Everyone's favourite blue hedgehog is making his way to Kinect, in the form of Sonic Free Riders. Playing as either Sonic, one of the many other colourful characters from his world, or even your avatar (who might look a tad out of place), players jump on their hoverboards and compete in races - either on your own, against the computer, or against friends in multiplayer (2 player offline, and up to 8 online). Imagine Mario Kart, with boards instead of cars, and motion controls, and you're getting there - it even has a variety of weapons to hinder your opponents.
Sonic sure loves his rings - in this game, the more you collect, the faster your board will go.
Microsoft's Kinect camera scans your body and puts it into the game, so you can control the movements on screen without the need for controllers. In Sonic Free Riders this means that every twist and turn you make steers your character - from leaning forward to speed up and leaning backwards to slow down, to twisting at the waist to turn, or even jumping to perform a whole range of mid-air tricks. This trailer explains the game, and has rather amusing footage of a man waving his arms about:
The (rather loose) story mode centres around Dr. Robotnik, who's up to his usual tricks - this time he's holding a hoverboard racing tournament (with an entry fee of a Chaos Emerald, if the previous Sonic Riders games are anything to go by).
As you play through the game, racing through sun-drenched resorts, deep winding canyons, waterfalls and ancient ruins, you'll unlock various board accessories and upgrades to increase your speed or skill, and to give you various special abilities.
Sonic Free Riders has an RRP of £40, and is due out on the 10th November, along with the Kinect camera. Up until the launch we'll be running a 'Countdown to Kinect', with a new game everyday - as well as an FAQ, answering all your Kinect questions, so don't forget to check back tomorrow.
