Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity is out of this World! (by Laura)
Post Via amazon in Wii Games ReviewSonic Riders Zero Gravity
Introduction: This game isn't perfect, I admit this off the bat, but after the things I have heard said about this game I was shocked. This game deserves better treatment than what its getting, and it still deserves a five star rating regardless of its flaws! I will tell you what the game is about, as well as its features, using a one out of ten system; one being the lowest score and ten being the highest.
Story 8/10: The storyline plots are still decent this time. I give the storyline a score of eight because its prequel (Sonic Riders for Nintendo Gamecube, another game I recommend) had funnier twists in the hero's plot. You can't really beat Amy trying to whack Sonic with her hammer as the hero ending for the prequel... The storyline for this game, however, is still great. Amy shows up and plays a slightly more important role in the plot, and she is still Sonic's self proclaimed girlfriend. Although some humor is in the Hero storyline, you'll once again laugh harder at the Babylon Rogues storyline, where the real humor always stands. The cutscenes themselves are better done, and don't look choppy at all like the prequel. Finally, the story is a lot more engaging as you try to find out different secrets in the Hero's journey, and the Babylon Rogue's journey. Please bear in mind, however, you don't get both storylines from the start; you have to complete the Hero's storyline first before you get the more comedic Babylon Rogue's story.
Gameplay/Controls 7/10: The game is fun to play. Although racing games normally bore me, Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity has racing tracks just as various as its prequel. This game introduces new moves using the power of gravity, which makes gameplay really awesome. Instead of using air, you use gravity points for your board; there are not any gravity pits like there were air pits in the prequel, but this really isn't a problem. Contrary to popular rumor, the turbulence system has not been removed from the game; however, it doesn't play as big of a role if any role, and is nowhere near as much of a nuisance as it was. Sadly, all of the cool new features come with several small prices. Bear in mind that I've only controlled this game with the Wii remote. Turning is very difficult, and the game has at least two or three tight turns per track. Tricking is easier, as all it requires is good timing with the 2 button and mindfulness of which way you tilt the Wii remote (for example, if you tilt the Wii remote forward when you trick, you will do front flips; this part is not explained in the game), but it comes in exchange with a bunch of new gravitational tricks to master. The gravity tricks are cool, but there is a lot of them to learn, and you may spend a couple of hours in tutorial figuring all of them out; and it will take even longer for you to remember all of them. On top of that, there is a feature called gear change, now. On the commercial, it looks cool; but it's not really. It basically means your character doesn't have any special powers (Tails flying for example) until you collect and pay rings. Not cool. All and all, you will get off to a slow start; but if you have enough patience, you will pick up on it.
Features 10/10: The game has really good features. Unlike its prequel where you have to start each story from the beginning over and over in order to repeat cutscenes, you have a level select! Now you can see the scene with Amy and Sonic again and again without starting the story all over, or even having to finish the storyline! Mission mode is back, but it's not as unreasonable as last time, though I haven't finished all of them yet. There is still a shop where you can buy new gear, and some of it is pretty interesting this time around; sadly, I believe the gear skates are gone. New and old characters roam the character select screen; right off the bat you can select Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Jet, Storm, Wave, and Amy. If you complete the Hero storyline, you will unlock Cream, Blaze, and Silver. If you complete the Babylon Rogue's storyline, you unlock Shadow, Rouge, Dr. Eggman, and Dr. Eggman's racing robot (I don't remember what his racing robots are called now). I may not have the unlockable characters in the correct order, but rest assured that if you complete both storylines, you will unlock them. There are other unlockable characters, but I haven't uncovered their identities yet. I also hear that Wi-Fi play is possible, but I don't use Wi-Fi.
Difficulty 5/10: In great contrast with the difficulty of learning and mastering the new controls, the entire game itself is really quite easy. I completed both storylines within a period of around twenty four hours (not straight, all together). I'm still working on the missions, but so far I haven't had anything much harder there. The final boss in the Babylon Rogue's story may be a headache as well as the last race in the Hero's story, but those were the only situations where I couldn't succeed on a second or third try. Unlike the prequel, if you fall far behind in a race, and it's still somewhat early, you have a much higher chance of catching up. I don't know if the easier difficulty will appeal to you or not, but that's how it is.
Music 9/10: Not much to say here. The music is really catchy; be warned that some of these tunes can get stuck in your head. It lacks a couple of good tunes the prequel had, but it's still excellent.
Fun 10/10: This game is really one of the greatest games I have on the Wii. I also have Sonic and the Secret Rings, which is another game you should check out, and this game is almost as good in comparison.
Conclusion: Maybe others say this isn't one of the must-have games of the season, but I disagree. With a little bit of patience, you will have a lot of fun with this game; so, I greatly recommend it.
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