Street Racing Syndicate

"Good and comparable the big boys, NFSU and Midnight Club."

Honestly, I knew nothing about this game till last month. Haven't been reading much about upcoming games. Then a week ago I saw this game and was like, "Oh, a new street racer? Looks nice. I'll just get it." And until today I'm still playing this game and have no regrets about getting it.

Story:
There isn't much of a story in the game, just at the start where you're asked to replace some driver who's in jail. You win the race (with a Nissan Skyline), win some cash and get yourself a brand new ride. Basically from there you win some more cash from other races, earn respect points, tune your car and hook up with some girls. The part where you're allowed to 'free roam' the city is great but if you're too lazy to do that, you can just 'jump' to the next race or challenge.

Graphics:
Firstly, the graphics were better than what I had expected. Probably the first thing you'll notice is that the graphics are very similar to those of Need for Speed Underground. But I reckon that SRS has better graphics because some races are held during the day. Some during the evening where you can see the sunlight over the horizon. It's one of the games with better graphics for a street racer.

Sound:
Like many street racing games, most of the songs are either rap or hip-hop. The engine noises are kind of cool when you're at the starting line with other cars, pressing on the accelerator, and different engine noises are coming from different cars.

Gameplay:
Like any street racer, you get a brand new car, win some races, tune your ride, win some more races. Something which can sometimes be a sore has been added. If you damage you're car during free roam or races, the damage actually stays and you'd have to repair the damages which of course cost $$$. However, this makes the game more realistic and you'd be less inclined to driving like a wild man because in the end, if you're car's totally wrecked, the cost of repairing might be more than what you're won in the race. One thing I totally didn't like was that there were too little cars. Most of them are the same type but different model. Like there's a Mitsubishi Eclipse GS and a Mitsubishi GS-T. Get my drift?

Overall:
A great game if you're a fan of street racing or just waiting for NFSU2. Great effort by Namco and it's definitely one of the better street racers out there.

Score:
8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/13/04