Supercar Street Challenge

Activision teams up with Supercar manufacturer Steve Saleen to deliver what amounts to a mediocre racing game with a stellar lineup of cars.

It?s a familiar concept: you get behind the wheel of the world?s most exotic cars and race through the streets of some of the coolest cities known to man. This time, though, there?s a twist. Activision has teamed up with Supercar designer Steve Saleen, creator of the screaming-fast Saleen S7, to bring you some of the speediest roadburners this side of WipeOut XL. Sounds good on paper, at least.

Move Over Bacon, Here Comes Saleen
And it feels good, too, at least at first. With Steven Saleen in the mix, you have the opportunity to design your own dream car using all sorts of parts and stats, most of which you?ll unlock by winning races. The problem here is that the actual racing isn?t that much fun. The Championship mode looks about as deep as a mud puddle compared to monsters like Gran Turismo 3, and you?ll face shallow physics and AI drivers that choose the slow-and-steady approach to racing. Thankfully, there?s a marked difference in performance as you raise your car?s stats, and that definitely gives you a feeling of accomplishment.

For the PlayStation 1.5
Supercar?s graphics suffer from the worst of PlayStation 2 problems, including simple textures, jittery frame rates, and cars so shiny you?d swear they were covered in a layer of shrink wrap. The cities you?ll race through look fine, and you?ll even face a fairly realistic flare of light whenever you?re driving toward the sun, but you?ll never see anything to make you drop your jaw. The sound consists of whiny engines and generic techno that?ll make you yearn for Rob Zombie or The Offspring.

The option to create your own car is very cool, but it can?t carry the game. Fans of supercars will have fun with this one, but if you?re expecting a grander Turismo, you?ll drive away disappointed.

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