Sonic Free Riders
Encyclopedia
is a motion control
led racing video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is the third installment in the Sonic Riders
series, following Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
. The game utilizes Microsoft's Kinect peripheral. It is a Kinect launch title, released on November 4, 2010 in North America, November 10, 2010 in Europe, November 18, 2010 in Australia and on November 20, 2010 in Japan.
or a boost that is activated by shaking a soda can. As before, characters are divided into Speed, Flight, and Power classes. Players can equip special attributes to their Gear, such as improved cornering or the ability to break through barriers, which can be changed by switching the riding stance. Players can also perform special moves if lacking in races
The game's main single player campaign is the Grand Prix mode, where players select from one of several teams of characters to play through the story. Along with Time Attack and Free Race modes, Sonic Free Riders also features a few multiplayer modes that can be played co-operatively. Tag Mode allows two players to race together, required synchronised coordination to performed combined tricks, while Relay mode, playable with up to 4 players, requires teammates to swap places after each lap. The local multiplayer supports up to two active players while online player multiplayer features one active player per console for up to 8 players. The game also supports voice recognition, allowing people to navigate menus using their voice.
The Story Mode features four available teams of three characters, and a last story.
voice actors. Like in Sonic Colors
, all the voices from 4Kids were replaced, with only Mike Pollock
remaining in the cast continuing his role as Dr. Robotnik. Although both voice language tracks are included in the game disc, there is not a proper option to switch them in any regional version. The game sets both the text and voice language by default according to the console settings language, so the only way to change it is by changing the Xbox Dashboard language settings.
gave the game a score of 7.5, calling it a strong launch title for Kinect, although criticizing the motion controls stating that they "make it hard to just jump into the game". Official Xbox Magazine
also gave it 7.5, praising the wealth of content and multiplayer options while criticizing occasional unresponsiveness in the controls. GameTrailers
gave the game a score of 4.5, panning cumbersome controls that tax the body. Brian Crecente of Kotaku
reviewed it negatively, calling it "the most broken of the Kinect titles I've played." Joystiq
gave the game 1/5 stars, calling it "the equivalent of patting your head while rubbing your stomach while riding a unicycle." Kotaku
's Crecente later reported that the responsiveness of the controls seemed to differ between persons, with fellow reviewer Stephen Totilo saying the controls worked fine for him.
Motion control
Motion control is a sub-field of automation, in which the position or velocity of machines are controlled using some type of device such as a hydraulic pump, linear actuator, or an electric motor, generally a servo...
led racing video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is the third installment in the Sonic Riders
Sonic Riders
is a video game spin-off produced by Sega and developed by Sonic Team in cooperation with NowPro, for the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC. It is the fourth racing game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, preceded by Sonic Drift, Sonic Drift 2 and Sonic R.The game was released to start...
series, following Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity released in Japan as , is a hoverboard racing video game published by Sega and developed by Sonic Team in cooperation with NowPro. It is the fifth racing game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, following Sonic Drift, Sonic Drift 2, Sonic R and its predecessor, Sonic Riders...
. The game utilizes Microsoft's Kinect peripheral. It is a Kinect launch title, released on November 4, 2010 in North America, November 10, 2010 in Europe, November 18, 2010 in Australia and on November 20, 2010 in Japan.
Gameplay
The game is controlled by using the player's body to navigate their chosen character through the course. Actions include bending their body to steer, performing kicking motions to increase speed and jumping to perform tricks which earn more boost. The player has the ability to ride bikes, which sees the player using steering motions to play. By collecting enough rings, players can increase their level during each race, which enhances their attributes. There are several power-ups and weapons which each require specific motion actions to activate, such as a missile which is thrown like a footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
or a boost that is activated by shaking a soda can. As before, characters are divided into Speed, Flight, and Power classes. Players can equip special attributes to their Gear, such as improved cornering or the ability to break through barriers, which can be changed by switching the riding stance. Players can also perform special moves if lacking in races
The game's main single player campaign is the Grand Prix mode, where players select from one of several teams of characters to play through the story. Along with Time Attack and Free Race modes, Sonic Free Riders also features a few multiplayer modes that can be played co-operatively. Tag Mode allows two players to race together, required synchronised coordination to performed combined tricks, while Relay mode, playable with up to 4 players, requires teammates to swap places after each lap. The local multiplayer supports up to two active players while online player multiplayer features one active player per console for up to 8 players. The game also supports voice recognition, allowing people to navigate menus using their voice.
Plot
Dr. Robotnik is holding a second EX World Grand Prix, offering up prizes of cash and treasure. The prizes are the Ghost Queens of Babylon. He puts four teams into the race instead of two like in the previous EX World Grand Prix, to prove who is the best. However, his true motive was to gather data from all the players to program into his E-10000G robots.The Story Mode features four available teams of three characters, and a last story.
Sound
This is one the first games where all the previous 4Kids voice actors have been replaced with StudiopolisStudiopolis
Studiopolis, Inc. is an American production company that specializes in voiceover recording and dubbing for animation, Japanese anime, and video games.They were formerly known as Studio E Productions up until 2005.-Animation:...
voice actors. Like in Sonic Colors
Sonic Colors
is a 2010 platforming game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was first announced on May 26, 2010, in a press release by Sega for Italy, and it included a teaser trailer...
, all the voices from 4Kids were replaced, with only Mike Pollock
Mike Pollock
Michael B. "Mike" Pollock , sometimes credited as Herb Lawrence, is an American voice actor, famous for playing characters in anime dubs by 4Kids Entertainment. He has appeared as the narrator for 4Kids shows like Pokémon and some promos on the original Fox Box and 4Kids TV. He is also well-known...
remaining in the cast continuing his role as Dr. Robotnik. Although both voice language tracks are included in the game disc, there is not a proper option to switch them in any regional version. The game sets both the text and voice language by default according to the console settings language, so the only way to change it is by changing the Xbox Dashboard language settings.
Reception
The game received mixed to negative reviews. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the game a score of 7.5, calling it a strong launch title for Kinect, although criticizing the motion controls stating that they "make it hard to just jump into the game". Official Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine
Official Xbox Magazine is a monthly video game magazine which started in November 2001 around the launch of the original Xbox. A preview issue was released for E3 2001, with another preview issue for November 2001. The magazine is bundled with a disc that includes game demos, preview videos and...
also gave it 7.5, praising the wealth of content and multiplayer options while criticizing occasional unresponsiveness in the controls. GameTrailers
GameTrailers
GameTrailers is a media website that specializes in video game related content. It provides free access to original programming , game trailers and recorded game play. Along with standard definition , many of the video clips are offered in a higher resolution .Users can upload videos, create...
gave the game a score of 4.5, panning cumbersome controls that tax the body. Brian Crecente of Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
reviewed it negatively, calling it "the most broken of the Kinect titles I've played." Joystiq
Joystiq
Joystiq is a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 that has since become one of the most successful sites within the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs. It is the centerpiece of WIN's own network of video gaming blogs, which also includes a blog dealing specifically with the popular MMORPG World of...
gave the game 1/5 stars, calling it "the equivalent of patting your head while rubbing your stomach while riding a unicycle." Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
's Crecente later reported that the responsiveness of the controls seemed to differ between persons, with fellow reviewer Stephen Totilo saying the controls worked fine for him.