ST218
Member
Okay, so just today (technically yesterday, but shut up), I rented Sonic Riders, since buying it is out of my budget. I was intending to get it earlier in the week, but it's all good, since Hollywood Video didn't get it in till today (yesterday)-in fact, they hadn't had time to put it in the shelves. So, I rented it.
I'm not too far into it-I did a run through through the first five races in a Mario Kart esque cup format, then went for the story mode.
First, the gameplay.
Kirby Air Ride on crack I tell ye. You automatically move foward on your air powered board (don't ask), using left and right to steer. B (GC version, mind) is to do a boost/attack move which consumes a lot of air but gives a rather appreciable boost to your speed. A is a jump that you use to either dodge obstacles, jump off ramps, or jump onto rails. Unlike Air Ride, where each ARM had a very different playing style, the characters in Riders have smaller differences. Each track has shortcuts that can only be used by certain characters, and each shortcut is a slight homage to previous Adventure line games-Speed types like Sonic grind on rails like in SA2, Fly types like Sonic can soar through the air using Dash Rings like in SA1, and Power types like Knuckles can bash through the environment like in Heroes. In addition to all this, you use L or R to pull tight turns like those in Air Ride.
Oh yeah, did I mention that you're going at high speeds? The speedometer hits triple digits constantly, and it's at the point that I honestly can't tell if it's kilometers or miles per hour.
The AI is quite challenging in Riders. They don't cheat or anything, but they have a high level of skill that can make you wish for a difficulty setting. Still, they are beatable, and once you get over your first few last place finishes, you'll get better quicker.
Throughout all of the tracks, you'll jump off many a ramp to get air. While leaping tall buildings in a single bound, you can pull different tricks using the control stick. How well you do your trick influences how fast you land and how much air you gain. A half flip that makes you land on your head will get a crappy C rating, while a load of flips and turns that lands perfectly will get a higher rating-the highest I've encountered is a double S.
It wouldn't be a Sonic game without rings and moniters, and Riders is no exception. Moniters are liberally placed throughout the tracks, and most are the beloved ? moniters. Not ring ? moniters. ?. Yeah, those. The effects range from rings to speed shoes to invincibility to extra air. Not all moniters are random though-in one course, I encountered a hard to reach moniter, and it popped up as a 100 ring moniter. That's right, a hundred rings from one box.
Speaking of Rings, the function they serve is simple. More rings seems to mean more speed, and at 30 and 60 rings, you get a level up. A level up increases your stats for as long as you hold onto those rings, and powers up your B attack. Rings are lost by being attacked or falling off the stage.
There's one other track element that deserves mentioning, and it's called turbulence. You'll leave turbulence behind that others can ride in. When riding in turbulence, you go rather fast, can do tricks off the sides of it, and don't need to worry about steering as much. It's a great gameplay element, because though it seems that you should always hang in your opponents' wake, there might be a shortcut you want, or a box you want to hit.
Now, aside from the gameplay, the graphics seem to be upgraded. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all have an upgraded look. They look more larger and a little more realistic (In fact, Sonic looks a little like Metal Sonic from S3&K), with arms that actually seem to matter. The tracks are detailed, for as much as you can see blazing through at 150 whatevers an hour.
I wish the same could be said for the music. While the music isn't as bad as Shadow, most of the tracks are techno and such, and hardly rememberable. Where in Heroes, music was the one thing done right, here, music is the one thing done wrong. Personally, I'd rather have had the pop love songs from Sonic R.
However, the sounds are high quality. From the announcer (who apparently is Omochao, but much less annoying-I didn't know till someone in #'fun pointed it out) to the sounds of rings and rails, everything sounds as it should....except for the voices. Let me put it to you this way- srb2win.exe -4kidsvoiceactorsshouldbedrugoutinthestreetandshot.
