Once the kings of four wheels, Namco has started its ascent with solid portable editions of Ridge Racer for the PSP and Nintendo DS. However things are different on the home platforms, where most gamers dismiss Ridge Racer without a thought, after two disappointing instalments. This critical damage has been addressed with the arrival of SRS: Street Racing Syndicate, another entry in the bulging urban racing genre.
This may be the first entry in the series, but the premise is similar to competitors already on the market. You take the role of a new racer determined to prove your skills in the competitive LA street racing scene. In reality it’s just an excuse to start from the bottom, and work your way up (thankfully in your own time) and through the cities. As in Rockstar’s Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition, control is firmly in your hands, as you can chase fame and fortune or just cruise the city. In fact SRS even does the cruising for you, allowing an extend opportunity to view your creation from all angles as it cruises downtown. SRS includes a points system that accumulates through manoeuvres and showing off during races. This in turn improves your respect, and standing with the ladies.
SRS gives you a generous helping hand initially, and its arcade qualities are quite apparent. The handling is fun and never complicates matters, as it lets you enjoy the races. However damage is shown onscreen, and importantly costs cash to repair in the garage. The circuits themselves are somewhat disappointing, especially as Namco is known for visually stimulating and skill testing designs. Perhaps the bland urban environment inhibited any freedom of expression, but the tracks themselves cannot hide the fact that whoever has the biggest beast of a car, normally wins. The range of races you can partake in, is decent, but never awesome (unlike Dub Edition), however just by cruising (and flashing your lights at another car) you can secure quick races Tokyo Highway Challenge style. For the real fans of such cars, SRS includes a wide range of customisation options and a cool dyno test that allows you to see the improved performance.
In retrospect the real trick is not only to provide the brashest vehicles or the crispest graphics, no, that’s all been done before, instead that finishing touch which makes a game stand out from all the others is required. And how have Namco added that touch? With the inclusion of women, or in this release girlfriends, as Gamestyle is unaware of their street slang name. These felines play an important role in the racing scene, but in other releases are merely relegated to starting races or gracing cut sequences (the inoffensive EA games for instance). By overcoming respect challenges, female drivers become your wannabe partners (eighteen in total). Continuing good performance opens up videos that allow real life females to dance in front of your eyes, until you tire of such a thing or 52 at a push. Honestly, Gamestyle just doesn’t know what to make of such a feature.
SRS visually is set at night and takes advantage of the urban environments with neon signs and an impressive resolution. At times the frame rate will stutter with what’s been thrown at it, but this problem only occasionally raises its head. Even in first person the actual sense of speed is somewhat disappointing, and lacks the exhilaration of rival releases. After collisions the camera has an annoying trait (if you are in first person) of throwing you into a third person viewpoint, when it pleases. The musical accompaniment is what you’d expect from a release such as this, but none of the artists registers on the Gamestyle radar. Compared to the expansive selection on Dub Edition, SRS is limited and only sticks with one genre of music.
The multiplayer options are good; two player split screen, LAN play and the opportunity to go online. The game allows you to sign in (Xbox Live style) even it you are playing the main mode. This in theory allows friends on your buddy list to contact you for a race meet. And it’s a good job, as SRS online is very quiet, and eerie. Perhaps all the wannabe racers are out on the street (opposite your local chip shop) instead of being online? Or the police finally saw sense and locked them all up? Whatever, the online take up so far is disappointing.
The number of tracks online is limited, and their design provokes the unfriendly tactic of using your opponent as a braking barrier on the sharpest of bends. SRS does support the Playstation 2 headset, which allows for some urban communication in the lobby before joining a race. The matches themselves are easily set up, adjusted and quick to load. The range of matches is varied and enjoyable; starting with bland races; progressing onto team races, and finally scrambling for icons. The mode for a real drivers is Pink Slip, here you race your offline creation in a winner takes all event, as you snatch those precious vehicles from their blubbering owners.
SRS: Street Racing Syndicate is a good start for its debut entry, amongst competitors already into their third incarnation. Namco has managed to deliver a package that ticks most of the right boxes, but in conclusion needs to take more chances to stand out from the crowd. Consider that SRS started out at doomed publisher 3DO before being snapped up by Namco (in the bargain sale that arose after 3DO’s decline), what we have here might just be the greatest 3DO game of all time?
If you enjoyed the article above, check out the following reviews.
Art of Fighting: Anthology review for the Sony PlayStation 2Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter review for the Sony PlayStation 2
Persona 3 FES review for the Sony PlayStation 2
Drakengard 2 review for the Sony PlayStation 2
Persona 4 review for the Sony PlayStation 2
Rock Band review for the Sony PlayStation 2
Soul Nomad And The World Eaters review for the Sony PlayStation 2
blog comments powered by Disqus
