this game is unique because of the way your move around outside of your vehicle, you move around in the air through an eyeball looking camera, by doing this you can now take control of any car on the street. i have never seen such a thing but i like it, its fast and convenient. if you have to go way across town, just go to sky view and move the cursor to were you need to go then take a near by car, couldn't be more simple. the Graphics are absolutely stunning, and the cut scenes are even better, if you were standing 20 ft away from your TV, you wouldn't be able to tell if people were actually real or not during a cut scene. Online gameplay is a bit dull, but the single player is great is great, even if you do nothing but play multiplayer games, (like me) if you don't like single player, you will like this i promise. if your game does not come with the online pass, don't spend Microsoft points to buy it, its not worth it. but i still do HIGHLY recommend this game for any person who likes racing games, cause it has nothing but cars from real life, and the graphics are epic. i would buy this over need for speed or any other racing game with real cars simply because you can free roam any time your not doing something. there are lots of challenges to do around the city. you will be occupied for awhile. and 1 last thing, this is a good driving simulator too as it has TRUE 1st person view, i always drive with that on, its like really driving.