Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars: The name doesn't quite roll off the tongue. And yet, despite a title reminiscent of those new-age Saturday morning cartoons I chastise my little brother for watching, a brief look at Psyonix Studios' upcoming downloadable PlayStation 3 game left me wanting more, right now.
The Psyonix representatives I met with describe the game as a cross between Twisted Metal and Winning Eleven, which I found to be a fairly accurate assessment. There's a story in there somewhere, but (thankfully) the developers don't seem to be putting much emphasis on it: I felt far more comfortable pretending I was piloting a bunch of R/C cars loaded with dynamite.
Two teams with up to four players each are tasked with slamming the ball into the opposing team's goal, while guarding their own. Cars are equipped with rocket boosters, which are charged by driving over pads littered across the map, or collecting tanks of rocket fuel. Use a boost to launch the ball across the map, or for their most entertaining function: vaporizing opponents by crashing into them. There's a very short respawn time, so matches devolve into amusing, explodey chaos rather quickly.
The game is built on the Unreal Engine. For those unfamiliar with the Unreal series, that means a frenetic pace and highly accurate physics. When I wasn't getting my exhaust pipe handed to me by the far more experienced developers who I was playing against, I sat in awe of the level of technique possible with quite a bit of practice, and ample use of rocket power. Cars can jump and rocket boost in tandem – perfect for slamming the ball along any desired trajectory, or gliding across the map without ever touching the ground.
Most of the cars will have to be unlocked by successfully completing a number of single-player challenges, which function as a sort of extended tutorial. There's only a slight difference between each car's handling, so if you're the lazy type who doesn't like completing challenges and collecting Playstation trophies, you're welcome to stick with the stock cars without being at a disadvantage.
In the build I played, there were three arenas to choose from. More will potentially be available by way of downloadable content, and time will tell if there's a price tag on those. The game's release date is scheduled for sometime in the fall. There isn't a cost set yet, but if Psynoix manages to nail a $10 - $15 price point, this will be one to watch.
Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars [Psyonix Studios]
