GAMES: GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Games

Playstation Reviews
PS3 | PS2 | PS One | PSP

Xbox Reviews
Xbox 360 | Xbox

Nintendo Reviews
Wii | DS | GBA | Cube | N64


PC | N-Gage | Dreamcast

How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Games In Our Forums

 

Upcoming & Recent Releases

sort by name sort by score

69 Active Life: Outdoor Challenge
xx Agatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun
xx Alien Crush Returns
xx All Star Cheer Squad
71 Animal Crossing: City Folk
xx Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Make the Grade
xx Army Men: Soldiers of Misfortune
xx Art Style: CUBELLO
85 Art Style: ORBIENT
xx Art Style: ROTOHEX
53 Avatar: The Last Airbender - Into the Inferno
xx Ben 10: Alien Force
xx Big League Sports
xx Bolt
86 Bomberman Blast
68 Boogie SuperStar
xx Brain Challenge
xx Bratz Girlz Really Rock
xx Bratz Kidz: Slumber Party
42 Brothers in Arms: Double Time
xx Build-A-Bear Workshop: A Friend Fur All Seasons
xx Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2009
xx Cake Mania: In the Mix!
81 Call of Duty: World at War
42 Carnival Games: Mini-Golf
xx Castlevania Judgment
47 Celebrity Sports Showdown
xx Cooking Mama World Kitchen
69 Crash Bandicoot: Mind over Mutant
67 Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 2
xx Dancing with the Stars: Get Your Dance On!
81 de Blob
xx Deadly Creatures
xx Defendin' DePenguin
70 Disaster: Day of Crisis
xx Disney Sing It
xx Disney TH!NK Fast
xx Dogz 2008
71 Dokapon Kingdom
xx FaceBreaker K.O. Party
xx Family Trainer
66 Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli
79 FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play
30 Ford Racing Off Road
xx Freddi Fish: Kelp Seed Mystery
xx G1 Jockey Wii 2008
28 Game Party 2
77 Groovin' Blocks
xx Guinness World Records: The Videogame
86 Guitar Hero World Tour
64 Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
xx Hasbro Family Game Night
60 Helix
57 Hell's Kitchen
xx High School Musical 3: Senior Year Dance!
xx Home Sweet Home
xx Igor The Game
xx Incredible Maze, The
xx Jeep Thrills
xx Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2
xx Kidz Sports: Crazy Golf
34 King of Clubs
xx King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga, The
62 Kung Fu Panda: Legendary Warriors
62 Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon, The
74 LEGO Batman
67 Line Rider 2: Unbound
70 Little League World Series 2008
53 Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked
90 MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade
57 Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
82 Madden NFL 09 All-Play
xx Madstone
xx Margot's Word Brain
68 Mario Super Sluggers
84 Mega Man 9
37 Midnight Bowling
66 Midnight Pool
79 MLB Power Pros 2008
xx MLB Superstars
71 Monopoly
xx Monster Jam: Urban Assault
73 Monster Lab
xx Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars
47 My Aquarium
76 MySims Kingdom
xx Nancy Drew: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek
74 Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2
50 NBA Live 09 All-Play
xx Need for Speed Undercover
xx Nerf N-Strike
66 NHL 2K9
xx Pajama Sam: Don't Fear the Dark
xx Pipe Mania
xx Pitfall: The Big Adventure
37 Plattchen: Twist 'n' Paint
18 Pong Toss: Frat Party Games
50 Potpourrii
xx Price is Right, The
xx Puzzler Collection
53 Quantum of Solace
xx Rapala's Fishing Frenzy
67 Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party
40 Rebel Raiders: Operation Nighthawk
xx Rock Band 2
xx Rock Revolution
xx Rock University Presents: The Naked Brothers Band - The Video Game
xx Rubik's World
xx Safecracker
75 Sam & Max Season One
67 Samba De Amigo
xx SCORE International Baja 1000
77 Shaun White Snowboarding: Road Trip
66 SimCity Creator
xx Six Flags Fun Park
xx Skate It
xx Sonic Unleashed
xx Space Invaders Get Even
xx Space Station Tycoon
64 Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
xx SpongeBob SquarePants featuring NickToons: Globs of Doom
xx SPRay
xx Spy Fox in Dry Cereal
58 Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels
70 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
77 Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 1: Homestar Ruiner
82 Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 2: Strong Badia the Free
79 Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 3: Baddest of the Bands
81 Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Episode 4: Dangeresque 3: The Criminal Projective
56 Summer Athletics: The Ultimate Challenge
xx Tak and the Guardians of Gross
69 Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
xx Target Toss Pro: Bags
87 Tetris Party
80 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 All-Play
48 TNA iMPACT!
68 Tomb Raider Underworld
xx Twin Strike: Operation Thunder
xx Ultimate Band
77 Wario Land: Shake It!
47 We Cheer
63 Wii Music
64 Wild West Guns
95 World of Goo
xx WSC Real 08: World Snooker Championship
82 WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2009
xx Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam
xx Zoo Hospital

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity wii Game Reviews
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
Critic Score
Metascore: 56 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.1 out of 10
based on 26 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 19 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game

The Sonic Riders series returns with a whole new form of chaotic racing by manipulating gravity itself! These gravity-altering powers can transform walls into tracks, or create a "black hole" that sucks you through for the ultimate speed boost, and allows for an entirely new way to gain a leg up on your competitors. From illuminated highways in a bustling metropolis to the outer reaches of space, you will race at the speed of light on 16 dynamic courses. Sixty different vehicles allow you to grind rails and pull off daring tricks on futuristic tracks, including solar loop-de-loops, height-defying vertical drops and tons of other edge-of-your-seat moves. As Sonic or one of 18 colorful characters, you will compete with up to three friends at heart-stopping speeds in three exciting multiplayer modes. With all the action, speed, and addictive gameplay that only Sonic can deliver, Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity is set for hyper-drive. [Sega]

