Sonic Riders [PS2]

There was a time when Sega put out a lot of Sonic the Hedgehog hits. Nowadays, it seems like most things with Sonic's name on it are hits to the mascot's credibility instead. Following up the putrid Shadow the Hedgehog is this sad excuse for a character-based racing game.

On the surface, you see most of the elements needed for a successful title. Sonic lovers will find doses of blinding speed; you have a bevy of modes to choose from, both single- and multiplayer; it's not a bad looking game, and runs at a steady framerate; and you have plenty of courses, characters, and unlockables. It's when you actually pick up a controller and try to have fun that you realize these things are mere Scotch tape attempting to hold together the busted plate that is Sonic Riders' gameplay.

There's no lack of variety on the courses. You're almost always blasting through the air, grinding or riding a rail, or shooting a tube of turbulence in one of the game's main gimmicks. This provides a degree of excitement to a point. The trick mechanic is way too simplified, however, and riding in turbulence waves is a tremendous crutch that Sonic Riders leans on far too often.

When not busying yourself with the flashy extras, you'll find you have a slow-moving hoverboard that controls like it's on ice. Even when you do gain some speed, it seems inevitable that you'll smash into either obstacles or walls. Essentially, you're either going too fast to register what's going on around you, or chugging along at a painfully slow pace.

Keeping the extreme gear board fueled with air is no easy task, either, but it's a necessity. It's the game's way of compensating for not having a "go" button. Your air supply gets depleted extremely easily, and requires a lot of maintenance in the span of a race. Tricking, hitting certain power-ups, or taking a time-consuming pit stop will refill it. Run out, and you can kiss the race goodbye. This fuel management aspect has no real place in what should be a carefree, fun race game.

Something sure to be a sore spot for young gamers and their parents is the combination of a harsh difficulty curve and no tutorial. Getting good at Sonic Riders is an exercise in trial-and-error that only hardcore fans will want to complete. The competition is merciless, and takes any advantage to knock you on your face. Making the game even less casual-player friendly is the fact that you can't adjust the difficulty. If passing the first race in story mode was a chore for a professional reviewer, how is your average eight-year-old going to fare? Aren't they the target audience for a Sonic game?