[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpLWHPXaD1E[/youtube]

After two recent appearances at Gamespot, SEGA continues their promoting of Sonic Free Riders with more brief demonstrations of how the game is played at IGN, such as items, jumps, shortcuts, skills and co-op. There’s nothing we haven’t already seen before, apart from some more colour variations of the E-10000 series robots. We do get to hear more Sonic and Tails voice clips from their new voice actors though. Check out the other two videos at the bottom of this article.

Source: IGN

Thanks to Woun at the SSMB for the YouTube conversions!

In other news, JPX Brutality, the Xbox360Achievements.org forum member with an early copy of the game, has shared some more details from the game’s manual.

New details with quotes from the manual include:
– Story Mode/World Grand Prix Mode synopsis.

“If you consider yourself the fastest Extreme Gear rider, why not enter the World Grand Prix and prove it? Riders who enter the Grand Prix will tour around the globe to compete on various courses designed solely for this extreme racing event. The season opener will kick start on a brand new course on Dolphin Resort, so don’t miss your chance to become the undisputed champion of the world. See you all at the starting line with your Board Gear!”

– A shop run by Omochao, where you can buy new parts to customize your Extreme Gear with.

“Access the shop from the Main Menu to purchase additional Extreme Gear and parts with accumulated Rings. Select an item from the list to display details and parameters, then drag the item onto the Cashier panel at the bottom right to purchase”

– Character bios
Sonic the Hedgehog

“Sonic is a hero who loves to live free and does not tolerate any devious deeds. He can be short tempered at times, but is always there for those who are in trouble. He usually travels at supersonic speed on foot, but with his new and advanced Gear, he’ll be cruising even faster in style at the Grand Prix with his teammates Tails and Knuckles.”

Miles “Tails” Prower

“A kid fox with two tails- hence his nickname “Tails.” He loves tinkering with machinery, and has developed various devices to support Sonic’s adventures in the past. All of Team Heroes’ Extreme Gear are built and customized by this brilliant engineer.”

Knuckles the Echidna

“Knuckles is the defender of the giant Master Emerald on the floating island in the sky known as Angel Island. To bring toughness to the track, his Extreme Gear is built to enhance his physical abilities.”

Jet the Hawk

“Jet is the captain of a treasure hunting team known as Babylon Rogues. He is considered the most technically gifted Extreme Gear rider with the ability to accurately read the wind streams. He holds high standards and considers Sonic as an ultimate rival since he is the fastest on land. As a team leader, Jet also dislikes showing any sign of weakness to anyone.”

Wave the Swallow

“Wave is the only gal on the Babylon Rogues, who also happens to be their top mechanic. Being a super achiever, she’s in charge of upgrading all of the Extreme Gear and their airship and even analyzes unknown treasures in her spare time. Although she is older than jet, she faithfully respects and follows him as her leader.”

Storm the Albatross

“Storm is the heavyweight rider of the Babylon Rogues. As his frame indicates, he has enough strength to crush a boulder with little effort. He is scorned by Jet for many of the things he lacks but he is happy to defer to Jet’s leadership and to be his right-hand man.”

Amy Rose

“Amy is always hot on Sonic’s heels as his self-professed girlfriend. With a spark of energy and her trademark item- the Piko Piko hammer, she is ready to track down the blue blur wherever he goes. Hoping Sonic will be racing at the Grand Prix once again, she decides to join the event.”

Dr. Eggman

“An evil scientific genius who is always coming to blows with Sonic and his friends, since he is always scheming for world domination. The question is how this mad scientist will attempt to crash the party this time around.”

Shadow the Hedgehog

“This dark hedgehog boasts running speeds to rival Sonic’s. Though uninterested in the Grand Prix itself, he is eager to test his riding skills and would like to beat Sonic.”

– Specs

Offline: Players 1-2, Co-op 2-4
Online: Multiplayer 2-8, Leaderboards, Voice

No downloadable content feature is listed.

– Kinect specs

KINECT sensor required, Voice enabled, Players 1-2, Co-op 2-4, In-game Avatar, Activity level: Standing/active

JPX Brutality finishes by explaining the various offline and online modes in the manual:

Tag mode is really cool. Its the games version of co-op. You work as a team to win the race and you can combine riders by facing eachother and locking hands. This brings the screen to just one instead of split and you share rings, air, and have increased speed and jump capabilities. Very cool looking. So far this game looks like one of the best actual co-op games for Kinect. You actually interact with eachother instead of just standing in the same screen.

Relay race is also really cool. 2 players race one lap with the other two waiting outside of view and once you get back the the start line your player enters the pit and you trade spots. While in the pit you can pump your arms up and down to collect air to use. This can be done 2 vs 2 or you can can do 4 vs cpu.

For Xbox live you can race online against up to 7 other players. Modes include Quick Match: Quickly search and enter available online races. Custom Match: Use search filters to find online races you wish to enter. Create Match: Create a race and invite other Xbox LIVE players. Xbox LIVE party: Set up an online part to easily connect with up to eight players.

There’s still no picture proof, so we’re still going to have to treat this all as rumour for now.

Source: Xbox360Achievements.org forums

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-nx2-uEP2I[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmBx3hfhygo[/youtube]