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Besides the series' trademark "hoverboards," the option to ride bikes has been added to the game. There is even a mode, called Tag mode, where two players may work together in a race by placing their hands together and moving in sync to control their characters onscreen. The game is for one or two players on a single Xbox 360, or up to eight online. The difference now, as is perhaps obvious, is that the controller is removed in place of full body movement for control. Like previous entries in the series, the game is played controlling characters from the Sonic franchise as they race through closed tracks going over jumps, performing stunts, and attacking one another. The game is also billed by Sega as being the first Sega title controlled by "full body movements".
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Sonic Free Riders is notable for also for being a minority in Kinect releases as just about the only launch title that's not only a sequel, but part of a pre-existing game franchise, where most titles are Kinect-specific "show-off" titles for the controller-free hardware add-on. Sonic makes his Kinect debut with a Kinect-exclusive sequel to the previous generation's Sonic Riders title.
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