Interesing, and totally annoying. Driving game which lacks most basic features of such.

User Rating: 7 | LA Street Racing PC
Unlike any other underground driving title, LASRs strongest point is driving model. For the first time in such game, you can actualy tell that you drive rear wheel drive car, and need to countersteer a lot. Joined with nice car cocpit, and driver animation it feels unexpectly good for a game thats sold for less than 5 euro. It gives feeling more like old Street Rod (Hot Rod), than say NFSU, tho of course play with parts is on completly different level (just level X upgrades like in NFS, tho with little variation of same level parts working together better than when mixed up). Nonlicensed cars arent big problem, for some they may look slightly made up, but when you look closly it is easy to tell that you drive RX-8, NSX, Skyline, or Lancer Evolution. You wont find any specs beyond acceleration, max speed, and power, but each car feels clearly different, and some need different way of driving (like heavier Skyline that forces you to take corners slightly earlier, and abuse brakes more).

Sound nice? Unfortunatly someone forgot about everything else, freedom being what game lack most. When you unlock some fun RWD cars, and good tracks (Griffith Observatory is great track that everyother underground driving game lacks)... You cant use them. Simply put when you click on quick race option, you are put on random track with random car! You cant drive to your heart content nor even practice new track before taking career mode challanges! Havent played such annoying game in years! To add to my annoyance, AI is beyond any stupidity. Not only computer will drive FWD, and RWD same SLOW way (cornering), outrunning you only with acceleration and pure power (tho its more fun to win against way faster cars), but they litteraly dont look where they drive. The thing is their path is programmed in such way that they will always fallow it, even if you are already on it, slamming you a lot. On side note their lines are bad, seems developers didnt know much about motorsports, cause opponents usualy take inner lane before cornering. Not to mention that on last level of competition they tend to do strange mistakes, like taking corner 50m too early, smashing into wall.

To sum things up game is both fun, and hinderance. If only someone would added normal free race options, did some fixes on AI, game could beat some serious high budget competitors. Still if you arent satisfied with level of NFS series, want underground style game that feature convincing way of drifting (nonartificialy prolonged, but fully usable), and touge! track (Griffith Observatory!), you certainly should take that 5euro of your beer budget, and buy the game. Just keep in mind that Yoda says, annoyed you will be.

I give it 7.0 because its something else, because of Griffith Observatory stage, and RWD driving model. Those are things I lacked in NFS, and every single other driving game on PC. The right score should be around 6.0, NFS fanboys can give less.