Kung Fu Rider Hands-On

When you think racing, hot pursuits, and wild chases, you’d most likely conclude cars, bikes, or maybe boats. Kung Fu Rider has a different idea: furniture. This first-party Sony arcade-style stunt course racer has you take control of detective Toby or his secretary, Karin, as they escape the mafia aboard chairs and tables.

For our demonstration Karin was locked out, so we took control of Toby and selected an office desk chair as his transportation. We were taken to a winding mountain road, littered with trucks, caution cones, and barricades. Quickly moving up on the motion controller caused us to peddle, increasing acceleration. With enough speed, we could also jab quickly with the controller to gain a burst of momentum that not only made us faster, but struck any enemies blocking our advance. The motion button allowed us to jump, and the trigger button let us attack with martial arts, or even cling to railings.

We quickly navigated the course ahead, grabbing all of the items along the way to increase our point total. Mafia goons chasing from the rear could be dispatched with one of Toby’s quick kicks. We approached two more enemies ahead, this time armed with bats. Unfortunately, we couldn't defeat both of them fast enough, and one of the foes was able to beat us over the head in a slow-motion finisher.

However, rather than being taken back to any form of checkpoint or, worse, having to restart, we were advanced further on the course as a result of our defeat. In fact, every time we failed to clear a barrier or dodge a car, we were bumped ahead, rather than being punished for making a mistake. With this level of assistance, we were able to reach Toby’s van and escape the mobsters for good.

We had a chance to try only one level in this demo, but we'll have a chance to try out nearly 60 different tracks when Kung Fu Rider is released on September 19 as a PlayStation Move launch title.