Zero Gravity is a major improvement over the 1st game, but there are still a few things weighing it down. Real score 8.3
Story 7.5 : For those who havent played the 1st one should know that Sonic's story is not the only story as you also play as the mysterious thieves called " The Babylon Rogues " and i shall explain and review both sides.
Sonic's : An unusaul meteorite has fallen into the city. As it lands, it sends a signal causing a company's robots to go beserk and rampage out into the city. Next morning sonic and his freinds find the meteorite only to be chased by robots who want it. As they escape, Sonic soon discovers the power of the meteorite and your racing begins.
Babylon: You start off deep in a cave as they are trying to obtian a treasure without setting off the traps which is actually another one of these strage meteorites. At the same time, Jet ( who is their leader) is still trying to find a way to beat his rival Sonic and become the faster creature on earth. As a trap gets set off, the meteorite saves them and Jet realizes that he might have just found the power he needs to beat Sonic.
Both stories work nicely as they cross over with one another through rivalry and teamwork as each side is determind to answer the certian questions: What are these meteorites?, Who is behind the rampage of the robots?, and how do these relate to the babylon garden? The only real problem is that the script is a little less epic and even ruins moments with cheesy lines including Sonic at one point believing Eggman is innocent. This shouldnt stop you from reaching the end however as it gets epic and exciting enough to deliver and enjoyable story, especially for a racing game.
Gameplay 8.5/10: Sonic and his freinds do racing games not on their feet but on boards. As you go around the track doing tricks, you gain gravity points which allow you to control gravity accessing new areas and increasing speed. Along with the gravity comes 3 abilities for different characters. Theres speed ( like Sonic), flying( like Tails) and power( like Knuckles). Speed allows you to grind on rails, Flying allows you to fly off ramps giving you a speed boost, and power allows you to punch objects that would slow other racers down. All 3 abilities will provide you with new shortcuts and reach the goal at quicker speeds. With so much variety in track design, gravitational and character powers, it will take many races to truly find all the secrets. The game offers several modes to play these races in from story, to missions, to a classic grand prix and as you compete you earn rings. Earning rings allows you to buy new boards but there are more than just boards: there are skates, bikes, air rides, wheels, even yachts. Only problem here is that many of these vehicles are very expensive so it takes alot of racing to buy them all so luckily its fun. As you do all of this you have a choice of 3 different controls each well explained in the tutorial. 2 out of 3 work perfectly ( the gamecube controller and the remote on its side) but the 3rd one ( holding the remote vertically) requires a little more skill but it does bring a new challenge to the way you play racing games. A racing game done right is what you would call this bringing large variety in about every catagory there is so pick your racer and get ready to control gravity!
Graphics 9/10: Not only is there a large variety of feel, but also in the presentation of the game. Graphics are crisp, clean, and sharp with so many different looks and colors. Water ways, electrical effects , the magnetic reaction of gravity all have their own unique look in courses such as bases, factories, cities, forest, water areas, and even space. Sonic riders takes place in a more futuristic area and this game successfully delivers that look with beauty.
What has been looked down upon, has turned out to be an improvement to sonic riders, and to sonic games in the more recent years. Sonic riders zero gravity takes racing games in a new unusual direction as well as deliver the same speed that Sonic is known for.