The Street Racer Collection (QUByte Classics) is nostalgia personified! This collection of dated racing games will bring a smile to fans of the genre and retro gaming. However, despite the massive walk down memory lane and the joy this gave me, I found the modern experience to be a little frustrating. The UI isn’t great, and the loading times are borderline woeful. Yet, I’m a sucker for old-school action, and I pretty much forgave this collection for many of its shortcomings.
QUByte Interactive has published and developed this dated racing game. It combines fast-paced racing with the brawling elements of a fighting game. The outcome is a hard-hitting title that is silly, competitive, and unbelievably addictive. It must be the arcade mindset that makes this tough to put down, because I played it for hours.
Street Racer Collection offers 4 classic moments.
If you love retro gaming, Street Racer Collection will appeal to you. This modern collection delivers 4 unique looks at this racing classic. Gamers will enjoy the SNES,Mega Drive, MS-DOS, and Game Boy versions of the game. Each of them leans heavily on the original mechanics and core ideas. As such, it reeks of dated gameplay, and that was fine by me.
Gamers can enjoy an array of game modes. Whether it is a Practice, Championship, Head-to-head, Rumble mode, or Soccer mode, there is something for everyone. I liked that this didn’t rely solely on racing, and although I was terrible at the latter two options, it was a nice distraction.
A little sluggish.
Sadly, Street Racer Collection is a little sluggish by modern standards. The cars, animation, and general gameplay haven’t aged particularly well. This was unfortunate, but many players will forgive this shortcoming. If you are new to the franchise, you’ll probably wonder what all the fuss is about. Whereas lovers of the series will admire the ability to play it on modern machines.
As a fan of this series, I could ignore many of the poor elements. However, from a neutral perspective, this should have been much better. Street Racer Collection doesn’t capture your attention as much as other games from the era. Furthermore, I found my attention fading after a few races. Subsequently, I had to play this casually to get the best out of it.
Street Racer Collection retains its old-school appeal.
The developer has carefully revisited this old-school title. The result is a direct representation of each unique platform. I found the MS-DOS version to be challenging to play on a large screen. However, when played on small devices, it worked much better. As you progress through the platforms to more modern systems, the game performs well on Xbox. Although the performance was okay, the visuals were strongly pixelated, garish, and uncomfortable to look at. As such, it is a little rough around the edges.
The audio combines synth music with ear-splitting sound effects. Alongside this, it does a nice job of replicating the original soundscapes. This may be a little shrill for some gamers, but I like the trip down memory lane.
Ropey controls.
I found the controls to be very sensitive and tough to handle. Once I got used to the technicalities, the racing was enjoyable. However, Street Racer Collection does demand a regression in gaming standards if you wish to win every race.
Replay value and longevity are questionable. Unfortunately, this will only appeal to hardcore fans of the franchise and genre. If you are neither, you’ll enjoy this in short, sharp bursts. I sit somewhere in between and will return to it for a casual and retro racing hit.
Street Racer Collection won’t blow you away.
I enjoyed my time with Street Racer Collection, but it could have been much better. The controls weren’t great, and the visuals are understandably rough and basic. Alongside this, it’ll only appeal to a niche audience. Accordingly, it is good, but it could have been much better. Despite my complaints, it is good enough to recommend buying here! Can you master each race and win? Take to the track, learn every circuit, and take home the crown.
