KEY POINTS:
Xbox 360 (PG)
Pros: Midnight Club, alongside Burnout, has been one of the strongest hardcore arcade racers across the consoles - and the new massive LA edition builds on this well. The environment is huge, digitising most of the city in extremely accurate detail, using a GPS system to find competitors to street race against. Again you turn up in town, buy a car and try to win races to get better cars. You're racing in traffic, which leads to some spectacular crashes, and police will chase you whether you're street racing or just driving like a hoon. As your cars get faster, the game gets extreme and, with both organised and pick-up races to compete in, there's plenty of 300km/h-plus fun to be had.
Cons: Buying and upgrading cars is a time-consuming exercise, and with AI competitors far less likely to have time robbing accidents, it requires detailed study of the environments in order to find short cuts that will shave a few seconds.
Verdict: Faster and smoother than ever before, with more story and more miles to race.
