Sonic Riders Demo

Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most beloved arcade series that ever came out, with countless spin-offs, remakes and sequels spanning over a few decades. Now, thanks to the ever more powerful computers, the third dimension brings forth a new meaning for speed and Sonic is nothing if not eager to try it out.

Sonic Riders throws together a group of speed maniacs and allows you to compete in some of the most dizzying competitions that ever took place. Among the participants, you can find Tails, Knuckles, Jet the Hawk and Storm the Albatross, all of which are ready to provide you with a challenge out on the racing track, as well as use their own unique abilities to take the upper hand whenever you expect it less.

Naturally, you can either play as good old Sonic, or choose one of the aforementioned characters. Hence, you are guaranteed not to get bored, thanks to the wide array of tricks and combos you can achieve by jumping on ramps, pushing your opponents and riding the turbulence waves left behind by other players.

Since this is, after all, a Sonic adventure, there are rings scattered all over the place, some of which you can pick-up, others that are simply there to offer you speed boosts whenever you pass through them. Ultimately, the entire purpose of the game is for you to go faster and faster, even if at some point you stop being able to control your character and the landscape becomes a blurry gray line that seems to fly by.

The effect is amplified by colorful graphic engine, which abuses the motion blur feature and does its best to cause headaches after only a few races. Other than that, the tracks and the characters are very nicely modeled and made to look exactly as they did in all the other games in the series. The tunes playing in the background are adrenaline-inducing as well, while the commentator does her best to keep you up to date with the latest developments in front of you.

As it is customary, Sonic Riders can be played in multiplayer along with other people, where you get to choose the desired characters and compete against each other. There are, however, multiple singleplayer modes as well, including Time Trial and Grand Prix, which should keep you occupied for quite some time.