Veterans of the Forza Horizon games will recognise the setup and the exuberant voiceovers, if not the low-rent execution. As a rookie driver competing in a preposterous America-wide motorsport festival, you’re out to make a name for yourself by winning races and pulling off feats of lunatic daring. There are urban checkpoint races three-minute supercar scrambles in which the throng of opponents never seems more than a few feet behind and more adventurous events like powerboat races, motocross trials and aerial freestyle stunt challenges.
Within the open-world map lurks a swathe of by-the-numbers events from the Need for Speed mould. Happily, there’s no need to worry about real-life road-trip concerns such as the laws of physics or LA’s perpetual traffic congestion, and should you wish to somehow drive a Motocross bike to the top of Mount Rushmore to perform a front flip from its peak, you need no written permission. In The Crew 2, you and up to three online friends are free to journey across a make-believe America, switching between boats, planes and cars with a swish of the right analog stick. Burnout Paradise, originally released in 2008 for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, is one of Criterions best games, so it only makes sense.