London's calling...
The London Racer series is a fairly unknown one but which contains at least a few entries and despite it's relative lack of renown, it actually proves to be quite fun. This is the first entry and is probably the best as things turned for the worse as the franchise progressed. The basic idea of the game is simply to race around a series of tracks, in similar fashion to the likes of Midtown Madness, so there's nothing new in that respect. Perhaps the game's only real difference to other racers is its UK-focused nature, with all the races taking place in and around London. Players should therefore get used to driving on the left and flying past historic scenery such castles and other such British-themed locations. Apart from this though, there's little to distinguish the game from a hundred others, with the usual range of courses and vehicles to unlock and explore as well as police and speed traps to avoid. The cars on offer here aren't actually fully licensed but have been subtly renamed from their real world counterparts, although they still look the same, which is fun for car spotters. So, there's nothing new here but London Racer still manages to be an enjoyable enough bit of racing fluff. There's a decent sense of speed, the tracks are all pretty well designed and are fairly exciting to race around, although the sound is a touch limited. You don't have all the options that things like Need for Speed offer but if all you want to do is hack it around London, then this just about delivers the goods.
