Since the launch of the PSP, racing fans have little to complain about seeing as the racing games that have come out are actually not bad at all. Whether you like the intense racing crash modes in Burnout Legends or the circuit races of Ridge Racer, your need for speed can be more than quenched with these. Of course, even the most popular of racing genres, the illegal racing a tuner world, is present on the PSP. With Street Supremacy, we go on another jaunt into the world of illegal street races but will introducing a team battle separate this game from the pack?

The answer in this case is no. Street Supremacy takes racing fans into the Tokyo highways as you play a racer who joins any of the available illegal racing teams in the city. You start, of course, by purchasing a car. The cars you’ll be able to afford are nothing to sneeze at really since they’re pretty lean racing machines. You can purchase a Mazda MX-5 Miata or even a Mazda RX-8, choose the color (naturally) and join a racing team that ranges from the Speed Masters Members or The Road of Justice Members. No matter what team you race for you’re treated like a rookie with a lot to prove so you and your new-found friends must go up against a network of rival teams in order to win money (or cp in this game), fame and RPG-styled skill upgrading.

The team aspect of the game, on paper anyway, is actually an interesting concept that’s actually quite fresh. While there’s very little in terms of team interaction aside from the text commentary that supposedly comes from your chosen team’s leader, teamwork is nonexistent. Basically you race for money and for a chance to take on your rival’s team leader who then becomes demoted after the loss and thus makes you the new crew’s leader. It’s an interesting twist in the illegal racing genre, indeed, but the majority of the time you spend in Team Rumble mode is tied up in the game’s menu screen that gives you the option to see the rival’s list as well as head to the Tuning Shop, head back to your garage or purchase another car in the shop. The game feels more like a strategy game than a racing game and that wouldn’t have been bad at all except for the fact that with fast cars like these we want to race, not spend it in the game’s menu screen.

The tuning part of the game might not be as deep as the one in Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition but it has enough essential parts to upgrade your car. You can realign new brakes, install a better cooling system or increase the length of time the nitrous lasts and you can even make cosmetic upgrades on the body kit. The fact that it costs 100,000 cp for a simple racing stripe, though, will turn off any racing and import tuning fan.

This is but a small taste of what is wrong with this game, however. The actual racing action is handled poorly mainly due to the rigid controls and the fact that cars like the Altezza RS200 L Edition and the Fairlady Z Version S all drive the same way. There’s very little - aside from its body - that makes each car distinguishable from the other cars available in the lot. The worst, though, comes in the form of the computer-controlled rivals that hardly provide much of a challenge. Really, all you have to do is nudge them a little during the race to confuse them to the point that they slow down. The only way you’d really lose a race is by hitting oncoming traffic (you’ll rarely find more than two cars on these highways) on purpose or are blind enough not to see that sharp curve.

Another unfortunate fault is the fact that the race courses are designed so that you race only a small segment of the highway at a time. This makes for extremely short races that are over far too quickly before you even know it. Then again the racecourses are so predictable and dull that short races might have been a good idea. There’s a Time Attack Mode here and a Vs Battle multiplayer mode that uses an Ad Hoc connection. The problem with the multiplayer mode is that it doesn’t work. You and a friend can log on but are almost immediately booted out for some unknown reason. Even if you are able to play, the framerate drops considerably and the game disconnects. Why have multiplayer options when it doesn’t work at all?

Visually, Street Supremacy isn’t impressive either. The game attempts to capture the feel of the Tokyo highways but does a rather bland job of it. What does look good are the cars themselves. Many of the cars look like the real thing and are also nicely detailed. They also look good in the game’s replay option, which is why there is also the option to save replays and replay them whenever you’d like in the Replay Theater option in the main menu screen.

The sound does not fare better than the graphics do, unfortunately. The game’s running soundtrack is made up of bad electronica and techno music that gets quite repetitive to the point that most gamers - like myself - lower the volume. You won’t miss much, trust me. For example, the engine sounds are rather plain and you won’t even hear another car honk.

Sadly, Street Supremacy for the PSP is an uninspiring racing game with little to offer the most dedicated racing fan looking for a great portable racing game. It manages to showcase some potential and a somewhat interesting concept, but in the end these things are hardly good enough to beat better PSP games like Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition or Need for Speed: Most Wanted. You’re better off spending your money on those games than this one. 

Gameplay: 4.2
While the faster cars perform decently enough, modifying them in the tune shop doesn’t produce any distinguishable change for the better. The racers are quick and the rivalries just don’t provide the sense that much is at stake here.

Graphics: 6.0
The car models are actually nicely detailed and they look pretty sharp during replays. The highways are plain and the “traffic” is kept to one or two cars. The real Tokyo is not dull like the city in this game.

Sound: 5.0
The music is not only repetitive but the techno/electronica becomes annoying to the point that you will play this game with the volume all the way down. Even the engine sounds are handled poorly in this game.

Difficulty: Easy
The computer-controlled opponents don’t pose a threat at all unless you manage to run into oncoming traffic one too many times. While the cars all seem to drive the same way, you won’t have trouble zipping through each race.

Concept: 4.5
It seems like the illegal racing theme will never die but at least Street Supremacy introduces the concept of racing for an underground crew as you go up against a series of rivals from other crews. Unfortunately, this is about the only interesting part of the game. There are a number of great cars here and you can, ahem, pimp your ride anyway you like thanks to the tuner shop.

Multiplayer: 1.0
I would have recommended going up against a friend using any of the dozens of great cars but due to the numerous framerate stutters that literally take you out of the game you won’t be able to play at all. Really, the multiplayer option is nonfunctional to the point that it really should not have been offered up at all.

Overall: 4.2
Racing fans looking for a thrilling and unique racing game worthy of their PSP will be greatly disappointed by Street Supremacy. It’s not only one of the most bland racing games available but it also manages to take a list of gorgeous cars and an interesting concept and make us wish we were playing a much better game than this one. This is one game you’ll want to skip.