Super Sonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars (SSARPBC)

Overview:

You drive a car with intense boosting capabilities in order to score points on the opposing team via a giant ball. Yes, it’s a bit out there, but wicked fun.

Gameplay:

The game mechanics of SARPBC are simple, but are open enough for players to become very skilled and build upon. An easy way to explain this game is: soccer + cars + massive amounts of flipping around. SARPBC  sports (no pun intended, well kinda) a single-player challenge/tournament mode, as well as split-screen and online multiplayer (4P local, 8P online).

The single player “campaign” has many different challenges available, from different shaped balls to conditional handicaps that make the game harder. By beating these challenges you unlock more Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars to play with, but note that they all play the same- they only look different. The tournament mode has you play normal games with and against the AI, it’s pretty straight forward. As you progress, the matches get harder and you’re pitted against more opponents. You get starts based on how you perform in both tournament and challenge mode, and let me tell you, you’ll spend hours trying to 5-star some of these levels!

The multiplayer is where I believe this game shines the most. Though some may think this game doesn’t have enough options, I believe it shows players and developers alike that you don’t need dozens of features to make a game fun. Local split-screen is a blast with friends and family, and online is great if you are by yourself looking for people to play with. The game has a total of 7 cars ( you start with 2 ) and 5 maps to play on ( The game was shipped with 3, but Psyonix released two more maps “Cosmic“ and “Galleon“ via free, in-game updates ). The maps are very well made, and so simple you can just jump right into the fun. But just because this game is simple doesn’t mean you can’t show off your skills. Techniques in flipping, barrel-rolling, flying, and boost-usage are all things in need of mastering to become the ultimate Battle-Car player. The only problem I’ve had with the multiplayer is that sometimes the game will misplace you and cause your game to possibly play somewhat buggy. Just quit the match and re-setup the game and you should be good to go.

Boosting, in my opinion, makes this game what it is. Whether you use it to reach supersonic speeds and destroy your opponent, get from one end of the field to the other in seconds, or both- boost is your source of speed and efficiency. You can collect boost by running over boost-pads or by driving through boost-crystals that fill up your boost meter to the max!

Controls:

SARPBC has a solid control set. The controls feel smooth and no action is too tedious to perform. Advanced moves like barrel-rolling and controlled-flying ( I say controlled because I have found myself just spinning aimlessly in the air before ) may take a while to master, but new players should be able to play just fine within the first few games.

Sound:

Battle cars has a small, but game-fitting, soundtrack. The game also allows you to use custom play lists so you can have music to fit your mood. The countdown timer and buzzer sounds tend to be a bit loud compared to others, but overall the sound quality of the game is solid. The boosting sound effects and explosions make the game’s non-stop action really appeal to the person controlling their car, and only help you feel more immersed in the intense match that you are flying through.

Graphics:

The visuals in SARPBC are very nice to look at. The cars have nice detail to them, and the vibrant coloring of the levels make them all the more enjoyable to play in. The frame rate doesn’t seem to drop throughout play, though when playing online you may find yourself skipping around due to latency issues of other players, it’s nothing game play hindering.

Replay Value:

I play SARPBC at least once a week, and usually more. When you play this game, you can’t just play one match, you have to play at least 3 or 4. At the end of every match, you’re left with that “Just one more game!” feeling. The game has just over a dozen trophies, two of which take much devoted playing to achieve. Obtaining all of the stars in the game is something I have yet to do. Though some may be turned off by the lack of maps to play on and match customization, I’d say the maps that are available are all perfect in their own way, and well designed. As for customization, I would have liked to see a time limit adjusting feature, as well as the possibility of uneven team matches such as 1v2 or 2v4. Psyonix is still making updates and free content for the game as well!

Is It Price Worthy?

Yes. Definitely. This is one of my favorite PSN titles and for $10, you can’t go wrong with such a lovable game. I bought it at its original price of $15 and I still think I got a good deal on it.

Score: 8.5/10

The only problem I have with the game is the random bugs and the limited match options, but as I said before- it’s nothing the game doesn’t outweigh with its unique game play.

-Dave