not very fun
Cons: A bit too heavy on traffic and police cars; saving up money feels like a grind
L.A. Rush lets you live your Los Angeles street racing dreams vicariously through your controller. There are fast cars, presumably fast women, and, unlike real street racing, you and your ride will be just fine after even the nastiest crash. In an attempt to stand out from the rest of the crowd in the trendy genre, the game has licensed vehicles like the Mitsubishi Lancer, and the mechanics and theme song from MTV's popular Pimp My Ride. Even with the added layer of glitz and an impressive virtual Los Angeles, L.A. Rush isn’t as glamorous as it would have you believe.
Street Cred
Tapping into a little bit of street racing and vaguely defined urban culture, the main course in L.A. Rush is a story mode that follows a very successful racer named Trikz who loses it all thanks to his scheming rival and has to claw his way to the top again by hitting the streets in the one beat-up car he has left. It’s actually not a bad setup, and the acting could be a lot worse. The script doesn’t overdose on slang and profanity (it’s actually rated teen), but it's pretty hammy--especially when Trikz boasts of his incredible driving skills.
One thing that can’t be knocked is the game’s huge and detailed representation of Los Angeles. The city’s legendary traffic problems are well-represented by the number of cars on the street, and the buildings, trees, landmarks and walk signs paint a convincing picture. You’re not here to sight-see though, so drive your car to a circular race marker and get ready to make some cash.
Skillz and Billz
When it comes down to it, you’re the one who has to back up your character’s boasts, and this is no an easy task. You won’t have any problems learning how to drive at least. Handling is pretty forgiving, although it feels a little loose, and even if you slam into another car head-on at top speed your driver and car will be back on the road in no time. It's a little different from the way it works in real life street racing, but you’ll appreciate the conceit.
What you won’t appreciate is the insane amount of traffic the game throws at you. Imagine an illegal street race for four in the middle of the day, with semi-trucks lumbering across the intersection and dozens of people trying to make it home from work and you’ll get the general idea. Whether it’s light or dark, cars are everywhere. You could find yourself getting smashed, especially considering the civilian drivers who never try to avoid hitting you while opposing drivers never pass up the chance. Cops are happy to get in on the action too. Crashes look really nice in general, and not many games give you the pleasure of seeing licensed vehicles like Nissans and Chevys smashing into each other in crunchy car-totaling wrecks.
Looking good is definitely a virtue in racing games, but there are times when you’ll wish you could skip the gratuitous slow-motion replays, and some of the low-speed crashes and wall-smashes look goofily enthusiastic. Not everyone is going to dig the amount of interference here, or the fact that missing a turn can destroy your chances of finishing anything but last--and screw you out of your entry fee. The races you’ll need to ace to progress generally have higher than average entry fees, which make it easy to run out of money and forces you to go back to earlier, easier races and repeat them until you’ve built up a reserve. This is the game’s single biggest offense, but there’s no escaping it. There are ways to improve your odds, at least.
Whip it! Into Shape!
Being the extravagant, luminous street racer you are (or your character Trikz is, at any rate), you demand that your rides be customized. Midway finagled the license to use the characters from MTV’s Pimp my Ride show. This has brought the highly talented mechanics from West Coast Customs in to work on your virtual cars and read from the game’s mostly hammy script. Not that the dialogue in the actual show is any better. Like the show, you don’t have any say in what happens to your ride. If you don’t like the color, too bad! Rather than adding an element of customization, it ends up being a simple upgrade that is mostly necessary if you want to win races.
Playing for Keeps
L.A. Rush is far from a bad game, but with stiff competition like the Burnout series and Midnight Club it doesn’t really have any standout qualities other than its high-fidelity virtual city and generally pleasing look. Maybe the game just needed a little more development time. Split-screen multiplayer is in, but the game completely lacks online multiplayer, which is downright shocking for a racing title in this day and age. L.A. Rush feels like a fourth place finish in a highly competitive field.