PUBLISHER: Sega
DEVELOPER: Sonic Team
GENRE(S): Racing, Action
PLAYERS: 4
ESRB RATING: E (Everyone)
RELEASE DATE: January 8, 2008

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

72
Cheat Code Central
It's a new and improved Sonic Riders with plenty of new tracks and characters to enjoy. It's a must-have for Sonic fans and a "might-enjoy" for aces of the racing genre, especially for those who like F-Zero and Wipeout.
Read Full Review
72
Official Nintendo Magazine UK
A surprisingly fun effort, but it's just not as solid as it should be (the controls in particular) and the overly complex mechanics might put the more casual Sonic fans off. [Mar 2008, p.84]
70
Nintendo Power
As with the original " Sonic Riders", a large segment of the gaming populace will likely fine Zero Gravity immensely frustrating. [Feb 2008, p.90]
70
N-Europe
Our advice: use a GameCube controller, learn the shortcuts, and hope the next one sorts out that boost system.
Read Full Review
67
Games Master UK
Not dreadful but not great: another shotgun marriage between Sonic and the Wii. [Mar 2008, p.72]
67
Gamers' Temple
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity is a racer that comes up just short of being respectable.
Read Full Review
60
Game Almighty
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity’s problems keep it from being a consistent blast - but it has its moments.
Read Full Review
60
Zentendo
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity has some good ideas, but it all ultimately falls flat in its execution. The controls are stiff and unresponsive, the track concepts are great, but lack quality design, and the context-sensitive shortcuts feel like a waste of time that do nothing but over complicate things, littering the tracks with garbage.
Read Full Review
60
Game Informer
You have a GameCube controller handy, Zero Gravity is very nearly mediocre.
Read Full Review
60
GamePro
If you can suffer the controls or have GameCube controllers lying around, it's not a bad kickback-n-relax option for some speedy cartoon laps. [Apr 2008, p.81]
60
Gamer.nl
Zero Gravity might not be as good as the well known race games from Nintendo themselves, but this game can offer quite some fun. The levels are designed nicely and the different routes offer a lot of variation. The only real downside is the control: it's just too frustrating. This is a nice placeholder for the next Mario Kart.
Read Full Review
60
Cubed3
All in all, it’s a step forward from the original, but still retains much of the flaws and annoyances.
Read Full Review
59
GameZone
This game could have been a real heavy hitter, especially coming off of the holiday rush. Instead with unpolished controls, dismal graphics, and a mediocre soundtrack, this game will remain a shadow of what it should have been.
Read Full Review
58
IGN
There’s no denying the entertainment that could come from a blazing fast Sonic racing title, but the Riders franchise has tried twice, and both times failed to deliver solid control and a true sense of speed.
Read Full Review
58
The Wiire
Zero Gravity does not earn any of The Wiire's awards simply because the game does not excel in any category.
Read Full Review
52
n-Revolution Magazine UK
A limp, insipid futuristic racer with dodgy controls and weak gameplay. You can do much better, as can Sega. [Issue#19, p.86]
50
Game Revolution
It’s sad, really. Now that Sega’s console days have gone the way of the Colecovision, Sonic just doesn’t get the respect that he used to.
Read Full Review
50
Worth Playing
The racing has been so simplified that it may find a much larger audience than the original did. It's not for me, though. I like technique and speed in my racing games, unless we're talking something like Outrun 2, and even that has a drifting mechanism that makes a modicum of sense.
Read Full Review
49
NGamer UK
Too slow, too short, too annoying. Only the graphics have any real quality. Stick with "Sonic And The Secret Rings," or even "Excite Truck" if you don't mind the lack of hedgehog.
Read Full Review
49
GameTrailers
Another Sonic game, another disappointment. It seems like whenever the hedgehog jumps off the tiny screens of the current handhelds, everything just falls apart for him.
Read Full Review
45
1UP
The controls -- namely character acceleration -- feel awkward and counterintuitive; for instance, you're forced to hold forward on the left stick to accelerate while also trying to steer your character. The tracks are a mishmash of right-angle turns and jumps that sometimes lead you down random paths, requiring several runs just find your way around the track.
Read Full Review
45
GameSpot
The game's overall lack of content makes it one of the last things you'd want to spend 40 bucks on. Even though it manages to capture the occasional burst of Sonic speed, there isn't enough content in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity to keep you entertained for more than two or three laps.
Read Full Review
40
games(TM)
Yes, it’s bright and character-filled, but with such bewildering mechanics and erratic difficulty, there won’t be many youngsters that will tolerate it for any great length of time. [Mar 2008, p.135]
40
EuroGamer
So once again, we have here a modern day Sonic game devoid of the elements which made olden days Sonic games so good - speed, simplicity, a decent control system, that sort of thing. Sonic Riders Zero Gravity is not hateful, just pointless. A complete waste of time, effort and the planet's resources.
Read Full Review
40
AceGamez
Dodgy controls aside, there's little inherently wrong with Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, yet it's painfully average and just lacks the amount of fun that would warrant a purchase.
Read Full Review
30
GotNext
Yet another black mark on Sega's formerly meaningful name, and easily one of the most disappointing Sonic games ever made.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this game is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 19 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Discuss this game in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: MLB | Spore | iPhone 3G | Paris Hilton | Antivirus Software | GPS | Recipes | Shwayze | NFL

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2008 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use