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The background to Midnight Club II from Rockstar's San Diego Studio (formerly Angel Studios) is that the original Midnight Club launch title was an average game with some great ideas, that deserved more kudos than it got. It's pleasing to see that they have taken those great ideas, incorporated them into the sequel, and expanded on them to an extent that simply could not be fully realized during the PS2's infancy.

What is abundantly obvious is that Rockstar have fully come into their own over the last two years with the classic Grand Theft Auto series, and the flawed yet innovative Smugglers Run games. What is also pleasing to see is that while staying with the vehicular theme, they have attempted to inject their projects with fresh new gameplay elements and more life than a newborn baby.

Just as politically incorrect as their other titles, Midnight Club II focuses on the ever-growing underground street-racing scene of three different cities – Paris, Tokyo and Los Angeles. Each city has a considerably different feel, and while they aren't modeled exactly on the actual cities themselves they do each contain enough land marks to make them instantly recognisable – cruise the Hollywood Hills under the shadow of the famous sign, mow down tourists outside Mans Chinese theatre, blaze under the Eiffel Tower, or cause mayhem at the perilous Champs de Elysees round-about.

Racing against fellow petrol–heads for their prize possessions, the courses are checkpoint based, and varied. The fun really starts when you speed through the crowded streets hitting those checkpoints in any damn order you like! Yep, it's "freedom plus" in terms of how you get to the finish line, as long as you get there first! With this sort of freedom it pays to know the streets, and know them well. As with the original game, "cruise" mode becomes essential for figuring out the best routes around each of the cities. Also great for finding the many short cuts, alleyways and back roads not shown on the maps.

Along with cruise mode, there is also Career, Arcade, and Race Editor modes. In Career you put your driving skills and reputation on the line as you go up against nearly two dozen different characters. An on-screen arrow points you in the direction of other boy and girl racers – find one, then flash your high beams at them to let them know you're looking to burn some rubber. Keep up with them, and they'll lead you to other speed freaks looking to race.

Each race you complete in 'career' mode makes it available in 'arcade', and in winning many of the races you are awarded extra goodies like being able to slip-stream opponents, use nitrous oxide for a huge boost in speed, or control the weight distribution in the vehicle to ensure solid landings when airborne. While it could easily be argued that these elements are far from those that might be found in a hard-core simulation, that is just not the point of this title. In saying that though, each of the 28 vehicles handle quite differently to one another, with their own strengths and weaknesses. This is especially noticeable when racing in dry weather as opposed to rain (which is a very nice effect incidentally). Choice of vehicle is important, a motorcycle for instance, while extremely fast, is also unforgiving if you make a mistake. What's that? Motorcycle you say? Sorry, that's actually motorcycles, three to choose from, and they are excellent fun.

An additional Midnight Club II feature not found in the original is the Race Editor. Allowing up to 15 different saves, the Race Editor lets you place checkpoints whenever you want them, adding to the games longevity. The Race Editor interface is very user friendly making setting up your own tailor-made race quick and easy.