The main difficulty with reviewing Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars is trying to define what kind of game it is. I could describe it loosely as a cross between Micro Machines and FIFA though it features more football than racing and, well, more football than fighting. It?s the kind of game that you?ll only ever find by visiting online stores and it?s definitely worth the purchase.
SARPBC is the brainchild of Psyonix Studios and available to download through the PlayStation Store. This very detail reveals the first interesting and innovative (well I?ve never seen it done before) aspect of SARPBC. Like most PSN titles, you can pick up the game?s demo on the PlayStation Store; when, however, you want to get the full game all you need do is download a patch for the demo to unlock the rest of the game rather than download a bigger, full game, file. It may not be anything major but the little things in gaming go a long way too.
The game itself is realised in a graphic style that just feels right on the PS3. I don?t really know how to describe it but it?s a feeling I?ve gotten with all my downloaded PSN titles. The game features a nice variety of locations into which you can take your sport-racer skills, each with their own obstacles to overcome. By far my favourite of the levels is set in a futuristic location with huge lips (think skateboarding not kissy-kissy) before each goal. These added obstacles bring even more enjoyment to the game.
The controls too are slick and very easy to get the hang of. R2 accelerates, L2 breaks, Circle boosts, Cross (X) jumps (including double jump and jump boost), Square acts as a hand-break and allows you to barrel roll in the air. Directions are controlled by the left analogue stick while looking backward is assigned to R3 (probably the most awkward of the controls to hit.)
The game itself focuses on three main modes ? mini-games, tournament and online play. In the mini-games section, players must complete goals that ultimately train them in the use of the SARPBC controls. The better you perform at a task the better your rating at the end. Each run is rated from one to five stars with your greatest being added to an overall stars collection (I wanted to use balance but that would be very Nintendo.) Mini-games are also the way to unlock new vehicles, with a shiny new car awarded after you unlock a new tier of mini-games. There are five cars in total.
The tournament mode is a simpler prospect than the mini-games. You are set a number of challenge games in which you compete in proper SARPBC matches against AI opponents of differing numbers and abilities. Again stars are awarded for how well you perform in each of these matches and they?ll join your mini-games stars in your stars collection. Ultimately it feels like the offline modes are preparing you for the onslaught of online play and believe me, you?ll need the practice.
Online SARPBC matches are a thing to behold. Playing 1v1, 2v2 or 3v3 matches against actual people is a real step up, even from taking on the more difficult AI opponents. Matches are fast passed (unless you get a lag-filled match of course) with all players bringing their A-game in an attempt to stomp their opponents. It is in the online play that I finally realised that the game was worth the epic title Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars; it?s one hell of a game that redefines what you should expect from a downloaded game and is more than worthy of its place on the PlayStation Store.
SARPBC is the brainchild of Psyonix Studios and available to download through the PlayStation Store. This very detail reveals the first interesting and innovative (well I?ve never seen it done before) aspect of SARPBC. Like most PSN titles, you can pick up the game?s demo on the PlayStation Store; when, however, you want to get the full game all you need do is download a patch for the demo to unlock the rest of the game rather than download a bigger, full game, file. It may not be anything major but the little things in gaming go a long way too.
The game itself is realised in a graphic style that just feels right on the PS3. I don?t really know how to describe it but it?s a feeling I?ve gotten with all my downloaded PSN titles. The game features a nice variety of locations into which you can take your sport-racer skills, each with their own obstacles to overcome. By far my favourite of the levels is set in a futuristic location with huge lips (think skateboarding not kissy-kissy) before each goal. These added obstacles bring even more enjoyment to the game.
The controls too are slick and very easy to get the hang of. R2 accelerates, L2 breaks, Circle boosts, Cross (X) jumps (including double jump and jump boost), Square acts as a hand-break and allows you to barrel roll in the air. Directions are controlled by the left analogue stick while looking backward is assigned to R3 (probably the most awkward of the controls to hit.)
The game itself focuses on three main modes ? mini-games, tournament and online play. In the mini-games section, players must complete goals that ultimately train them in the use of the SARPBC controls. The better you perform at a task the better your rating at the end. Each run is rated from one to five stars with your greatest being added to an overall stars collection (I wanted to use balance but that would be very Nintendo.) Mini-games are also the way to unlock new vehicles, with a shiny new car awarded after you unlock a new tier of mini-games. There are five cars in total.
The tournament mode is a simpler prospect than the mini-games. You are set a number of challenge games in which you compete in proper SARPBC matches against AI opponents of differing numbers and abilities. Again stars are awarded for how well you perform in each of these matches and they?ll join your mini-games stars in your stars collection. Ultimately it feels like the offline modes are preparing you for the onslaught of online play and believe me, you?ll need the practice.
Online SARPBC matches are a thing to behold. Playing 1v1, 2v2 or 3v3 matches against actual people is a real step up, even from taking on the more difficult AI opponents. Matches are fast passed (unless you get a lag-filled match of course) with all players bringing their A-game in an attempt to stomp their opponents. It is in the online play that I finally realised that the game was worth the epic title Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars; it?s one hell of a game that redefines what you should expect from a downloaded game and is more than worthy of its place on the PlayStation Store.
