When racing comes up in conversation between gamers, it tends to be the way that the same series', games and developers are spoken about. Almost anyone reading this article now will have heard of, played or be fanatic about Gran Turismo, Forza or even the more casual ones like Burnout or Destruction Derby. Which is fine, but it tends to be the way that developers who really know the racing genre are forgotten about. Eutechnyx, for example.

Really, it's fine - I was already anticipating those blank faces. Eutechnyx is the dev responsible for various decent racing games dating back to 1988 (on the Atari 8-Bit). Remember Ferrari Challenge? Not too bad at all. And then there were the not-so-great ones, such as Pimp My Ride and 007 Racing. But let's forget those and move on, because Eutechnyx's latest - a very realistic dish published by System3 - most definitely goes into the decent box.

Originally set for release in Spring 2009 - a window which came and went - Supercar Challenge actually decided that a closed beta phase was in order. Which was good for me, as I managed to get my hands on very early on in the beta phase. And now, with not long at all before release, System3 are giving out many more beta keys via various prestige gaming sites. Such as here, for example.

Although the game takes a long time to download and get onto - there's an around-500MB patch even after the initial install - it's immediately evident that Supercar Challenge is going to be decent, even before jumping into a game. The music and colours used are classy without feeling overdone, and the exterior car models are very good too.

Jumping into a game isn't difficult either - you have the choice of either joining an existing lobby or creating one of your own. Lobby hosts have a plethora of settings to fiddle with, which can change everything from the track, car and weather settings, right down to whether to use ADS, anti-lock breaks or traction control. Also, nicely, the more advanced settings are set apart from the simple controls, which allows those inexperienced racers to stick to the simple stuff, while more savvy players can mess about with the advanced settings and get things just as they like. It's a system which is fully-featured, but evidently considerate of its mixed audience.

In-lobby comms are clear and very-good quality, surprisingly for online game lobbies. A nice feature is the ability to speak to other headset-users when they're racing and you're waiting in the lobby - it's something which prevents people leaving the lobby because of long and boring wait times.

The racing mechanic itself is very good - while there is a steep learning curve for first time and inexperienced racers, the gameplay itself cannot be faulted. True, it may lean in the favour of regular racing gamers, with a very realistic, almost hardcore feel to the gaming, but an inexperienced racer can find themselves getting good times and challenging the leaders after practise.

In all, the beta is very impressive, and, if it weren't for the steep learning curve, would most certainly earn an A-grade in Beta Proficiency. If that particular exam actually existed. However, as it doesn't, all I can say is that to miss out on this beta - particularly when your favourite videogames site is handing keys out willy-nilly - would be a very silly move indeed.

Linford

Labels: Beta Impressions, Linford Butler, Supercar Challenge

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