Almost needless to say, in order to give any sort of lasting impression, the game needs a good structure. In LA Heist, it’s not bad. There’s a choice between story, circuit racing, stunt driving, time trial, and free roam modes. With the story mode being the main focus of attention, it’s where the bulk of the action takes place. Main sections of the film are split into individual missions for the game, of which there are around 15 in total. Each mission is preceded by a brief description of a scene from the film, after which you are placed in the role of completing a specific task - such as picking things up from a location, following a target car, or escaping from enemies.

The environments (a choice between LA and Hollywood in free roam mode), which at first appear sufficiently large, do offer an element of excitement as you hustle past traffic and discover bizarre shortcuts. But you’ll soon discover the predictable road blocks and walls that prevent you from travelling beyond a relatively limited world. The problem is manifested by the fact that missions simply require you to beat the clock, and lack any real sense of involvement and strategy. In short, you simply have to find and arrive at what’s essentially a red dot on a map at the top of the screen within the time limit (vis-à-vis Crazy Taxi), which ultimately rules out the need to explore. This is made worse by the appalling AI, where at times, it’s difficult to distinguish between genuine enemies and civilian traffic – both seem to be deliberately trying to stop you! On completion of each mission, you are awarded a grade from which new vehicles, stills from the film, and other novelty items can be unlocked. Despite these, there is little reason to return to the missions once they are complete - such is the mediocrity of their design. On the plus side, the novel stunt driving mode which requires you to manoeuvre the Mini around tricky ramps, pipes, and other obstacles is quite demanding, but fails to provide any longevity.

Dynamically, there’s a distinct feel of Crazy Taxi crossed with Burnout, and leans very much towards arcade-style physics. Very little is required to become an adept player – for example, there are rare occasions, if any, when it’s necessary to use the brake. There’s no manual shifting either, underlining the developers’ emphasis on simplicity. While missions will abort if the vehicle sustains one too many serious impacts (and they can take quite a few!), they are not affected in terms of performance, which means you can trash them without much ramification. The upside is that the game is easy to get into, and you can become a good player in relatively short time, but there’s not much in the sense of gratification for mastering what’s on offer.

There’s not much in the way of aesthetic candy, either. Graphics and sound are perhaps on par with mediocre titles, but not a patch on more upmarket ones. In-game music sounds like cheesy synthesised tunes from the 80s and there’s been no attempt to apply any of the tunes from the movie soundtracks. Vehicle and environment detail is minimal, and while there isn’t much in the way of the usual suspects such as pop up and jerkiness, the visual sensations do little to generate much player enthusiasm or indicate any technical kudos. Other nuances include the absence of pedestrians and smaller modes of transport such as bikes, and the general lack of traffic, all of which make the experience numb and unrealistic.

In summary, the game is exactly what it appears to be - another quick cash-in on the part of the games industry. While young and inexperienced gamers will find some homage in its limited qualities, there’s little here for the avid gamer. For Mini fans, your lust for the car can be satisfied more effectively with other titles in the market which offer far greater dynamic realism, and gameplay longevity. Experienced gamers will find it difficult to extract more than an afternoon’s worth of entertainment from this title, where considering its price tag, there’s an awful lot of better ways to spend your cash - and more importantly, your time. The game arguably stands equal to the film on which it’s based, but for sheer enjoyment and quality, it represents little more than a piece of repackaged memorabilia.