Aussie Ninja becomes a rider on the storm
Publisher: Sega/THQ Australia
Sat, 28 October 2006
by: Australian Ninja
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Sometimes I wonder just how many people watched Back to the Future Part Two. I mean did they invent hover boards in that movie, or did hover boards predate the film? I don't know. Maybe hover boards have been around since the time of the Dinosaurs until they all died of a horrific and foolish accident in the first 'Extreme Downhill Dinosaur Hoverboard X-Game Championships'.
Which brings me to Sonic Riders (sort of). Truly this is a mighty pretty game, which is all about a group of cute human-like animals, which talk in funny voices and race around a variety of courses, on Marty McFly-esque futuristic hover boards, in exotic locations.
Overall, Sonic Riders was a game that left me wanting a little more. My initial impressions about it being a 'Kart style' game proved to be somewhat inaccurate. It is very similar, in many respects, to the 'kart racing' genre; with short courses, high speed, turbo boosts etc. But there are no conventional "kart racing" kinds power-ups included in this one. So despite how it looks, this really must be described as... a racing game, on hover boards that move like snowboards, with some odd jumps and cool course design. Yeah, that'll do.
 | | Tails is known for his ability to hover in the air. So naturally he'd feel a need to ride on a hoverboard.... |
As you race, you have a bar that determines how long you can go at max speed. If it runs down [and it will] your character will get off their board and walk until it recovers, or you go into a 'Wipeout style' recharge point. (Sammy's note: Or - to give some credit to the originator - 'F-Zero style')
Various boards can be obtained by earning money via racing. The extra boards will allow for special abilities - like going faster, or bigger jumps and stuff. But no 'one board to rule them all' exists, as different courses will require different strategies.
The characters in the Sonic Riders, I definitely liked. The usual gang of anthropomorphic animals are present: Sonic, Amy, Tails, and Knuckles. In addition, some other goons are here; who are more 'bad attitude' than genuinely evil or anything. Like the 'dark' team in the Sonic Heroes series, basically a bunch of characters set up as rivals for the 'heroes' to compete against. The 'cool' factor of Sonic is kept intact, with the gang riding in their (obviously snowboard inspired) hover boards and wearing big snowboarding goggles on their foreheads. Tails in particular really suits the look. He should probably join Lenny Kravitz's band.
Some split screen racing is in the game for 1-4 players. There are also some battle type mini-games, but they were so god awful that I'd rather pretend they didn't exist and never speak of them again.
Graphically, Sonic Riders is a very pretty effort. In fact, some of the courses can, at times, be breathtaking in their 'natural' beauty. Desert, forest, water etc are executed with visual flair and mainly look stunning. The music that accompanies is suitably fast paced and catchy, as well as being really unique to each themed location. The game's sounds also integrates well with the level themes and art style. All together the highly polished presentation maintains a consistent vibe that is very suitable for a Sonic game.
Sonic The Hedgehog is a character who's appeared in tons of games, a multitude of comics and animated shows; there have also been a huge amount of toys and merchandise with his name/ face slapped on them. A good portion of those products are of a reasonable quality, a few are brilliant and a large percentage are best forgotten.
Sonic Riders leans more towards the mediocre end of that spectrum, but it is still at least of decent quality. With the sheer number of Sonic games made, it's no surprise they are not all as exciting as the original on Mega Drive, or even Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast. The only really decent modern Sonic games, in my mind, have been the GBA and DS platformers. Even those (while good fun) have not quite been up to the standards set by the classic Mega Drive games. Speaking of which, if you know what's good for you, you should really buy Sonic Mega Collection.
Basically, Sonic Riders is the kind of game that younger kids would probably enjoy. Or casual gamers, who just want something to play for a bit, but aren't too bothered by what it is they spend that bit of time playing. Long term Sonic fans [myself included] will patiently wait for the hopeful resurrection of the Sonic we knew so many years ago. The Sonic that was exciting, joyful, full of wonder and ran so damn fast you got giddy just watching him. (Sammy's 2nd note: After playing the Xbox 360 Sonic The Hedgehog game demo, I now believe that we may just see the return of the "real" Sonic, when that game gets released)
 | | If Mario could run at hyper fast speeds, like Sonic or Knuckles, would he then still bother with using a kart for racing? |
The basic racing in Sonic Riders is really fun in short bursts - except, that is, for the stupid bar that runs out and makes you walk. Quite simply, if that feature was dropped it would improve the game. The courses certainly do look really cool and are so dynamic and interesting race on, or just watch, that I couldn't help but be impressed. Riding in the slipstream of the characters in front of you is damn cool, and along with the jumps allows for great tricks in the air.
So, Sonic Riders really does have some fun moments, but overall the gameplay is merely average. The racing model is okay, but the game needed more variety and additional features to keep the player's interest for longer. The things that let the game down the most are the lack of variety [racing modes] and the frustration caused by an overly high difficulty level. It is much too tough to succeed in this game, especially as it otherwise seems to be more geared towards younger and/or less experienced 'casual' gamers.
All up, we have a less than stellar game, which can be quite fun for a few goes every now and then. It also features some pretty courses and the fastest hedgehog alive on a hover board. Oh yeah, there is a storyline in there somewhere too - mostly just fluff, with the usual CG cut scenes and talking heads. However, Sonic Riders also has a sweet Anime intro, with Sonic and pals rocking out on their boards and cool music. I really liked that part.
by: Australian Ninja
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Cool characters and course design, very nice graphics, average racing, sweet Anime intro. | |
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