If there’s one thing missing from the current crop of Facebook games, it’s a good, solid street racing experience. The team at Estonia-based Hypester is looking to change that with StreetRally, which is currently in open beta. It plays sort of like a cross between Need For Speed and the earlier, top-down Grand Theft Auto games, with a solid line-up of licensed cars to drive. Though the current playable version is somewhat lacking feature-wise, what we’ve seen so far is quite impressive.
If there’s one thing missing from the current crop of Facebook games, it’s a good, solid street racing experience. The team at Estonia-based Hypester is looking to change that with StreetRally, which is currently in open beta. It plays sort of like a cross between Need For Speed and the earlier, top-down Grand Theft Auto games, with a solid line-up of licensed cars to drive. Though the current playable version is somewhat lacking feature-wise, what we’ve seen so far is quite impressive.
StreetRally puts you in the role of an up-and-coming street racer, with a career progression to match. Though it’s not available in the current version, you’ll eventually start the game out with just a handful of cash to buy one of the lower level cars (which are still pretty great), and from there you’ll earn money by winning races to buy better, faster vehicles.
You’ll be able to check out beautiful versions of real-world cars like the Ford Mustang Audi TT in the showroom, but when it comes to actually race the camera zooms out and you’ll be controlling the experience from a top-down perspective. The controls, which use the arrow keys for steering, take some getting used to and in their current state feel a bit loose and unresponsive.
Races take place across a variety of street locations, such as Miami Beach. But since you’re not racing on clearly defined tracks, the game features a series of checkpoints that you’ll need to hit along the way. This ensures that you stay on course but can become somewhat frustrating if you miss one and essentially have to waste an entire lap.
But even with these issues StreetRally is still an enjoyable racer, even in its early state. With some fine-tuned controls and a more fleshed out career mode (which will be available in the final version), it could be the first great racing game on Facebook.
StreetRally is expected to be out of beta starting this June. You can follow the game’s development on its official site.