Overall, Riders is the best we've had yet for a Sonic game. It definately tops Shadow and Heroes, does a better job of that sense of speed while still letting you have control, and is arguably better than SA2 (I think it is). And besides, that's only the first five tracks, and it only seems to be getting better.
I'm not too far into it-I did a run through through the first five races in a Mario Kart esque cup format, then went for the story mode.
First, the gameplay.
Kirby Air Ride on crack I tell ye. You automatically move foward on your air powered board (don't ask), using left and right to steer. B (GC version, mind) is to do a boost/attack move which consumes a lot of air but gives a rather appreciable boost to your speed. A is a jump that you use to either dodge obstacles, jump off ramps, or jump onto rails. Unlike Air Ride, where each ARM had a very different playing style, the characters in Riders have smaller differences. Each track has shortcuts that can only be used by certain characters, and each shortcut is a slight homage to previous Adventure line games-Speed types like Sonic grind on rails like in SA2, Fly types like Sonic can soar through the air using Dash Rings like in SA1, and Power types like Knuckles can bash through the environment like in Heroes. In addition to all this, you use L or R to pull tight turns like those in Air Ride.
Oh yeah, did I mention that you're going at high speeds? The speedometer hits triple digits constantly, and it's at the point that I honestly can't tell if it's kilometers or miles per hour.
The AI is quite challenging in Riders. They don't cheat or anything, but they have a high level of skill that can make you wish for a difficulty setting. Still, they are beatable, and once you get over your first few last place finishes, you'll get better quicker.
Throughout all of the tracks, you'll jump off many a ramp to get air. While leaping tall buildings in a single bound, you can pull different tricks using the control stick. How well you do your trick influences how fast you land and how much air you gain. A half flip that makes you land on your head will get a crappy C rating, while a load of flips and turns that lands perfectly will get a higher rating-the highest I've encountered is a double S.
It wouldn't be a Sonic game without rings and moniters, and Riders is no exception. Moniters are liberally placed throughout the tracks, and most are the beloved ? moniters. Not ring ? moniters. ?. Yeah, those. The effects range from rings to speed shoes to invincibility to extra air. Not all moniters are random though-in one course, I encountered a hard to reach moniter, and it popped up as a 100 ring moniter. That's right, a hundred rings from one box.
Speaking of Rings, the function they serve is simple. More rings seems to mean more speed, and at 30 and 60 rings, you get a level up. A level up increases your stats for as long as you hold onto those rings, and powers up your B attack. Rings are lost by being attacked or falling off the stage.
There's one other track element that deserves mentioning, and it's called turbulence. You'll leave turbulence behind that others can ride in. When riding in turbulence, you go rather fast, can do tricks off the sides of it, and don't need to worry about steering as much. It's a great gameplay element, because though it seems that you should always hang in your opponents' wake, there might be a shortcut you want, or a box you want to hit.
Now, aside from the gameplay, the graphics seem to be upgraded. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all have an upgraded look. They look more larger and a little more realistic (In fact, Sonic looks a little like Metal Sonic from S3&K), with arms that actually seem to matter. The tracks are detailed, for as much as you can see blazing through at 150 whatevers an hour.
I wish the same could be said for the music. While the music isn't as bad as Shadow, most of the tracks are techno and such, and hardly rememberable. Where in Heroes, music was the one thing done right, here, music is the one thing done wrong. Personally, I'd rather have had the pop love songs from Sonic R.
However, the sounds are high quality. From the announcer (who apparently is Omochao, but much less annoying-I didn't know till someone in #'fun pointed it out) to the sounds of rings and rails, everything sounds as it should....except for the voices. Let me put it to you this way- srb2win.exe -4kidsvoiceactorsshouldbedrugoutinthestreetandshot.
Overall, Riders is the best we've had yet for a Sonic game. It definately tops Shadow and Heroes, does a better job of that sense of speed while still letting you have control, and is arguably better than SA2 (I think it is). And besides, that's only the first five tracks, and it only seems to be getting better.
