Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity Confirmed.

[Opa-Opa]

What is this? PS2?

[Radrappy]

My eyes



They bleed

[Gaz]

Those graphics looks pretty poor but then I'm sure the first Riders didn't look that good in early screenshots. It will probably look better in motion but I'm certainly not expecting it to be a huge improvement.

[Dasher]

Interesting boards, wonder how they'll work, and im glad part 2 is coming, I liked part 1.

[Isuka]

What is this? PS2?

Why, because they look like complete, non-anti-aliased low-res crap? Then probably yes.
And it's even uglier than the first Riders, I'm almost amazed that SEGA's actually up to the challenge of getting even lower with every new endeavour.

[Tsuyoshi-kun]

The first Riders looked like shit until I played the game, so it could be possible that it looks better on a real TV screen. But still...this looks like an above-average looking N64 game for now.

[Forza Johnman]

It doesn't look as pixelated as the first Riders but the track looks ugly. I mean in the first Riders the tracks were mostly forgettable but they weren't ugly.

The boards/bike look horrible as well.

I was quite looking forward to this.

[Adamis]

[DackAttac]

The track doesn't look terrible to me, but Sonic's model in that first shot pretty much says it all.

[Adamis]

[Esrever]

Man, when I was 12 years old that rendered art up above would have made me FLIP OUT. (In a good way.) Definitely makes the concept look really cool! Too bad the actual game isn't really following through on the promise of that pic just yet.

[Shadow Hog]

[image]

Oh, yay. CG. That totally hasn't been done before. That totally isn't getting old at all. That's totally better than the unique art style the first game had. I am extremely enthusiastic that all console <i>Sonic</i> games must have CG artwork and never, ever anything hand-drawn ever again. CG forever. Yay.

[Yami CJMErl]

Wow, I think that's the first time I've ever considered Sonic game screenshots to be downright fugly. I'm certainly HOPING that's the PS2 version...

Also, the CG art (potential boxart?) is nice, but the boards look like giant deformed sneakers... =/

[Adamis]

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/23879.html?type=flv

Trailer.

[Ritz]

Oh, yay. CG. That totally hasn't been done before. That totally isn't getting old at all. That's totally better than the unique art style the first game had.

Unique? Sure. Good? Not really, no. I never understood the widespread fascination with Rider's art style- it's the usual Uekawa tripe with monotone hatch shading. It's a faux take at a stylistic approach, yet it comes across as a really cheap method of cutting corners.

Not only that, but this looks more like cover art than anything else. The original Riders' cover art was rendered as well, so this doesn't necessarily mean that the drawn stuff is completely gone. Besides, when was the last time you saw a game with illustrated cover art? For me, it was Shadowrun, and believe me, it would've been better off without.

EDIT: Just saw the trailer. The tracks do look better in motion, but that doesn't really change the fact that we're essentially getting the same exact locales as the last game. But wait, plot twist: that gravity controlling gimmick looks slick. Seriously; changing your horizontal orientation on the fly? Using a gravity blast thing to derail a train, then changing your horizontal orientation on the fly to surf on it's side while it's floating around? Jesus Christ.

Not that I'm getting my hopes up or anything!

[James McGeachie]

Besides, when was the last time you saw a game with illustrated cover art?

Now that is one hell of a damned good cover!

This game looks pretty promising from the trailer. I only briefly played a demo of the first game but it seemed slightly fun if not a little frustrating. The "gravity controlling" aspect of this game really does look like a nice innovation though, as long as it's really more useful than just a cheap gimmick.

[Esrever]

I wish the actual Charged game tried to emulate the style of the artwork!

[Wooduck51]

The song from the trailer makes my ears bleed.

[Isuka]

The American and European Riders' cover art was rendered as well, so this doesn't necessarily mean that the drawn stuff is completely gone.

Fix'd.

[Radrappy]

I'm assuming we've always gotten worse covers because somehow a stereotype has been created that we hate nice art?

[Isuka]

Hmm... don't know, we still got nice ones (the MGS series, Super Mario Strikers, Twilight Princess...), but the Sonic games get the "Americans loev unoriginal CGI!" treatment.

[Wooduck51]

Don't forget Elebits, that was also some very nice looking cover art.

[Esrever]

I think they keep him 3D on the console game boxes to make him match how he looks in those games' cut scenes, which themselves are in 3D to be harmonious (relatively speaking) with the 3D game graphics.

Since Heroes, it seems like they've tried to keep Sonic CG on the 3D games' boxes, and 2D on the 2D games' boxes.

[Dasher]

Everything trying to make "sense" makes me sick.

[DackAttac]

The song from the trailer makes my ears bleed.

Well, it is Sonic Riders 2.