Forza Motorsport 4

FORZA MOTORSPORT 4

RATING E for Everyone

At its easiest level, Forza 4 practically drives the car for you, adjusting your braking and steering so you don't hurtle off curves. You start off the World Tour solo campaign with a low-horsepower vehicle (in our case, it was a Volkswagen Fox); but once you start winning events, you earn faster rides. If you turn off the computerized assistance, you earn more experience points, which gets you behind the wheel of high-performance Ferraris and Lamborghinis faster.

World Tour bounces giddily around the globe, presenting a nice variety of tracks from America, Europe and Asia. One race may be on a high-speed Japanese oval; the next may be on a twisting path across Spain's Montserrat.

Truly hard-core speed freaks will want to get on Xbox Live and challenge other humans, and Forza 4 offers as robust an assortment of online modes as one could ask for. Naturally, you can race against up to 15 other drivers in relatively straightforward events. A new Rivals mode lets you challenge your friends' best times even if they're not online.

There are hundreds of cars from more than 80 manufacturers. If you're the type who drools over car magazines, you'll spend hours in the Autovista showroom, where you can walk around a vehicle, open the door and take a seat in the cockpit. Jeremy Clarkson from the BBC's "Top Gear" talks you through the highlights, and his enthusiasm for everything on four wheels is infectious.

PLOT Start your engines!

DETAILS Xbox 360, $60

BOTTOM LINE Gets your motor running

-- AP