Midnight Club II

Rockstar's Midnight Club II for Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Windows PCs allows players to street race their way through stylized, race-friendly renditions of Los Angeles, Paris and Tokyo. While there's an arcade mode available, the real fun is to be found in the game's core career mode which has you racing your way to the top in cars and on bikes through the three cities. This being Rockstar, the game's true highlight is the depth found in the three cities. Races are unrestricted events in which an on-screen arrow points you in the general direction of your goal but the route take to get there is entirely of your own choosing. Very little is off-limits; even rooftops and railroad tracks are an option for the creative racer. Among Midnight Club II's best features- particularly in the Xbox version with its then-new Live service- is the option of racing against other players online. If unlocking additional cars and features isn't enough to push you forward in the career mode, then how about USING that unlocked content online to spank newer players with weaker cars? It may not be as satisfying to lay the smackdown on someone who can't hope to compete, but it sure is fun.