Post by Pilgrim John on Aug 2, 2006 12:04:40 GMT -5
Sonic Riders
For Gamecube, PS2, and Xbox (Gamecube version reviewed)
ESRB: E
PLAYERS: 1-4
DEVELOPER: SEGA/SonicTeam
Sonic has had a pretty bad rep with racing games, and it’s no wonder. The Sonic Drift games for the Gamegear were some of the worst (and most nauseating) racing games made. And despite its merits, Sonic R was downright pathetic. At this point, everybody believes that the little blue speedster that could should just give up entirely on mascot-racing games. After all, that kind of thing is better left to plumbers, right?
Well, SonicTeam has challenged that notion yet again—releasing Sonic’s fourth entry into the mascot-racing scene. Let’s see if they can get it right this time.
GRAPHICS:
Well, Sonic has never been a slouch whenever it comes to graphics—and Sonic Riders doesn’t disappoint. The environments you race in have been created with every utmost detail that the three current consoles can muster. Good luck actually trying to sight-see, though—this game is FAST. F-Zero GX fast. You heard me right. If it’s one thing this game has over Mario Kart, it’s the sheer sense of speed that would cause Captain Falcon to shed a tear of joy.
The character models are also pretty well-detailed—despite the fact that they’re just cartoon animals and robots. The character redesigns are still kind of funky, though. Hey, Sonic! Ronald McDonald just called; he wants his shoes back!
And, of course… The opening anime cutscene. Your inner otaku weeps with blubbering joy. I’ll have to admit, this might not be the first game with an opening anime cutscene, but it’s still pretty damn well-made. The cutscene, I mean.
GAMEPLAY:
And now, the bad news. The gameplay’s goal here is pretty standard racing: Always try your hardest to come in first, and slam whomever gets in your to get there. Unfortunately, the gameplay itself has a very, very, VERY steep learning curve.
The shoulder buttons help you slide to the left and right in order to bypass corners, which almost always ends up being more of a hit-or-miss. There’s no “Acceleration button”—you have to hold up on the left thumbstick to accelerate. Pressing the B Button gives you a speed boost. Speed boosts cost air (that's your fuel), and when you run out, your speed goes way south. Got all that? Good.
Now, the strange parts: when you jump off a ramp, you can spin the thumbstick in any direction to perform tricks, which is meant to refill your Air Gauge. However, this might sound easy on paper, but they aren't once you try to do them. You have to do it precisely right, or else, you'll land on your face and lose your speed.
Also, when you boost or when someone else boosts, you create some kind of airwave that you can ride on like a halfpipe. You’ll see arrows that point upwards on each side, implying that you should ride up that way—doing so will allow you to perform tricks that increase speed and refill your air gauge. Also, riding airwaves that other characters create provides some shortcuts past sharp turns. Boosting will also cause these airwaves to come into form.
See? Lots of things here that are supposed to make the game fun, but it sounds more like it’s just plain complicated, and it is. It takes a lot of time to get used to the gameplay, even more so to master it. As a matter of fact, this is not a game for the impatient.
Tight gameplay is very important with videogames, and it’s something that Sonic Riders seriously needs help with. I’m not saying that it isn’t fun (Because after you DO get used to it, it’s pretty cool), I’m saying it’s just too damn hard for people to get used to. If you can overcome the frustration that the gameplay’s learning curve gives you, you have officially earned my respect.
However, the game is much more fun with friends. Of course, it isn’t as much of a party game as Mario Kart is, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it isn’t a good way to spend an afternoon together.
Also, before I forget, the unlockables: By meeting certain criteria, you can unlock new story chapters, new “Extreme Gear” (The little boards you ride on) which you buy with your accumulated Rings, and even secret characters. There’s one character that I’m dying to spill but… Let’s just say he’s come out of your dreams to race against Sonic.
MUSIC & SOUND:
Ah, Sonic music… Always catchy. This game doesn’t disappoint in the “Songs You Wanna Hum Along To” category, like most other Sonic games. However, with every cool, snappy song, you get stupid, crappy voicework.
4KIDS Entertainment comes back with a vengeance after Shadow the Hedgehog’s audio train wreck. If you thought Shadow’s acting was bad, Sonic Rider’s is even worse. It’s bad enough that Sonic and his friends can’t get any decent actors, but the newcomers (The Babylon Rogues) are awful. AWFUL. Jet the Hawk sounds like he shoved a possum up his behind and a rubber ducky down his throat. Wave and Storm sound like stereotypical “naughty girl” and “big guy” characters that you see in practically every anime.
