Smugglers Run

Smuggler's Run is the kind of game that Rockstar seems to have been waiting to create for the longest time; it's a new, high-powered arcade-action game that features illegal activities. Players take on the role of a rogue driver whose job is to steal loads, pick them up and run from the cops, intersect with other illegal smugglers and swipe their goods, and race across treacherous terrain while avoiding getting caught. The game is, essentially, all about accumulating the most illegal booty for your nefarious boss, by being a better driver and a deft team manager than the other guys -- oh yeah, and being a bad mother f#&^cker.
One of the big reasons this game is so fun is the aggressive level of the cops, CIA, military personnel, and whoever else is on the other side, and their ability to hound you and destroy your vehicle. You see, your car isn't indestructible. It takes damage when it hits giant trees, rocks, or tumbles. Or, when the cops come and smash into you. So, while one or even two cops could do some serious damage to you, try five or six! These guys swarm, and are willing to give up their lives to destroy your car, and usually their cars are a little faster than yours.
Coupled with the feisty AI cop cars, which swerve into your side panels, ram straight into your front end, or t-bone into you at any chance, is the cleverly designed set of courses. With three major terrain, Forest, Desert, and Snow, players' can race over enormous landscapes. Cars race straight up steep hills, plow through rivers, bust through small villages and towns, smash through border patrols and road blocks, and all at high speeds. So, while you're being chased by five hell-bent cops, and jumping over ravines, traveling at 110 mph, you're also trying to stay on all four wheels. It's not always that easy.
In case I haven't explained myself well, you spend a lot of time on two wheels and flying though the air, and it's a lot of fun. Players use the analog or digital buttons steer or accelerate, and have regular brakes and an E-brake for sharp turns. The physics model is forgiving to a point; you see, Angel Studios has found the perfect balance of craziness, but it doesn't let players get away with everything. Cars can flip, spin, tumble, perform a little of each, and with a little push and pull of the steering wheel, they can roll right back on their wheels again. It's like Speedy Gonzales got a hold of the Spider-mobile in the desert, and drank a bunch of tequila -- It's crazy, crazy fun.
The game is split into three major play modes: Smuggler's Run, a 20-plus mission campaign in which you play through a story against the computer; Turf Wars, made up three kinds of smuggling style racing games with teams for one or two players; and Joyriding, an open, timeless romp through all three of the physically punishing terrains.
With all of the excitement of finally acquiring your fabulous all-in-one toaster over/missile launcher/DVD player/PS2, you'll probably just want to sit all alone for a while. If so, go ahead and power through the story mode, Smuggler's Run, which should take about seven-plus hours is you have any skill at all. Players are set up with several single goals levels before the stakes are raised, and the enemies get meaner. The game is broken down into about three kinds of missions, pick up and retrieve, pick up and retrieve against the clock, off-road races, Capture the Flag against a team of enemies, and straight time-based races. The actual story behind each of these always sounds like a good setting but essentially each one is fluff and filler. They don't have any real effect on the gameplay.
Turf Wars simply breaks down the aforementioned levels into single games, and enables you to play against a real human, or team up with him against the bad guys. Even though the single player levels are a lot of fun, they eventually become redundant, which makes Turf Wars the preferred mode, and the one with the most replay value. With the strong set of vehicles (more than six), plus phenomenally huge maps to get accustomed to, you and your buddies are going to play for hours just exploring and determining who is the biggest and baddest of them all.
Joyriding doesn't take too much to explain. It's probably the most useful mode for simply enjoying the exemplary physics engine and for simply exploring the acres and acres of driving space. There is no time limit and there are no goals. Just drive. This map is quite useful for learning all of the different terrains, and how to use each of the half dozen vehicles.
The vehicles include a buggy, which is the car on the box cover, an SUV, which is a little slower than the buggy, but has more strength and power, the Trophy Truck, which has more speed and acceleration than the SUV, but not as much power or strength, the Rally Car, which is the fastest of the them all, but lacks strength and endurance, the Massive Tuck, and the Military vehicle (which is, make no bones about it, a Hummer), and it's the best overall vehicle in the game.