Sega has announced that Sonic Free Riders will be its first title for Microsoft’s impending motion controller, Kinect.

Free riders will provide an “extreme fast-paced boarding game” (not board game, as I initially read it), and, utilising the body tracking motion control provided by Kinect, will allow players to “twist and turn” – read fumble and flail in my case; grace and dignity were never my strong suits – through action-packed courses on their fully customisable hover board / bike.

Players will be able to choose from a selection of Sonic characters, as well as having the option to use their own avatar, a nice addition, and something I feel is underused on the platform. Also available will be kart-style pickups, which players can literally grab at as they pass, and launch at their opponents with a wave of the arms.

Sonic Free Riders will be available to play with Kinect for Xbox 360 coming at the end of the year.