There's something special about a street racing game. Granted, there have been some wonderful circuit-based racers, but, nevertheless, there's nothing quite like charging down a long, narrow straight, side by side with a rival at 200mph or expertly drifting your car within an inch of the barrier and getting away with it to really get the heart pumping.

Visually, the game looks as good as anything I've seen on the 360 to date. While some might bemoan the fact that everything shifts at half the frame rate of Forza 2, the sheer amount of additional detail this has allowed Bizarre to pack into the levels more than makes up for this. Take a second to look at the passing buildings and you'll see light reflecting off the windows. Likewise, the additional detail on the tract - additional run-off strips, markings, etc - coupled with the crowds and advertising billboards all ensure the courses look more like proper racing courses, but thanks to the intricacies crammed into the buildings and scenery (where things like bumps, windowsills and the like are much better defined), each location still has a unique feel and vibe to it.

The net result of all of this is that PGR4 avoids the slightly sterile feel normally associated with racing games and offers a much more involving, more immersive and more true-to-life visual style: and irrespective of whether it's the wholly believable manner in which the iron girders that adorn New York's bridges whoosh past your car at 170mph or how uncannily accurate London looks when you're power sliding around the capital's streets, you can't help but be impressed by what Bizarre has managed to do with the 360.

The circuits you'll race around have also been enhanced as well. Although in many cases they're the same as the ones you'll know from PGR3, they've still improved a lot. Additional markings have been added, rumble strips have been elongated and in tricky corners, the barriers have been pushed back to allow for errors - in short, they feel more like legitimate racing circuits than ever before, This isn't just cosmetic either - the longer rumble strips double up as suggested brake marking points (which can be crossed with no penalty) make overtaking all the easier. While the benefits of these take a while to sink in, they do really add to the feel.

The various race disciplines and car selection cater to this perfectly. Broadly speaking, these can be divided into two groups: those focusing on speed and those focusing on showing off. For instance, with races or speed challenges you'll find that a car with a lot of grip and little drift will see hitting your targets every time, whereas more Kudos gathering challenges (such as Time Vs. Kudos or Superstar) will naturally favour a car that slides around a lot - and each class of vehicle has plenty of both to choose from.

Finally, there are the cities. While some of the additions such as Quebec (which is very reminiscent of fan favourite Edinburgh from PGR2) are welcome additions to the series, nevertheless, you can't help but feel that the likes of London, the Nurburgring and New York carried over from PGR4 are still stronger locations to go racing. Fortunately, the revisions made to these - along with the natural challenge they present - ensures they still feel fresh and fun to play, but it's a shame that the new locations couldn't match the existing ones.