Sonic Free Riders - Xbox 360 Review

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Let me introduce Sonic, master of the most grueling thigh workout on the Kinect. You probably thought you'd need to buy an exercise title featuring a screaming trainer to get a good workout. Well, it turns out this little racer will bring you to your knees as you use your whole body to twist, turn and jump your hoverboard through 16 tracks.

You can upgrade your board gear temporarily with energy pickups like a soda rocket or fully to extreme gear, which is available in both board and bike formats. The hoverboard reacts like a snowboard on steroids. Maneuvering requires your whole body:

* Cornering involves bending your body forward at the waist or backwards to steer;

* Jumping is self-explanatory but power jumping requires you to crouch down for a few seconds before leaping into the air;

* A kick dash is completed using a kick gesture using your back foot with a good follow-through;

* Braking requires squaring your shoulders toward the screen; and

* Your hands are kept busy to catch rings, grab horizontal bars, wipe away foggy screens and to cling to the bottom of trains (?!).

The game provides an extensive tutorial along with a host named Omochao, who also serves as the game commentator. I highly recommend casual gamers take the time to go through the tutorials. This isn't a bowling game you can simply step up and play.

I completed two racetracks and slumped into the couch. A trickle of sweat ran along my spine, my legs trembling. Brain synapse fired in all directions and soon I was hearing Robert Klein wailing on the harmonica and singing "I can't stop my leg."

The gameplay is not as extensive as the granddaddy of kart racers, Mario Kart DS. However, what Sonic Free Riders lacks in depth is more than made up with by the physical racing experience that comes from using the Kinect system. Even my 8-year old son stopped after competing in four consecutive races to catch his breath and get a drink of water.

So, what are the negatives?

* The controls are not perfect. Don't let early frustration turn you away. The game doesn't respond as smoothly as it would if we were gripping steering wheels. We found it helped to recalibrate the Kinect for this game and widen our playing area a couple feet to allow side-by-side racing.

* The menus are maddening. I'm tired of sweeping options left and right. Game designers need to hold back their Kinect zeal. Keep the menus basic, like a simple drop-down menu format, and save the wild moves for the game itself.

* The online features aren't that attractive. Fortunately for us, with four in our family, there's plenty of competition at home.

In summary, if you are willing to invest practice time, this is a fun, family game that also delivers a good full-body workout, too. With the initial library of Kinect games including dogs like Game Party: In Motion, "Sonic Free Riders" is a good value, especially for kids. Rating: Four stars.

Hey, look. My leg stopped.

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Well, Sonic Free Riders starts off with this frustratingly long/annoying tutorial, and once you're past it, and hit a few rounds of "World Grand Prix" you BEGIN to get the movement down. The first day of playing, my body was all over the place, trying to lean left & right way too hard and by habit, turning my body forward instead off to the side (like a skateboarder). The character was drifting way off course and I was just getting angrier". Well, After a about the 3rd track in, the frustration began to dissipate, as I was able to nail a good deal of the controls, which felt rewarding. Sonic feels more like a non-Kinect launch title as it has more depth then the other titles. Yes, it's definitely true that sometimes, the game can be super finicky with your movement, but not enough to ruin the game like I originally thought. Sega crammed a lot of moves in this game, so it's going to take practice, as this has a bit of a learning curve. I also like that it's the only debut game (I think) that has menu driven voice commands. Overall, thumbs up but I would not recommended Sonic Free Riders to the casual gamer (lol the irony).

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I have seen this game recieve negative reviews overall, and I'm still trying to figure out why. Sonic Free Riders is my favorite game for the Kinect, and I am totally hooked on it. It's like riding a snowboard, and I think I actually get a better work out from the game than actaully snowboarding. You have to lean left and right as you steer your way around the course, and actually crouch down and then jump when you hit a ramp. And it's not just leg movements either. There are weapons which require different types of hand moves to be deployed, and even a special ability to let you punch through obstacles in your path. After playing this game for awhile, you are definitely going to be sore from the intense workout you just recived. And even better, it's a much more enjoyable workout rather than a treadmill or stationary bike, for instance.

Honest reviews on Sonic Free Riders - Xbox 360

This game is terrible at tracking the movements with kinect. If it had been the only game I had tried, I would have thought the kinect system itself was a failure. But many of the other games are great: especially Dance Central, and Kinect Adventures.

Besides being bad at tracking they take way too long explaining how to do the movements,and if you mess up, you have to hear the same LONG explanation over and over... they should just allow you to skip the explanation and try again.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Sonic Free Riders - Xbox 360

Name: Mike

Age: 21

Sonic Free Riders is the only Kinect game i find myself booting up when I don't have company over. When I'm entertaining guests it's always Kinect Sports or Dance Central; but if it's just myself, this has been my go-to game for single play. Once you get past the long (admittedly annoying) tutorial and begin to learn the ins and outs of the controls the game proves to be very fun. This is not a pickup and play casual game. It takes time and patience to learn the controls and exactly how to move your body. Because of this, Sonic Free Riders is one of my most played Kinect games. It has the hardcore-ish appeal that I need for a single player game, PLUS I get to use my Kinect and get a good workout.

I'd recommend this game for anyone looking for a reason to use their Kinect when they don't have guests over. It has its flaws here and there, but overall it's a solid game and i always have a good time with it.