Forza Motorsport 3 (Xbox 360)

FORZA Motorsport 3 lures you in gently. Unlike many games where you go to an option screen to start, this slick racer caresses you into prolonged action.

"Hello and welcome. Before we start let's go for a spin in an Audi TT," a silky voice tells you as if you've wandered into a high-class car showroom.

Before you can ask "Where's my start menu" you're plonked in a rapid motor and screeching round rolling hills in a two-lap race. The fun tutorial means you've soon done a few three-lap races, earned a couple of new cars and even jazzed them up a bit.

Its format is a well road-tested one of starting you off in a 17-year-old's first-car-that-his-dad-buys-him, and allows you to gain credits which lets you upgrade, or even buy, a new car.

After a few competitive outings you are given cars by manufacturers, which probably has the desired effect for the game's maker of keeping you playing longer than you planned.

But it also makes you feel a bit like a cheat. After only one season and three hours of play you have four cars including a snazzy Alfa Romeo and a speedy blue Williams Clio. I used to play Gran Turismo for hours before I could upgrade to a Honda saloon.

The graphics are spot-on and there's plenty to go at with a relentless set of races each season. The various difficulty settings allow permanently-hold-accelerate-types to progress and the wannabe Stigs to plunge through the gears late to turn in on a tighter line than the race leader.

Overall a gentle Volvo S40 compared to Gran Turismo's growling Aston Martin DB9.

By Jonny Greatrex