Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity

The Blue Blur and his friends come together for another racing game and the result plays out rather well and brings along new gravity moves available to each character but Zero Gravity is not without its problems.

It's fast, it's fun, it has a comprehensible plot and it manages to go through an entire game with no Shadow.

It's a new and improved Sonic Riders with plenty of new tracks and characters to enjoy. It's a must-have for Sonic fans and a "might-enjoy" for aces of the racing genre, especially for those who like F-Zero and Wipeout.

As a straight kart racer, Zero Gravity performs well. There's just not enough depth and content here to propel it higher. [Mar 2008, p.76]

Sega hasn't managed to deliver a truly solid title featuring the fleet-footed blue streak in quite some time, and they don't break that unfortunate streak with Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. C'mon guys, let's ramp up the effort for a video game icon!

While certainly not a bad game, Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity simply lacks refinement in a few key areas. The controls need to be tighter, and the gear change system could better implemented. Unless you’re a Sonic fan or enjoyed the first game, you need not apply.

There’s no denying the entertainment that could come from a blazing fast Sonic racing title, but the Riders franchise has tried twice, and both times failed to deliver solid control and a true sense of speed.

The controls -- namely character acceleration -- feel awkward and counterintuitive, as you're forced to hold forward on the left stick to accelerate while also trying to steer your character. The tracks are a mishmash of right angle turns and jumps that sometimes lead you down random paths, necessitating several playthroughs of each just find your way around the track.

Zero Gravity is a large step behind the first Sonic Riders and it’s still a flawed racing title that makes this a Sonic game fans of the loveable blue hedgehog should skip altogether.

Awful controls, however, ruin the experience.

The game's overall lack of content makes it one of the last things you'd want to spend 40 bucks on. Even though it manages to capture the occasional burst of Sonic speed, there isn't enough content in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity to keep you entertained for more than two or three laps.

Despite the variety and potential, at its core Zero Gravity is glitchy and little fun. [Apr 2008, p.82]

Zero Gravity sometimes feels like your racing skill doesn’t matter as much as your ability to spot new, cooler ways to get through the tracks; it’s still fun to do, but once you’ve mastered a track there’s little reason to go back to it.

One small mistake will leave you eating robbot dust. That's just not the Sonic we used to know and love. [Apr 2008, p.87]