Score
Gameplay:	7
Graphics:	7
Sound:	6
FunFactor:	7
PlasmaFactor:	7
Overall:	6.8

Street Racing Syndicate Review
November 21, 2004 by Scott Parrino

by Scott - November 21, 2004

You are an up and coming import racer on the streets. After your first big race, you are given your share of the winning money and sent on your way to buy your first car to upgrade and race for money, respect, and women.

Just Average

It seems that the import-racing scene is still hot as a match this year and Namco doesn�t hide it. Contending with EA�s Need For Speed: Underground, Street Racing Syndicate adds a different dimension to the street-racing theme. You can freely roam about the city, looking for races, whether they are one on one, or for cash or respect.

Unfortunately, that is probably one of the only distinctive aspects of SRS, aside from winning women. Yes, that�s right, you can win women from doing certain jobs or events, more on that later. In fact, the control scheme for SRS is virtually copied from NFS: U and in a way this is a plus, since NFS:U�s controls are instinctive.

What comes with SRS? Well, more than 40 licensed cars, an in-depth garage system, and some pretty good AI. Unfortunately, there are aspects in SRS that bring these nice features down. After your first race (you race one of your friend�s souped up cars and win $30,000) you can only choose from a limited selection of cars. What this means is that you have to win more races, earn respect, and save up money to purchase the higher-level cars. Well unfortunately they don�t tell you how much you have to do to get these next level cars. I won three sanctioned races, all in first place, and I didn�t unlock a single car. It wouldn�t be as bad if the races were just one race, but each sanctioned race is three races for three levels, so basically nine races.

Unlike NFS: U, there is a damage system that is detrimental to your racing. But it takes a while to reach that point of damage, but if you�re not careful, your car will look really horrible. And we all know women don�t like banged up cars, right?

The in-depth garage system is great, however the Gamecube takes too long in loading the before-and-after changes to show much power, acceleration, top speed, etc you would get from putting in this part. It gets to be a hassle when you want to compare the different brands and types of parts to see if they�re a worthwhile purchase or not.

The only upside here is the AI. They give you a pretty good run for your money in races and won�t do any cheap tricks to win. In fact, they�ll make mistakes like you do. The police AI is very brutal and does nothing but re-enforce the idea to keep an eye out for the fuzz and drive carefully or your ride will be beaten up and you�ll be paying some hard earned cash for tickets.

What about the women? Sure they�re a nice feature, but it�s really nothing. You can have your lady �ride� with you, but you never see her in your car or cheering for you. You can unlock movies of her dancing for you, but I�m not going to lie, they�re horrible. They don�t look amazingly attractive or dance that well. Trust me, as a college student, I know how women can dance and what they�re doing is made for kids, remember that.
 

Not Ugly, Not Pretty

How does SRS look? Well, it doesn�t look horrible, but it doesn�t look great either. The cars you race look pretty well modeled and not generic, but aside from that, that�s all. The streets, the people, the AI civilian cars, everything else, looks sub-par. I guess this is to save room for the large number of detailed upgrades, cars, and horrible dance movies. Everything just seems to have the muddy texture printed on it. I guess the developers believed you�d be going too fast to notice, but they didn�t expect me to obey the speed limit and look around.
 

Sound Issues

To me, the quality of sound can make or break a game. Unfortunately, SRS nearly fails in this aspect. For starters, the soundtrack is horrible. Within the first five minutes I had it turned off. There aren�t any name brand titles, just second-rate rap and techno.

SRS also seems to suffer from a sound problem. You see, the plus side to these racing games to be able to hear your car, its performance, and the other cars. You want to hear the quality exhaust, the high-performance turbo, and sound of your shift. In SRS, you get one race to hear it and that�s it. After that race, all you hear is your exhaust, which may or may not be the same. I tried changing speakers, different TV�s, nope, still same problem. This really killed it for me.

Hearing other cars isn�t a problem; you�ll hear them when they get close so you�ll know if you got a contender on your rear. Aside from that, nothing really impressive.
 

Racing Feel?

I�ve raced before. On the drag strip, on the streets, and all I can say is that SRS almost feels like that. The sense of speed doesn�t feel right. This may be a plus to some who can�t stand NFS: U�s rather lightning fast speed, but SRS isn�t behind a little, it�s behind a lot. The cars speed should have been upped just a tad.

As for handling, most of the cars handle the way they would in real life. The Lancer is going to be a favorite since it handles great in turns and on the straight. Unfortunately, realistically, other cars lack power even with mods shoved into them.
 

 

 

Finishing This Up...

With Need For Speed: Underground 2 out already, SRS is pretty much obsolete, as EA took a hint and integrated free-roaming capabilities. Although if you are not a NFS fan and see this on sale for cheap, it will give you something different.