Street Racing Syndicate : Games : Web Wombat

Need for Speed Underground 2 and Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition currently rule the street-racing genre, and any challenger, no matter how capable, was always going to have a fight on their hands.

Unfortunately for Namco, the creators of Street Racing Syndicate (SRS), that fight is proving to be much too intense.

Paling by comparison to the above two games, SRS just doesn't provide the goods when push comes to shove.

Like other street racing games out there, you can upgrade your ride, boosting its power and its image, but unfortunately the graphics are average and gameplay is uninspired.

As you race around restricted courses against other computer controlled opponents or over the 'Net against other users you will have to get used to the game's physics, which are adequate.

Like NFSU2 and Midnight Club you can spend the time between races upgrading your car in both performance and style. Just like the abovementioned top two rivals, you can upgrade and change just about anything from turbocharger performance to paint jobs and lurid bodykits.

One area where the game does seem to differ to its main rivals is that the 40 or so cars included in the game can be damaged.

Bend your vehicle too much and you’ll have to pay for repairs rather than upgrades, which is a real shit for impatient folk (like me) who just like to upgrade their cars to the fullest with all their spare monies.

Games like NFSU2 have no real damage, and it'll come down to a personal preference as to whether or not you want a realistic damage model or not. In SRS you have to be a lot more vigilant, because if you crash it can be almost over before it starts.

Races are scored on two counts: overall placement and style. You can gain style points just by overtaking someone or dragging them (if you get overtaken you lose the points) or by performing wild powerslides and other difficult manoeuvres. Get in the lead from the start and your points won't be as high as if you struggle in the back ranks, which is a strange way of rewarding players who do well from the outset.

The graphics are dark and at times dreary, with no real sense of speed. In fact if you kit out your car with nitrous and use it, everything actually slows down rather than speeding up, which a very strange visual effect and not very enticing for street-racing lovers.

One of the game's main selling points is that you can collect 18 different "Honeys" - all based on real-life female models from the US import car scene. And for girls gamers out there? Err, well, you get nothing.

And what's more, once you've secured a "Honey's" affections, which is done by completing missions with names like Kaila's Checkpoint Challenge or even by "winning" them off other drivers, you get to "hook up" and "roll with" the lady in question. Alternatively, you can just keep them locked up in your warehouse and force them to dance for you like silicone-enhanced monkeys - well, you watch videos of them dancing anyway, usually whilst they're trying not to look like they're slightly embarrassed by having to dance alone.

But, you know, lots of people like this sort of thing, and they certainly are good looking women, complete with all the mod cons. So well done, Namco, for coming up with a concept that will probably sell more copies of your game than deserve to be sold.

This game is a poor mans version of NFSU2 and Midnight Club. Even close up shots of big breasted women in the cut scenes can't save this game. With such high standards to compete against, SRS gets chokes on the exhaust fumes of its more gameplay-oriented rivals.

Game: Street Racing Syndicate
System: PS2
Players: 1-multi
Online: Yes
Developer: Namco
Distributor: Atari

Rating: 60%

(Ratings Key/Explanation)

Street Racing Syndicate is on the shelves now.

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