new paths now! However there are only sixteen of them and half are based on the first eight with changes here and there which while make it seem slightly new still reek of familiarity which is a shame. Sixteen totally different tracks would have been better.
Graphically the game looks very impressive with design being the key component here. Character models are nice and solid while the tracks themselves have a decent amount of detail in them too pushing the Wii’s hardware a little at times. While the environments aren’t anything new, (there are still snowy, jungle and temple levels here) what is creative is the way Sega mesh those old stereotypical surroundings with futuristic, mechanical areas. While you will be racing through jungles and water paradises, it is nicely blended with advanced bio domes and water shoots giving the game a unique look.
Sonic music is known for it’s over the top cheesy rock tunes and don’t get me wrong I like them. They suit the pace and feel of the game and I don’t mind if they stay that way, but in Zero Gravity the audio steps away from this area and instead boasts some techno-style beats that are great too. Tunes are delivered a little differently with “Gravity Dives” initiating new instrumental sections that layer over the previous rhythm (a la SSX Blur) creating some excellent music tracks that develop as you play. The character voices aren’t too bad either. While you have racers like Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow that all sound great and actually cool for once you also have the likes of Tails, Wave and Amy who ruin it with their cringe worthy high pitched childlike voices. Sound effects are great though and one cool feature I liked was the noise as you enter a gravity control or dive and all music fades out leaving a slow blurring noise as if time is slowing.
Another high note is the fact that there is so much to do in this game. Collecting rings throughout races total up and can be spend on new gear which alone will take ages to purchase everything. Then there is getting the best grades in mission mode and online leaderboards. Plus a multiplayer for up to four people which works really well for racing but is too confusing for the survival modes.
What's wrong with the game though. Well the controls could be better, the tracks would have been preferred to be all new rather than repeats of past ones with small changes, missions more varied and sometimes that sense of speed can be lost at times especially on straight roads. Also I guess if you're a Sonic fan the retro environments like Green Hill will be missed with a new futuristic setting taking its place. Plus no online play Sega! Shame on you!
I urge you not to overlook this title because of what you’ve heard. Give it a chance and you’ll uncover a fast paced game that may have its fair share of flaws, but still offers an experience that is great fun and definitely unique. A surprisingly solid effort.
79%
In my eyes what made the original a good game was that it steered away from being a Mario Kart clone so the premise felt fresh and new. The same can be said here as the overall system itself remains intact with a few changes here and there. Unlike Mario Kart (where weapons have a big impact on racing), Sonic Riders focuses more on manoeuvring skill and management of your boosting ability. Using a hover board (which can later be turned into other modes of transport) you race over jumps, through loops and round tight corners. You can pick between three types of rider (speed who can grind rails, power who can smash objects and flying who can well... fly) giving each various routes in which they can exceed at on the track. For example sending Sonic who is using gear that only allows him to grind rails down an alley full of huge robots is a bad idea as he will get battered. But if you send Knuckles who has upgraded his gear from a board to bike you can string combos by knocking everything out of the way.
You also have a gravity bar which fills up every time you perform tricks and this is used for two special moves in the game. First up is gravity control which helps you freeze time and rotate in the air so you can navigate bends that normally would be impossible to get through without crashing. It’s a nice feature and definitely differs it from the competition out there. Then there is gravity dive which is simply a boost that you can keep going by comboing off objects you fly by. Finally another new feature is the upgrading system. Throughout each track are rings scattered for you to collect and when you have grabbed enough you can upgrade your gear increasing speed, your gravity bar or simply giving you better luck with items. It certainly adds an element of strategy to the game making decisions on what trait to upgrade first vital for victory.
But since the game is certainly fast how well do the controls work with the Wii? Well honestly they work, but not as well as they could have. While it’s nice to have three different control schemes it was obvious the Gamecube pad was going to be best as holding the remote horizontally or vertically just doesn’t feel as tight as it should. That isn’t to say it’s unplayable with the new controls because it’s not, just there is a sharper learning curve that may put some gamers off. 2 button operates jumping, 1 is “Gravity Break”, tilting is steering and a quick shake of the remote activates you “Gravity Dive” The controls are simple and with practice do work.
