Hands-onSupercar Street Challenge

Activision stopped by today with a pre-alpha build of Supercar Street Challenge for the PC that builds on the solid foundation we'd seen displayed in 2762230our last time with the game . The framerate has also improved, which boosts the game's sense of speed and makes sharp turns even more challenging. At present the game's framerate fluctuates, but associate producer Gene Bahng stated the team is currently working on getting the framerate locked down and steady.

The game's graphics continue to be refined and have been tweaked for the better. The car models are a bit smoother and are complemented by more polished roadside detail and particle effects. The game's environmental effects, like rain, fog, and night, also look better. Bahng also pointed out that the texture detail and car models will receive a slight boost in quality over their PlayStation 2 counterparts. Car handling was fairly tight during most of the race; though it's apparent that some work still needs to be done as control felt a little lose at times.

While the core of the game continues to improve Activision let us in on some additions to the game, which should excite racing fans. With the recent acquisition of the rights to the Saleen S7R, the game will now reward players who complete Championship mode with a new challenge. The S7R will be joined by race versions of the top 6 cars from the roster. Seven new races will be available to test player's racing skills.

Its Styling Studio car builder offers budding car designers the chance to build their own creations and trade them over the Internet with other drivers. As far as other multiplayer features are concerned, Supercar Street Challenge supports a two-player split screen mode as well as 6-player LAN games.

As the game nears completion Activision and Exakt have begun focusing on the game's soundtrack and will be licensing Moonshine Music to provide the game's tunes. The tunes have are more "Ridge Racer" than "Gran Turismo" thanks to Moonshine's trance/electronica artists. Licensed tracks from Christoper Lawrence, Keoki, Crystal Method and Sirius will be on hand with original tracks by DJ Dave Aude.

Supercar Street Challenge is slated to hit the PC this fall.