The game's story centers on the series' main antagonist Doctor Eggman, disguising himself as "King Doc of Toreggmania", announcing a second World Grand Prix, secretly planning to gather data from the riders to program into his robots.

Free Riders received generally unfavorable reviews from critics, mainly due to game's motion controls, which were often described as unresponsive and inaccurate.

Players can equip special attributes to their Gear, such as improved cornering or the ability to break through barriers, which can be changed by switching the riding stance.

The game's main single-player campaign is the Grand Prix mode, where players select from one of four teams of characters to play through the story.

Doctor Eggman, disguising himself as "King Doc of Toreggmania", announces another World Grand Prix and promises vast riches to the winners.

However, at the award ceremony, Eggman reveals himself and his true motive: to gather data from all the racers to program into the ultimate Extreme Gear.

However, Free Riders features an entirely new cast of actors under the direction of Jack Fletcher, recorded at Studiopolis in Los Angeles, with only Mike Pollock reprising his role as Doctor Eggman.

IGN was one of few publishers to give a positive review, calling it a strong launch title for Kinect, although criticizing the motion controls stating that they "make it hard to just jump into the game".

Official Xbox Magazine also gave it 7.5, praising the wealth of content and multiplayer options while criticizing occasional unresponsiveness in the controls.