Kirby Air Ride

Kirby Air Ride, known in Japan as Kirby's Airride (カービィのエアライド, Kābī no Earaido), is a 2003 racing game video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube video game console starring Kirby, one of HAL's characters.

Kirby Air Ride has the players and computer-controlled racers ride on Air Ride Machines. The game supports up to four players, and was the first GameCube title to support LAN play using broadband adapters and up to four GameCube systems.

Although Air Ride received mixed critical reviews, which criticized the game's simplicity, it would eventually gain a following, being called underrated by fans of the series.

Gameplay

Kirby Air Ride is played primarily through use of a vehicle, many of which are taken from previous Kirby games, such as the Warpstar. Players take control of Kirby or any of his multicolored counterparts to compete in races or other minigames.

The simple controls are a defining feature of Kirby Air Ride. Unlike most racers, no input is necessary for the craft to move forward. Other than the use of the Control Stick to steer, the A button performs all other actions in the game, including braking, charging up for a boost, sucking in nearby enemies and thereafter using the powers absorbed from them. Gliding is also a definitive feature of the game, as the player can control the crafts' altitude when they go airborne.

Air suspension

Air suspension is a type of vehicle suspension powered by an electric or engine-driven air pump or compressor. This compressor pumps the air into a flexible bellows, usually made from textile-reinforced rubber. The air pressure inflates the bellows, and raises the chassis from the axle.

Overview

Air suspension is used in place of conventional steel springs in passenger cars, and in heavy vehicle applications such as buses and trucks. It is broadly used on semi trailers, trains (primarily passenger trains). One application was on EMD's experimental Aerotrain.

The purpose of air suspension is to provide a smooth, constant ride quality, but in some cases is used for sports suspension. Modern electronically controlled systems in automobiles and light trucks almost always feature self-leveling along with raising and lowering functions. Although traditionally called air bags or air bellows, the correct term is air spring (although these terms are also used to describe just the rubber bellows element with its end plates).