Supercar Street Challenge Hands-On

Activision is banking on your being drawn to ultraexpensive, high-performance automobiles because that's the premise of its upcoming Exakt-developed racer: the driving of high-profile, exotic sports cars. Featuring such names as Lotus, Fioravanti, Pagani, and Bertone, Supercar Street Challenge is arguably the racer with the most expensive auto licenses. Fortunately, the pre-alpha build that we got to play also served as evidence of some pretty solid arcade-style gameplay.

While not as over the top as Ridge Racer or SF Rush, Supercar Street Challenge is more akin to them than it is to any other sim-based racer. Exakt really didn't have to take any liberties in terms of speed--the cars featured in SSC average top speeds of more than 200mph. Where the arcade sensibilities are felt is in the game's handling; the game seems focused on making tight turns and speeding down narrow, tunneling avenues. It all seems ludicrously easy, but that's really the point--and, all considered, it's pretty exhilarating. The game's actual tracks--based in cities like Los Angeles, Turin, Paris, and Munich--are finely detailed and feature pertinent landmarks and painstakingly rendered cityscapes. While it was previously reported that the tracks would be populated by nonracing traffic, Exakt has decided to scrap that feature, in favor of more focused races. Seemingly in its place are a host of shortcuts dotting each track. While many are of your fairly standard variety (narrow alleys, palace courtyards, and such), others are pretty outlandish, including a romp through the circular sewer tunnels of Turin. Decent-looking weather effects are also prevalent throughout many of the tracks, and especially impressive were some of the rain effects: The puddles on the street would sport dim reflections of the environment in real time, as a persistent mist fell from the sky.

Perhaps the most exciting feature Activision displayed, though, was the game's extensive Styling Studio. This feature actually lets you design your own car by altering its front and rear contours. Twelve basic front and rear shapes are available (three of which are available at the outset), and you can tweak them to your heart's content. Each change will result in an actual aerodynamic shift in the car's handling, which, needless to say, translates into some pretty deep customization potential. While the feature's interface is still a work in progress, what we saw was really impressive--the actual car model would morph in real time, letting you see the physical changes as they were made. Performance modifications are also possible--your car's engine, among other systems, will be upgradable and tweakable. The final product will also let you mess with a handful of aesthetic characteristics, such as paneling, textures, and all kinds of mods, including spoilers, fenders, and neon-kits. What's more, after you use them to win races, your custom creations will also appear on the regular roster. Meaning, you'll most likely have to race against your creations, at some point.

The game's visual presentation is definitely still a work in progress. At this point, many textures lack detail; lighting effects seemed a bit inconsistent; and, aside from the game's impressive environments, everything seemed a bit underdetailed. The build we played was pre-alpha, though, so we've no doubt that Exakt will greatly polish up the package by the release date. The frame rate seemed a bit touchy--it was pleasingly solid at times, though chugs here and there were not uncommon. Activision is promising a solid 60fps at launch, though; so there's really nothing to worry about.

Supercar Street Challenge will feature 11 cars at launch and 27 tracks spread throughout seven world-class cities. It bears mention that Exakt has managed to obtain the rights to render damage on the vehicles--indeed, you'll really get to see, literally, how it feels to totally bang up a million-dollar car. It'll have an actual effect on the car's performance, too: Get into too many wrecks, and your car just won't keep up.

The game's next big milestone will coincide with this year's E3 Expo, and Activision is promising that it will be in top form in time for the show. What we've seen so far seems pretty promising, so we're pretty excited about how it turns out. The game is scheduled for release this summer, so check back here as soon as E3 rears its ugly head.