The sequel to Sonic Riders concerns itself chiefly with the weightiest of matters: good gameplay. And it doesn't hurt, too, that the title will expand its horizons by including a brand-new mechanic utilizing that second most weightiest of matters: gravity.
In Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, Sonic discovers a strange artifact that has the ability to alter gravity itself. An object of this power obviously attracts Sonic's rival, Jet the Hawk (who made his first game appearance in the original Sonic Riders) and this sets off a war of sorts for possession of the artifact. This war then plays out, fittingly, with a series of races with Extreme Gear. This Gear takes the form of futuristic hoverboards, bikes, and other vehicles.
Sega is busy prepping Sonic Riders: Zero gravity for release on the Playstation 2 and Wii later this year; representatives for the company say the game will be expanded in every way imaginable. There will be new characters, of course, but Sega has declined to mention who they are. New vehicles will also be added, and this time around, the individual modes of transport will change as the game progresses, being altered both in terms of their aesthetics and functionality in gameplay. To the point, they'll change their looks and improve their performance.
Only two levels from Extreme[sic] Gravity were available for sampling, and Sega didn't allow for hands-on experimentation. It was clear, though, that the game has a genuinely decent sense of speed, and that Sega is indeed serious about pushing what it calls a futuristic flair on its new title.
The first stage was called Botanical Kingdom and it featured pulsing techno soundtrack, a serious of green yellow and orange translucent pathways, innumerable chains of rings (which when collected allow a player to shift gears and increase his character's speed), booster pads which gave a temporary spurt of velocity, and an overwhelming sense of motion blur.
Here, a Sega representative took the role of the speedy hero Tails the fox in what was an 8-man race. Here, the game's overarching theme was emphasized with a simple bit of background scenery - a series of giant vines twisting downward, pulled that way under gravity's cruel influence.
Tricks have again been included in the mix, and players can pull off stylish board flips, spins, and other cool maneuvers with the PlayStation controller's X button. Zero Gravity does away with the Turbulence, a neat little feature in the first game that let a character ride another's wake for extra speed and handling, replacing it with a mechanic more in tune with the game's title. This gravity-based mechanic cane be used to pull off some really neat tricks in gameplay, locking the hero in place for a brief second before rocketing him off in an entirely new direction like a slingshot.
The second stage, Crimson Crater, was set indoors. This time, the Sega representative took Sonic's part. Each of the characters in the game will have a defining quality and speed is Sonic's. Other characters will be powerful enough to smash through obstacles and gain access to alternate pathways the other competitors might not be able to travel along.
Zero gravity[sic] still has some development time ahead of it. The graphics were still largely unpolished, and the emphasis on visual effects such as motion blur was severe, if not downright debilitating. Sega will also be addressing the original game's overwhelmingly frustrating rubber-band artificial intelligence, which oftentimes ensured players would lose a good-sized lead no matter how well they played the game.
The last piece of the puzzle, at least for now, is Wii functionality. Sadly, only the PlayStation 2 version was available to show off, and there was no mention of how the Wii controls would be used to maneuver Sonic and his various allies and nemeses through Zero Gravity.
That, then, is a matter for another day.
Systems: Playstation 2, Wii
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Availability: TBA
