This is an unorthodox racing game (More so than that nutty awesome Sonic R game back on the Saturn). Characters ride hovering skateboards called Extreme Gear, which run on air. Air is consumed by boosting, drifting, and preparing a jump. Air is replenished by performing tricks, grinding rails, riding through giant aerial rings, or knocking obstacles off the track, or spinning the control stick during a course's automatic section. You can improve your Extreme Gear's performance by collecting rings. At 30 rings you rise to level 2, and at 60 you reach level 3. As you increase your level your Gear gets better abilities (faster acceleration, higher top speed, and the like), plus your boosts and attacks get better.
Each character is assigned a type: Speed, Power, and Flight. Speed characters grind rails. Power characters destroy obstacles. Flight characters fly through the aerial rings. Available characters are Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and 3 newcomers: Jet the Hawk, Wave the Swallow, and Storm the Albatross. Unlockable characters include Eggman, ******** YEAH), Aiai(of Super Monkey Ball fame) Rouge, and Shadow(oh ******** no). You can also buy extra Extreme Gear with the rings earned in races.
Now that game summary's out of the way, let's move on. The air system is a big adjustment. Managing your air efficiently is probably the single hardest thing to do in the game, but once you master it, everything's a snap. Judgements about when to Boost and how much to slide are easier to make, which allows more room for exploring the courses and finding elusive treasures, such as the rare 100 rings capsule and the rarer Max Air capsule. Trying out the Extreme Gear is fun, too. Just whatever you do, don't believe what Gamefaqs has to say about who the best characters are and which Extreme Gear are the best.
