Sonic Free Riders

Sonic Free Riders is a motion-controlled racing video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega exclusively for the Xbox 360. The game requires the use of Microsoft's Kinect peripheral, releasing as a Kinect launch title in November 2010. Sonic Free Riders is the seventh racing game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and the third entry in the Sonic Riders trilogy. It is a direct sequel to Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. The game's story centers on the series' main antagonist Doctor Eggman announcing a second World Grand Prix, secretly planning to gather data from the riders to program into his robots.

Sonic Free Riders is a hoverboard racing game featuring characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. The game is controlled by using the player's body to navigate their chosen character through the course. Actions include bending their body to steer, performing kicking motions to increase speed, and jumping to perform tricks which earn more boost. The player alternatively has the ability to ride bikes, controlled by steering motions. By collecting enough rings, players can increase their level during each race, which enhances their attributes. There are several power-ups and weapons which each require specific motion actions to activate, such as a missile which is thrown like a football or a boost that is activated by shaking a soda can. As before, characters are divided into Speed, Flight, and Power classes, each of which can access specific shortcuts. Players can equip special attributes to their Gear, such as improved cornering or the ability to break through barriers, which can be changed by switching the riding stance. Players can also perform special moves if they are falling behind in races.

The game received unfavorable reviews from critics, with criticism for its motion controls, although praise was towards its content, multiplayer options, the graphics and its storyline. It is the first game in the series (alongside Sonic Colors) to be released following a recasting of the series’ voice actors. From 2005 to mid-2010, titles included the 4Kids voice cast from Sonic X. However, it has a new cast of voice actors under the direction of Jack Fletcher, except for Mike Pollock, who continues to voice Eggman.