And let’s not forget that announcer. I seriously want to kill him. Or her. The voice really doesn’t let on to what kind of gender “it” even has. It announces nearly everything you do in annoying detail, OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO THE POINT WHERE YOU ACTUALLY SHUT THE GAME OFF JUST SO HE’D SHUT UP. Even if you’re winning, you’ll want to shut off your console.
So, yeah. Good music, bad voicework. Typical for a Sonic game, huh?
STORYLINE:
The storyline once again revolves around (surprise!) the Chaos Emeralds! Much like Mario with princess kidnapping, Sonic is stuck in a bit of a rut whenever it comes to those stupid Emeralds. But, whatever. At least the Chaos Emeralds lead to a few more interesting stories than constant kidnapping.
Which brings into question why a racing game needs a story in the first place. Well, F-Zero was an exception, but Sonic Riders, I think, could have very well been better off without a story. Because, needless to say, this one just isn’t interesting. Even though some of the story modes’ cinematics are actually quite funny (and some even reveal some character flaws and other such), I think a story was pretty unnecessary here. They could have done this kind of story in a “real” Sonic game, you know. It probably would have been a better introduction to the Babylon Rogues.
So, in the end: story in a racing game equals unnecessary. Equation of the day.
OVERALL:
Sonic Riders is flawed. That much is not a secret. But if you can get past the frustrating learning curve and play with the TV muted, it is actually a pretty good racing game. Rent it first to see if you’re the patient type.
GOOD:
*Awesome graphics
*Good level design
*Catchy music
*Nice multiplayer
*Kickass unlockable secret character whom-I-can’t-tell-you-who-he-is
*This game is FAST; an edge that Mario Kart doesn’t really have
*After you get used to it, the gameplay is actually fun
*Opening anime cutscene!
BAD:
*Learning curve is frustrating to the point where some people probably won’t like this game at all
*Voice-acting… BAD!!
*Goofy character redesigns
*The story is unnecessary
OVERALL SCORE: 7.0/10
It’s the best Sonic racing game so far, but the blue hedgehog has ways to go before he can catch up to Mario Kart’s standard. If he tries again, let’s hope for some real success.
For Gamecube, PS2, and Xbox (Gamecube version reviewed)
ESRB: E
PLAYERS: 1-4
DEVELOPER: SEGA/SonicTeam
Sonic has had a pretty bad rep with racing games, and it’s no wonder. The Sonic Drift games for the Gamegear were some of the worst (and most nauseating) racing games made. And despite its merits, Sonic R was downright pathetic. At this point, everybody believes that the little blue speedster that could should just give up entirely on mascot-racing games. After all, that kind of thing is better left to plumbers, right?
Well, SonicTeam has challenged that notion yet again—releasing Sonic’s fourth entry into the mascot-racing scene. Let’s see if they can get it right this time.
GRAPHICS:
Well, Sonic has never been a slouch whenever it comes to graphics—and Sonic Riders doesn’t disappoint. The environments you race in have been created with every utmost detail that the three current consoles can muster. Good luck actually trying to sight-see, though—this game is FAST. F-Zero GX fast. You heard me right. If it’s one thing this game has over Mario Kart, it’s the sheer sense of speed that would cause Captain Falcon to shed a tear of joy.
The character models are also pretty well-detailed—despite the fact that they’re just cartoon animals and robots. The character redesigns are still kind of funky, though. Hey, Sonic! Ronald McDonald just called; he wants his shoes back!
And, of course… The opening anime cutscene. Your inner otaku weeps with blubbering joy. I’ll have to admit, this might not be the first game with an opening anime cutscene, but it’s still pretty damn well-made. The cutscene, I mean.
GAMEPLAY:
And now, the bad news. The gameplay’s goal here is pretty standard racing: Always try your hardest to come in first, and slam whomever gets in your to get there. Unfortunately, the gameplay itself has a very, very, VERY steep learning curve.
The shoulder buttons help you slide to the left and right in order to bypass corners, which almost always ends up being more of a hit-or-miss. There’s no “Acceleration button”—you have to hold up on the left thumbstick to accelerate. Pressing the B Button gives you a speed boost. Speed boosts cost air (that's your fuel), and when you run out, your speed goes way south. Got all that? Good.
