With only three tracks (and a fourth already being prepped for an add-on download down the line), seven vehicles and a smattering of different modes, having a name like Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars might seem a little lopsided. After all, a name that big almost seems like it would command an experience every bit as long-winded, but developers Psyonix had something else in mind: a simple game that's easy to pick up but offers a ton of depth and replayability.

Now that's a goal that plenty of games in the past have attempted and haven't exactly come through in the end, but where Psyonix stands out is their pedigree: they were the original creators of a little mod for Unreal Tournament 2K4 called Onslaught that captured more than a few players' attention. That mod was so loved by Unreal Tournament creators Epic Games that they included the mode as standard in the full retail release (though, sadly, by the time Unreal Tournament 3 shipped, Psyonix and Epic had parted ways and it was all handled in-house).

The time spent with the then-budding Unreal Engine 3 technology and Psyonix's close relationship with Epic (they even allowed them to work hand-in-hand with the artists at Epic) meant they were uniquely equipped to help Epic with the development on their own projects and other licensees, plying their own knowledge in making games for the engine toward helping the development community as a whole.

Even still, the desire to create their own game was strong, and over the past weeks, months and even years, the project slowly morphed, first from something that was a little more basic and car combat-driven into a sort of king-of-the-hill game played atop a big elevated arena and eventually into the more enclosed confines of what Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars gradually ended up as.

It exists today as something of a glorified version of soccer, played with little cars capable of going super-sonic speeds (which utterly obliterates any cars that happen to be in the way) and equipped with nary a single weapon beyond the ability to boost and a little rocket that allows them to gain some serious altitude with practice. The agility of these little guys is hard to overstate; as soon as they've gone airborne, they're capable of twisting, flipping and rotating in three dimensions, and when coupled with judicious use of the boost, they can actually stay aloft for seconds at a time.

This is key, since they are, after all, playing a version of soccer. Just running up to a ball and slamming into it will get it moving in a direction, sure, but the Ageia Phys-X-powered physics will take all that forward momentum on the bottom part of the ball and use it to give the ball some altitude in addition to just moving forward. The real way to attack, then, is to give the car a little hop and a rotation as the ball nears, allowing it to be hit head-on and go straight toward the goal. This can happen from almost any angle, remember, so the ball rolling onto the screen from the left side can be redirected as simply as jumping a car into the air, rotating in place and smacking into it with a properly-angled roof.

Now actually pulling off that move is something that only the Psyonix guys can do near-perfectly every time, but even we had some limited success at it once we learned to get all the controls down. Because the left stick controls spin when the car is in the air, a shoulder button modifier allows the cars to rotate too, allowing them to flip around and connect at juuuust the right angle to pull it all off properly. It sounds a little complicated, and at first it is, but with enough practice, the game opens up to allow for some seriously intense and impressive games.

A good deal of that practice will come from the game's fairly extensive set of challenges. These groups of four are also the key to unlocking the other five cars in the game (two of 'em are available at the start). Not only do they provide some variety (fending off incoming goal-bound balls or turning the tables and trying to score yourself, for instance), but they're actually cleverly disguised ways of helping you learn how to do some of the more advanced moves in the game. One mode, for instance, actually slows time as you near the ball, allowing you to carefully leap into the air and rotate to hit the ball just right for that perfect goal.

Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars may also be the most complete game we've seen in terms of implementation of the stuff that was offered up to developers in the latest PlayStation 3 software development kit. YouTube recording and submission, Trophies and XMB-powered custom soundtracks will all be supported at launch, and given the devs' friendliness with Sony and what they've come to offer (originally the game was going to be a Live Arcade offering, but too many games and space requirements necessitated a move to the PlayStation Network), it's possible the game may see even more add-ons in the future.

With a simple premise and plenty of depth under the hood, Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars actually looks like something new. So long as Psyonix can keep the price under, say, $10, we're already itching to pick it up when it launches later this year. When we get a near-final version of the game in the TPS offices, you'd better believe we'll update things with new impressions. For now, some swanky new screens and the promise that a few YouTube-uploaded videos will be coming soon will have to suffice.