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G Forces are a phenomenon crucial for providing the excitement on most coasters; yet it would seem a slightly strange choice to use for a rides theme. It’s a choice driven mainly by her sponsor, an IT company of the same name. Unlike its predecessor ‘The Klondike Gold Mine’, G Force makes a great show of all its elements instead of hiding them away where they can add an air of mystery to the experience. Yet it is hard to deny that despite the initial show the ride is slightly small compared to the coasters rival Alton Towers is throwing up, more over the lack of on ride theming makes the initial presentation rather bland. We head under some stylised arches into a sleek silver building. Here the queue takes a zig zag ‘cattle pen’ nature. Luckily a number of features can help visitors to oversight the queue lines initial flaw, all courtesy of the already mentioned sponsor. The walls hold giant screens entertaining us with hypnotic swirls similar to Windows Media Player. Above us a giant van de graph generator style contraption produces an electrify display once every 7 or 8 minutes, albeit a fairly brief one. It seems a shame it can’t last a little longer, whether owing to cost or some more scientific purpose. In fact by the time my digital camera had turned on the display was over. Some educational signs provide the final distraction giving us a lesson on the term G Force and the role it will play in our experience. Unfortunately while these effects distract from the queue line they don’t cover up the speed at which it is moving. Initially the ride will have just one train although the possibility of a second is there. Stairs lead up to the station, a bright warm affair that looks out on the ride. The Trains (or rather train) themselves are a nice piece of design-man-ship. Seats are articulated which should at least provide decent views for all those in the front car of the two. They are minimalist and hold passengers in with the snazzy ‘X’ restraint. Not just a mere novelty, but also a gallant effort at creating a more exposed and smoother experience than could be found on previous examples. Finally the ‘big boy seats’ at the back of each cars ensure that no one need be excluded from the ride, although these seats are not advertised as well as similar set ups over seas. The ride opens with a speedy drop from the station onto the lift/loop. Here a cable takes us upside allowing us to complete the first inversion without either a launch or a conventional lift hill. In other words we are offered a lengthy opportunity to put our ‘X’ restraint to the test. While on other versions this can be an extremely intimidating start severe planning laws mean that on G-Force we are not particularly high up. This definitely hinders that initial wow factor but still provides a one trick novelty and guarantees that minimal track need be wasted. Now it’s time to discover whether or not the ride is worthy of the title G-Force. The initial camel back looks crazy with its steep descent and impossibly tight crest, but due to low speeds we leave very much intact. While you can expect to feel light it would be pure fantasy to expect to be hurled from your seat towards the stratosphere even without the restraint. The following element, or as the park would put it-“the bent Cuban eight that is modelled to aerobatic manoeuvres”, is good but misses the X factor the manufacture has named it for. Again speed greatly reduces the forces that could and should pin us to our seat, nor does the world first aspect live up to its claim. It is in fact little more than a cobra roll (a combination of half loop, half corkscrew, half corkscrew, half loop) found on several other rides, with the exit track set at a slightly different angle. The final bends include some nice head chopper effects as we weave through the rides structure, yet here theming could greatly enhance the experience. The ride is over, but does it live up to its status of Drayton Manors second biggest coaster (after Shockwave)? It’s not a bad ride, particularly considering the space and planning laws that hampered the design. It’s smooth and does have novelty value. But also has too many drawbacks to count as a signature ride-short length, little theming and overall too slow.
Click here to see some pictures of G-Force
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