Not much has changed in the transition to the PSP which is a little disappointing. It would have been good if there were a few new additions to the PSP incarnation but unfortunately all that appears to have changed is the title. Street Riders is a mission based combat racing game and whilst there are a lot of racing games on the PSP there really aren’t many combat racing titles.
The main mode in the game is the story mode. The story mode the game puts players in the role of Buck, who is a young driver picked off the streets and raised by the local gang leader Dupree. Dupree is shot by a rival gang leader and a war hits the streets. Buck has to take to the streets and defend the turf he was brought up on. The story is told through some rather impressive cut scenes though but it doesn’t really make much sense even when you’ve completed the game.
What a thrilling view...
Street Riders plays out similarly to just about every other car combat game. There are health power ups scattered throughout the levels as well as weapons. If you power slide then you can also build up a boost meter. You can use your weapons to shoot ahead of you at other vehicles or behind you to the vehicles approaching your tail. Your vehicle also has a set of armor so you need to pay attention to ensure your vehicle doesn’t get destroyed.
Aside from the story mode there is also a quick hits option as well as Ad-Hoc multiplayer support. Quick hits lets you play through any of the completed missions again. We doubt many people will have the inspiration to actually do this though. The multiplayer mode is reasonably extensive though and up to eight players can play in the multiplayer if everyone has a copy of the game. Unfortunately the title doesn’t support game sharing though. There are plenty of modes to choose from in multiplayer including whip race, minefield, death match and survivor so if you can find another person with the game then there is a lot to do. The frame-rate actually runs really well in multiplayer as well even with a lot going on.
The game does have a few problems though that bring the single player campaign down a little. The missions can become a little too repetitive and there isn’t a lot of variety in the tracks which can make the single player campaign feel a little similar after an hour. Unfortunately the game just isn’t that fun at times either. This could be because of the repetitive missions but a lot of the time the races just feel boring. The mixed up storyline also means that you’ll very rarely know why you’re racing but you cannot progress unless you get first. The AI isn’t very intelligent either though and will sometimes drive into the way of an oncoming weapon. The game features rubber band AI as well so even if you drive a perfect lap and use all of your boost the AI will be right behind you all of the way until the last corner. This means it’s possible to lose a race on the last corner which is extremely frustrating if you’ve had a near flawless race.
Visually the game isn’t that impressive but does the job. The transition to the PSP has meant that the tracks have a little less detail and the courses aren’t as good looking but this also means the frame-rate is incredibly smooth, as a result we never encountered any frame rate issues. The FMV is the saving grace of the visuals though and all of the videos are of very high quality.
The game doesn't look this good...
“Damn baby what you doing?” This a phrase you will literally hear about a hundred times throughout the single player campaign. The audio is some of the worst we’ve heard in a game for a very long time. There appears to be a swear word thrown into every sentence as if this makes the game seem cooler but unfortunately it just seems tacky and overdone. Some of the phrases are just so ludicrous that they will have you laughing unintentionally. The soundtrack is okay but becomes repetitive after awhile.
The story mode will take less than ten hours to complete and after this there really isn’t much of a reason to return to the game. It’s possible to replay any of the missions at any time but there is no real incentive to do this. The multiplayer is likely to be the only reason you would return to the game but to find another person with a copy of Street Riders is going to be a mission in itself.
It really is amazing how much time can change things. Unfortunately Street Riders just isn’t a really good game. The game is much more expensive than it was when it was released nine months ago and just about nothing has been added as an incentive to get this game. The game features repetitive missions, laughable dialog and a story mode that just isn’t long enough (or interesting enough) to keep you captivated. The name was changed because 187 just wasn’t any good, a poor game is always a poor game no matter what the title is.
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