The story mode is split into two (Heroes and Babylon) and each feature around six or seven races with the goal being to come first every time. Each track is loosely tied with some cutscenes to develop the story but it’s so poorly told and boring you’ll end up skipping it. Once you have completed the story you are then given seven missions for every track you raced on. These contain objectives like completing a lap in a certain time and collecting XXX amount of rings to performing tricks worth so many points or destroying XX amount of vases. They are a nice variation and make a change from simply focusing on making pole position. If there is one downside however, it’s that missions make an all too familiar appearance. Collecting rings appears in every track and racing three other buddies/enemies is thrown at you too often. Fighting bosses, trying to collect as many gravity points as possible are great fun and it’s a shame that more random experiences like these aren’t used more.
Grand Prix is similar to the story mode playing two sets of six tracks in a Mario Kart style league system with your reward being a gold cup and rings for first place. Then there is time trial for those of you who love racing your previous attempts and perfecting laps. Survival mode offers three options that include a football style game but with the difference being you’re on boards, a team relay and finally a battle mode where attacking your foes with gravity breaks and weapons is the key to victory. While not the greatest multiplayer element of the game it’s certainly a change from flat out racing. Online play is included but disappointingly it is only leaderboards. Come on Sega you’ve yet to give us proper online play in a game and we’re getting bored of waiting.
As far as unlockable content goes your covered too with loads of characters, rides and tracks to uncover so those of you who love to get every little bit of content in a game are set here.
A racing game can fall flat on its face if the tracks aren’t up to scratch and luckily Zero Gravity doesn’t disappoint. There are plenty of loops to fly through and perfect opportunities to use gravity to its advantage. The multiple paths are also a great touch meaning you won’t see everything on your first few goes. I’m still discovering new paths now! However there are only sixteen of them and half are based on the first eight with changes here and there which while make it seem slightly new still reek of familiarity which is a shame. Sixteen totally different tracks would have been better.
Graphically the game looks very impressive with design being the key component here. Character models are nice and solid while the tracks themselves have a decent amount of detail in them too pushing the Wii’s hardware a little at times. While the environments aren’t anything new, (there are still snowy, jungle and temple levels here) what is creative is the way Sega mesh those old stereotypical surroundings with futuristic, mechanical areas. While you will be racing through jungles and water paradises, it is nicely blended with advanced bio domes and water shoots giving the game a unique look.
Sonic music is known for it’s over the top cheesy rock tunes and don’t get me wrong I like them. They suit the pace and feel of the game and I don’t mind if they stay that way, but in Zero Gravity the audio steps away from this area and instead boasts some techno-style beats that are great too. Tunes are delivered a little differently with “Gravity Dives” initiating new instrumental sections that layer over the previous rhythm (a la SSX Blur) creating some excellent music tracks that develop as you play. The character voices aren’t too bad either. While you have racers like Sonic, Knuckles and Shadow that all sound great and actually cool for once you also have the likes of Tails, Wave and Amy who ruin it with their cringe worthy high pitched childlike voices. Sound effects are great though and one cool feature I liked was the noise as you enter a gravity control or dive and all music fades out leaving a slow blurring noise as if time is slowing.
Another high note is the fact that there is so much to do in this game. Collecting rings throughout races total up and can be spend on new gear which alone will take ages to purchase everything. Then there is getting the best grades in mission mode and online leaderboards. Plus a multiplayer for up to four people which works really well for racing but is too confusing for the survival modes.
What's wrong with the game though. Well the controls could be better, the tracks would have been preferred to be all new rather than repeats of past ones with small changes, missions more varied and sometimes that sense of speed can be lost at times especially on straight roads. Also I guess if you're a Sonic fan the retro environments like Green Hill will be missed with a new futuristic setting taking its place. Plus no online play Sega! Shame on you!
I urge you not to overlook this title because of what you’ve heard. Give it a chance and you’ll uncover a fast paced game that may have its fair share of flaws, but still offers an experience that is great fun and definitely unique. A surprisingly solid effort.
79%