While that may be the case, it's still no excuse for releasing a shoddy game that merely rides upon the coat-tails of it's bigger budgeted movie elder. So the original film, of the remake, that this game is based on (phew!), had a flimsy plot, average acting, and virtually nonexistent character development, and yet became a cult classic due to it's amazing vehicular stunts.

Recently, the film that helped to popularise the Mini as an alternative to the bulky cars of the era underwent a remake. This remake was arguably nothing more than a glorified TV commercial for the newly released BMW Mini, but we're pleased to report that the game has a bit more substance to it.

Note we said a bit more.

There's no denying that the car chases and stunts in this latest film were still breathtaking set pieces. The game captures the adrenalin pumping thrill of these very well, due to its excellent course design. Even though all of the courses are city based, they still offer a decent amount of variety both visually, and in terms of track layout.

The environments range from rooftops, shopping malls, the metropolitan subway to a large dam. No pedestrians to be seen anywhere unfortunately, but plenty of fairly realistically behaving traffic to navigate through. The lack of pedestrians takes something away from the "living breathing city" concept, and makes trashing tables and chairs outside cafes and in shopping malls just not as fun. Still fun, just not as!?

Game modes in The Italian Job are mostly standard for an arcade racer (story, single race, cruise, time trial) with one exception, the 'stunt-driving' mode. Only playable with the new mini, this mode sees you completing several automotive obstacle courses. Three very different courses feature, with a fourth "mega-course" comprising the first three tacked together. Short, but nevertheless an addictive challenge, the stunt-driving mode is a fun alternative to the other modes on offer.

Story, single race, cruise, & time trial modes are all quite self explanatory. Story mode presents you with panning shots of the mission objective and a voiceover explaining what you're to do. The missions are mostly "A to B" sprints, with a couple of alternatives like a surveillance mission thrown in for good measure. Pretty standard stuff. There are between six and ten races in each mode, with 12 different vehicles to unlock.

The vehicles themselves look good and are nicely rendered, but could do with a bit more detail. Of the 12 cars to unlock there are a couple of real doozies, like the supercar and the muscle car for instance. The cars sound nice; throaty and grunty but at times a bit too choppy for our liking. The cars have a distinctly arcade feel to their handling, with powersliding and using the handbrake imperative to negotiating some of the tighter spots.

A split screen two player mode has been included for your multiplayer pleasure. It's not too bad, loses a little detail and draw distance, but makes up for it with speed and lack of noticeable 'slowdown'. The rush of jostling for position while looking out for that elusive shortcut is great, and one only experienced with a real human opponent. The thrill of victory over a creature that feels the despair of defeat is, what can we say, excellent! So the inclusion of this two player mode is a welcome addition.

While what The Italian Job does, it does well, this is unfortunately where the praise for it ends. The crew that brought us "Burnout for motorcycles" in the form of arcade racer 'Speed Kings' now brings us "Burnout for mini's", that is to say with only a fraction of the long-term appeal that Burnout held. We mentioned that the stunt-driving mode was a little short? Well, to tell you the truth, the whole game is a little short. In fact, we wouldn't be surprised if experienced gamers completed it start to finish, unlocking absolutely everything, in one gaming session.

The variety between the game modes on offer should satisfy most tastes, but there's just not enough game in the game for us to seriously recommend it.

There are several other flaws that mean more points deducted. Automatic transmissions only is one of them. While you can use the Dual Shock sticks for analog steering and braking/accelerating, there is no option to manually change the gears. This is a major flaw in our opinion; every driving game should at least have the option of enabling manual transmission, but to not have it at all is a crime. Even self confessed arcade racers like Burnout and Need for Speed offer manual transmission as a selectable option!

One of the pleasures of playing racing games is being able to watch a replay afterwards, to see where you went wrong and laugh at others' misfortune on the track. This is a pleasure not on offer in The Italian Job - there are no replays. To be fair, the lack of replays on the more closed in courses like the imaginatively titled 'Metro' or 'Dam' is to be expected, but it would have been nice to see replays for courses set on the surface streets. Okay, it's not a major flaw, but it's a feature that will be missed especially when playing multiplayer, and another area where this title falls short.

It's really the length of the game, or very short length of the game that is The Italian Job's major flaw. While we don't want to dwell on the negatives of an otherwise good game, we have to draw attention to the lack of longevity that this title offers. If you're a major fan of Mini's, or you can't get enough of the small handful of two player courses available, or are one of those special few who simply 'get off' on shaving seconds off their lap-times, then by all means, get yourself a copy of this game. As we say, what it does it does very well.

We're not ones to champion quantity over quality, as good things often come in small packages ('Ico' for instance). But for our hard earned bucks, we'd have to say that what's here has been done before. And, we might add, done better too. The likes of Midnight Club 2, Burnout 2, or even Need for Speed 2 have a much greater lifespan plus some added gameplay features, and make the The Italian Job look like a poor inbred second cousin that just got back from a banjo lesson!

All in all, there are some 28 individual events for you to complete. Some require you to get a Grade A before the next event becomes available, but even with that extra challenge, it's still a shallow difficulty curve. It's a shame really, and it does make one wonder whether the game was rushed out to coincide with the movie remake release.

The Italian Job: L.A Heist is a fun game. It's definitely worth hiring, and you never know, you might love it and just have to have a copy. On the other hand you might thank us for giving you a 'heads up' on what is an enjoyable experience but little more than an evenings worth of gaming. The sad fact of the matter is that chances are you will probably complete this game very quickly, which in turn means that you will get better value for money elsewhere.