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Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity wii Game Reviews
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
Critic Score
Metascore: 56 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.0 out of 10
based on 26 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 27 votes
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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.
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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.
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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 8.0 (out of 10) based on 27 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Josh S. gave it an8:
This one was a lot easier and a lot more fun than the first. I actually enjoyed it! I hated the first one at one time and liked it at another(maybe when I was winning). I actually liked this one the whole way through.

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