It seems a lot of attention has come to the Xbox 360 build of EA's latest Need For Speed game, Most Wanted, and for good reason. The game looks to combine its high-speed hijinks with the kind of next-gen visuals that can make a person's eyes water- from crying out in sheer joy, mind you. But that's not to say that current generation console owners won't be getting a treat of their own when the game arrives next month for their machines. Sure, they'll be lesser versions, but the equality of adventurous racing spirit remains.

The game is basically a combination of the underground speeding elements we saw in the Need For Speed Underground games with the high speed law-outrunning racing action that the Hot Pursuit games were known for. Combining the two may be a bit odd, but it adds a general excitement to the product, as our hands-on test indicated.

The races I played through showed off a good sense of speed, if not exactly an amazing amount of detail. The frame rate moves steadily enough, and the car detail, strewn across the 40-plus vehicles in the game, looks alright. There were different camera angles provided for the hands-on test, although I prefer the behind-the-car view so you can see some of the chaos you leave a bit better...as well as the cop that may be riding up on your ass.

But the real genuine article I found myself addicted to here is being able to "trap" cops or leave them in the dust, and earning bonus points as I did it. This is a system that was better emphazied in Hot Pursuit 2 on consoles a few years ago, and it's back again, in the form of a meter that indicates where the cops exactly are and how far away you must be in order to lose them. The fact you can run through roadside obstacles and lean into other vehicles, just to swerve away in time and leave them to ram into the cop car, is a beauty. There's also speed traps to avoid and the occasional blockade that you have to run through, but that's all part of the fun.

The game controls just fine. It doesn't really diversify like later driving games have been, but you have to stick with what works sometimes. The game still generates a grand speed that will excite, and the detail, while not overwhelming in this lesser version, will suffice. The tracks still pack challenging twists and turns, and the presence of law enforcement just ups the ante.

I prefer the Xbox 360 version, but I'm a tech junkie, so that's to be expected. Those who are stuck with a PS2, Xbox, or GameCube this holiday season will still probably get a fine racing game in Most Wanted as it arrives on store shelves next month. We'll be back with a full review just as soon as we can get these cops off our twenty. Smokey just can't be shaken here!