Street Racing Syndicate (T) (3 stars)
Namco
PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube
Imagine constructing a model rocket out of genuine NASA materials, powering it with plutonium, and gleefully skipping out to the launch platform just to watch this marvel of modern science jump 40 feet into the air before quietly and unceremoniously falling back to Earth. Street Racing Syndicate is kind of like that.
In SRS, auto aficionados can spend countless hours tinkering with vehicles in a garage so detailed, you can practically smell the motor oil. But once the illegal races begin, you may find yourself wondering if you left your engine out because the contests just don't feel fast. No matter how much money you win to buy parts, or how much respect you earn to get women (who can be traded like Pokemon), the races never capture that feeling of exhilaration.
The open-ended environments look awesome, with every puddle in every pothole casting a realistic reflection, and in the garage, the depth of customization simply can't be beat. But those who like their racing fast and furious may end up getting furious fast.
Street Fighter Anniversary Collection (T) (4 stars)
Capcom
PlayStation 2
After 15 years, it's impressive to see that Chun Li still looks good kicking ass. Nostalgia is easily this collection's greatest strength, but even without the warm, fuzzy feeling you get every time Ryu shouts, "Shoryuken!," Street Fighter II holds its own as a great fighting game. In particular, the underrated Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, which makes up the other half of the compilation, remains one of the best fighters available on PS2.
Test Drive: Eve Of Destruction (T) (3 stars)
Atari
PlayStation 2, Xbox
With so many ultra-hip, flashy racers out there, it's kind of refreshing to find a game that is so unapologetically white trash. The graphics engine does an adequate job with the dust and rust spectacle, and the vehicles handle well, considering they're often chained to other cars or hauling wrecked trailers. Playing alone, the myriad short races and mini-games get old pretty fast, so you might want to invite Jethro and Cletus over for some split-screen multiplayer.
Ghosthunter (T) (3.5 stars)
Namco
PlayStation 2
When countless evil spirits are accidentally released from imprisonment deep below a haunted high school, who ya gonna call? Ghost ... hunter? With its spook-capturing grenades and rusty phantasm containment unit, many of Ghosthunter's conventions are less-than-subtle Ghost Buster rip-offs. But thanks to good voice work and graphics detailed enough to make our hero look like he desperately needs Noxema, this otherwise standard third-person shooter successfully toes the line between campiness and creepiness. Egon would approve.
Matthew Scott Hunter has been known to mumble, "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start" in his sleep. E-mail him at
[email protected].