Sonic Free Riders

We don't mind admitting that of all the early Kinect games, Sonic Free Riders was among those that we wanted to work the most. Conceptually, the device and game are a good match, with the former offering gamers the chance to mimic controlling an actual hoverboard and the latter providing a sense of...

Sonic Free Riders

Sonic Free Riders makes one thing clear from the second it loads up: this is not the Sonic the Hedgehog of yesteryear but instead the o...

Unique Kinect gameplay; Upgradeable boards; Changes in gameplay mechanics

Unreliable controls; Difficult online infrastructure; Lack of content

Lousy controls hinder almost every attempt Sonic Free Riders makes at being a fun racing game.

Imagine a game in which the mundane actions you perform in real life are replicated to an exaggerated degree in the digital realm. A modest hop in your living room results in your in-game character soaring into the virtual stratosphere, and a slight flick of your wrist allows you to fling a missile...

Good track design with lots of hidden shortcuts; Upgradable equipment gives you something to strive for

Awful controls taint every potentially good aspect

The Blue Blur's Latest Racer Falls Short Of Being A Winner

Sonic Free Riders uses Microsoft's Kinect technology to place you in the Sonic universe as you zip around a limited number of courses – or at least try to. Spotty body detection turns what could have been a unique racing experience into a wreck.