Sonic Riders

The SEGA hardcore will be pleased to know that Sonic Team has not skimped on the license. In addition to a story mode, the title boasts a massive selection of old and new mascots, including everyone from Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose, Jet the Hawk, Storm the Albatross, and Wave the Swallow to Dr. Eggman, Shadow the Hedgehog, Rogue the Bat, Cream the Rabbit, Robo 1 and Robo 2. Gamers can also use collected rings to shop for new snowboarding gear for their favorite characters, extending replay value.
Really, though, Riders is all about the fast and unpredictable races and Sonic Team has done a solid job of delivering on speed and anarchy. As in any racer, the main objective is to finish ahead of any competitor, but Riders serves up a few twists, some of them literal. The mascots hop onto hovering boards and blaze through courses, spitting out the occasional trick, grinding the rare rail, and catching air when the opportunity arises. There is a shallow, but enjoyable trick system in place. Gamers need only press in a given direction to execute in-air moves and then land for more points. Players looking for any extra depth in the setup, however, will find themselves very disappointed. Sonic and friends can execute speed bursts to catch opponents and for added air time, which adds welcomed flexibility in matches. The downside is that using too much boost causes the characters to run out of energy and they'll need to stop for a recharge, a tedious, unnecessary process that slows the racing experience.
The game introduces a unique turbulence system, which enables riders to literally surf the wind trails of their competitors. It's a refreshing idea and it's made more enjoyable by the fact that tricks can be executed and linked into combos between different turbulence systems. Some level of skill is additionally required to identify the turbulences, ride and link them. If there's a drawback to this element, it's that the wind trails tend to play the racer for gamers. Once inside a turbulence system, participants could set their controllers down and advance anyway.
Sonic Team has done respectable work of mixing up the levels. Riders will race through everything from a futuristic Metal City and Splash Canyon to Dr. Eggman's Factory, a lush jungle known as Green Cave, and even some Sand Ruins. The variety is commendable. That noted, we think the studio missed an opportunity with the design of the courses, which as a whole lack the twisting corkscrews and loop-de-loops that have rocketed Sonic the Hedgehog to stardom. There are also occasional camera issues to contend with despite the fact that the action is mostly forward moving. We have to also note that we kept wondering why SEGA didn't simply contract Amusement Vision, which made the spectacular F-Zero GX, to design this racer? The F-Zero engine - everything from sense of speed to control and graphics - is well beyond the code serving Riders.