Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: SRS

Namco has yet to fully show its hand on what is planned for SRS’ online modes, but we have managed to twist the company’s arm and learn a few cool details. As you’d expect, all the most popular types of races will be available online, and you’ll be able to enjoy the freedom that the open game structure offers, much as you can with Midnight Club 2’s online options. So far, so predictable. Seeing that there are 97 different street-racing games coming out in the next six months, all of them boasting “unprecedented online modes” on their websites, we would expect no less from Namco.

So do they have anything new and different? Well, yeah. SRS’ coolest aspect is how far it takes its gambling element. Throughout the game, you can place wagers on races, whether this is cash from your wallet or, more interestingly, your pride and joy, your very whip itself. Bet your wheels on an online race and lose, and you’ll have to weather the shame of being a complete and total loser. Plus, when the game transfers ownership of the car, it also deletes it from your memory card. All that time and virtual cash you’ve put into the paint job, mods, decals, and personalization—gone. Isn’t that just the most deliciously evil thing? Let’s hope that Eutechnyx has worked out a way to stop people from cheating, possibly by tagging cars to user names so that they can’t make duplicates.

Pub. Namco Dev. Eutechnyx Release Fall