Now, the strange parts: when you jump off a ramp, you can spin the thumbstick in any direction to perform tricks, which is meant to refill your Air Gauge. However, this might sound easy on paper, but they aren't once you try to do them. You have to do it precisely right, or else, you'll land on your face and lose your speed.
Also, when you boost or when someone else boosts, you create some kind of airwave that you can ride on like a halfpipe. You’ll see arrows that point upwards on each side, implying that you should ride up that way—doing so will allow you to perform tricks that increase speed and refill your air gauge. Also, riding airwaves that other characters create provides some shortcuts past sharp turns. Boosting will also cause these airwaves to come into form.
See? Lots of things here that are supposed to make the game fun, but it sounds more like it’s just plain complicated, and it is. It takes a lot of time to get used to the gameplay, even more so to master it. As a matter of fact, this is not a game for the impatient.
Tight gameplay is very important with videogames, and it’s something that Sonic Riders seriously needs help with. I’m not saying that it isn’t fun (Because after you DO get used to it, it’s pretty cool), I’m saying it’s just too damn hard for people to get used to. If you can overcome the frustration that the gameplay’s learning curve gives you, you have officially earned my respect.
However, the game is much more fun with friends. Of course, it isn’t as much of a party game as Mario Kart is, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it isn’t a good way to spend an afternoon together.
Also, before I forget, the unlockables: By meeting certain criteria, you can unlock new story chapters, new “Extreme Gear” (The little boards you ride on) which you buy with your accumulated Rings, and even secret characters. There’s one character that I’m dying to spill but… Let’s just say he’s come out of your dreams to race against Sonic.
MUSIC & SOUND:
Ah, Sonic music… Always catchy. This game doesn’t disappoint in the “Songs You Wanna Hum Along To” category, like most other Sonic games. However, with every cool, snappy song, you get stupid, crappy voicework.
4KIDS Entertainment comes back with a vengeance after Shadow the Hedgehog’s audio train wreck. If you thought Shadow’s acting was bad, Sonic Rider’s is even worse. It’s bad enough that Sonic and his friends can’t get any decent actors, but the newcomers (The Babylon Rogues) are awful. AWFUL. Jet the Hawk sounds like he shoved a possum up his behind and a rubber ducky down his throat. Wave and Storm sound like stereotypical “naughty girl” and “big guy” characters that you see in practically every anime.
And let’s not forget that announcer. I seriously want to kill him. Or her. The voice really doesn’t let on to what kind of gender “it” even has. It announces nearly everything you do in annoying detail, OVER AND OVER AGAIN TO THE POINT WHERE YOU ACTUALLY SHUT THE GAME OFF JUST SO HE’D SHUT UP. Even if you’re winning, you’ll want to shut off your console.
So, yeah. Good music, bad voicework. Typical for a Sonic game, huh?
STORYLINE:
The storyline once again revolves around (surprise!) the Chaos Emeralds! Much like Mario with princess kidnapping, Sonic is stuck in a bit of a rut whenever it comes to those stupid Emeralds. But, whatever. At least the Chaos Emeralds lead to a few more interesting stories than constant kidnapping.
Which brings into question why a racing game needs a story in the first place. Well, F-Zero was an exception, but Sonic Riders, I think, could have very well been better off without a story. Because, needless to say, this one just isn’t interesting. Even though some of the story modes’ cinematics are actually quite funny (and some even reveal some character flaws and other such), I think a story was pretty unnecessary here. They could have done this kind of story in a “real” Sonic game, you know. It probably would have been a better introduction to the Babylon Rogues.
So, in the end: story in a racing game equals unnecessary. Equation of the day.
OVERALL:
Sonic Riders is flawed. That much is not a secret. But if you can get past the frustrating learning curve and play with the TV muted, it is actually a pretty good racing game. Rent it first to see if you’re the patient type.
GOOD:
*Awesome graphics
*Good level design
*Catchy music
*Nice multiplayer
*Kickass unlockable secret character whom-I-can’t-tell-you-who-he-is
*This game is FAST; an edge that Mario Kart doesn’t really have
*After you get used to it, the gameplay is actually fun
*Opening anime cutscene!
BAD:
*Learning curve is frustrating to the point where some people probably won’t like this game at all
*Voice-acting… BAD!!
*Goofy character redesigns
*The story is unnecessary
OVERALL SCORE: 7.0/10
It’s the best Sonic racing game so far, but the blue hedgehog has ways to go before he can catch up to Mario Kart’s standard. If he tries again, let’s hope for some real success.