"By No Means A Great Game"

In "L.A. Rush" you play a gangsta-pimp-thug type character named "Trikz." Trikz is the mack-daddy of the Los Angeles street racing world, he's in a sea of cars up to ears. After a very brief introduction FMV introducing your new arch rival, Lidel, you return home from a two week vacation (in your Hummer H2) to find that, *GASP!* Your house has been raided and all your cars (including the H2 you just pulled up in) are gone!You're beset with the mission of repetitively driving around town, winning a street race, then stealing back one of your "rides." Note that in my playing of this game, I never once heard the word "car." It was always "ride."

Gameplay: 2/10
------------------
This is where L.A. Rush really drops the ball. Often times, you'll find yourself driving along, and seeming out of random, be the light red or green, a car will shoot out in front of you, causing a massive wreck for no apparent reason. This is especially annoying when it's in the form of an extremely agile bus, and you're on the final straightaway of that big money race with the extravagant entrance fee. What's worse, is that seemingly at random, lightly bumper-tapping the car ahead of you causes your car to sporadically flip out of control several times, completely totalling your vehicle, and frustrating you. To the game's credit, there are many cars, and they are somewhat interesting to actually see. However, that's pretty much it. The repetitive task of actually unlocking the cars is not even close to worth the time it takes. The standard flow goes as follows: Get a phone call from somebody you've never met, go to where they told you to go, win a race (second and third count too!),, then get another phone call from a person you've never met, go where they tell you, and steal a car that you already own back from Lidel. Mind, when you take this car, his henchmen automatically know that you have it, and they drive big SUVs and trucks which will throw your small import (or massive SUV/truck, the game doesn't seem to care about weights like it says it does) around like a rag doll. Oddly enough, the henchmen seem to use the same exact tactics that the police do to stop you....nothing. They rarely actually attack, generally they just drive around you in formation...more of an escort than a squad of henchmen out to kill you. Finally you get back to your garage and park your car (and pay for whatever damage the henchmen caused) and SHAZAM! You have a new car! Now, rinse and repeat....50 or so times, and you're just about ready to send it back to whatever store tricked you into buying this joke of a game. But wait, Midway included a plethora of concept cars (which admittedly are rather cool looking). The way these (and some normal cars) are unlocked, is by completing a checkpoint series of sorts, known as "stunts." Really though, it's just driving into a very small blue circle, which if you miss, you're completely screwed and have to drive back to the beginning to do the WHOLE thing over again. The one redeeming factor, is that you can "pimp" your rides at West Cost Customs. There is very little actual performance improvement in your vehicles (I actually noticed a distinct decrease in performance for one truck), but they generally look a lot cooler, and you get to hear a guy talk about what he did. However, one major downfall is that once you pimp a vehicle, you can never drive the un-pimped version again, not in story mode, not in quick race (which are the only two modes, by the way).

Story: 2/10
-------------------------------------
Well...there isn't much to it. You're robbed of all your worldly possessions and your house is roughed up, then you drive around for weeks trying to reclaim your asphalt empire. It's pretty cut and dry...and generic and boring. They put very little effort into the actual storyline, and involved the West Coast Customs crew WAAAAAAY too much. So much, in fact, that you might think that this game is just a cleverly disguised advertisement for WCC. The repetitiveness of the storyline is sickening.

Graphics: 7/10
---------------
The graphics are actually pretty decent, especially in the FMVs. The only problem is a little bit of bad artwork (most notedly in the coins in the intro movie,,,,they are really bad.) However, that is easily overlooked as you feast your eyes upon the game's pleasant visuals. In the actual game, the graphics aren't terrible, but they certainly aren't anything to write home about. Cars parked alongside the road and in fields have obviously painted on skins, instead of being actual objects...but I personally don't blame the game for that. More room must have been needed to load the entire, really really big, world with such a short loading time. Massive positive points for loading time, by the way.

Sound: 2/10
--------------
If you like hearing the same three or four generic rap songs over and over and over and over (...) again, mixed in with just a hint of depressing R+B, then this is the soundtrack for you. However, I personally prefer a little variety to my game soundtracks. So the music, after about 45 minutes of play, was turned off in favor of my mp3 player.

Play Time: 15 hours, or fewer.
------------------------------------
If you can stand to play through the whole game, which is an admittedly admirable feat, then you've probably spent about 15 hours cruising the streets of LA. This includes missions, a handful of side races, pimping rides, and just exploring (which was my favorite part). You can definitely do it in less if you skip the stunts and the exploring part, and just play the core game, and you could definitely make it more if you are really into just cruising around, or have some personal goal to pimp every single ride you get.

Replayability: 3/10
--------------------
The chances of you EVER wanting to pick this game up after finishing it, other than to look at some pimped cars, is very, very slim. The game sports no online mode. However, it does have a multiplayer, which is admittedly somewhat fun. However, it isn't any better than the multiplayer modes of virtually any other street racing game, or demolition derby game for that matter. The best thing I can think to do after finishing with this game, would be the acquisition of a new drink coaster.

Final Recommendation:
------------------------
For all the hate I've shown towards this game, I personally would not in any way recommend buying it. If you really feel the need, rent it first. In a simple sense, I think you'd have more fun trying to drown yourself, probably be less frustrated with moronic AI as well. Seriously though, if you're looking for a street racing game, there are tons out there that are...you know...NOT completely awful. Juiced for example. Save yourself some money, and some time, and just don't bother with this game. After playing it, you too will know why Midway lost $30 million Q3.

----Quick Review----
Gameplay - 2
Story - 2
Graphics - 7
Sound - 2
Replayability - 3
------------------
Numeric Average: 3.2
Personal Opinion: 2

==Spleen

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 04/25/06