Upshift Strikeracer is a battle racing MMO. This means that while racing against other players you'll also be busy shooting missiles at them and dodging rockets yourself. The game offers a tutorial, but this can easily be skipped, which I recommend since all the controls you need are visible and on-screen at all times during races. The game's graphics are surprisingly good and the system requirements are not that demanding. All the controls can be customized and there is also a nice messenger system where you can add buddies and send messages to each other.

The races are fun, but unfortunately the races suffer from something I call "last lap syndrome". This is common in all racing games that have items or weapons. Basically, you could be first for the first 3-4 laps yet you can still lose at the last moment because of a timely rocket in the back. The up-side of this is that the races are less predictable and more enjoyable for new players, since they can end up beating a better driver with some luck.

What Upshift Strikeracer lacks is a single player experience. You can't drive around the world like you can in Drift City and the game only has a mundane single player mode which is nothing more than "race in a circle and beat your time!" However, the online play in Upshift Strikeracer is much better than that of Drift City. Both are great games, and it comes down to what you like more, a great multi-player experience or a balance of single and multi-player. My recommendation is give this a try if you're interested in racing games or racing/party games like Mario Kart.