If there's one thing nobody can accuse Xbox of lacking, it's a wealth of quality driving titles. There are so many currently available for the console, encompassing all aspects of four-wheeled fun, from all-out arcade madness such as Project Gotham Racing 2 to the technical tour de force of Colin McRae Rally 04. Sitting comfortably in the middle lane between arcade action and realistic sim is the well-received and very successful Sega GT 2002, and that title has now been tweaked, fine-tuned and buffed with a soft chamois leather as it takes a hard right into the world of online racing...

All the original features are back, along with a considerable number of improvements and additions. Seven new manufacturers have signed up, bringing the total to 27, and this means 40 new cars - including the sublime Dodge Viper SRT-10 - bringing this total to an impressive 167 motors. And there are 27 unlockable tracks too!

Right, enough of the stats, let's get down to business. The game retains the original's impressive single-player mode, whereby qualifying for licences, competing in races, championships and Gathering mode earns you wads of cash. They say money makes the world go round, but in this case it'll make your wheels go round faster (crap.puns@OXM.com) as you use these readies to upgrade nearly every part of your beloved mean machine. With the huge number of cars on offer, this provides a huge amount of scope for all you connoisseurs out there. The standard Quick Race, Time Trial and Replay modes are all included (as per usual in pretty much every driving title around), along with Chronicle mode, where you can race classic cars from yesteryear.

However, it says Online in the title and that's why we're here. New modes include Quick Battle, Tailored Optimatch, and Ranking Ladders. The main meat though, is in the frantic Battle for 12, where you can race (and hurl road rage abuse) against 11 like-minded individuals, initially over six tracks, before unlocking the remainder. You can use cars, parts and upgrades earned in the offline game to race on Xbox Live, thus giving a real incentive to play through the single-player game to unlock all the top motors.

Another couple of nice touches are the ability to transfer saved cars from Sega GT 2002 online to rule the virtual roads, and the way you can trade (and bet) cars and parts with other players within your Live session.

Online games can suffer from frustrating slowdown, and this fate occasionally befalls Sega GT Online, though not enough to seriously hamper gameplay. Also, collisions between cars can often have random results, ranging from immediate spring-back to ungainly momentary morphing but, aside from this, Sega has delivered a competent online update of an established classic.

1. Xbox Live racing
2. Realistic handling
3. Tons of upgrades and cars

1. Occasional slowdown on Live
2. Unpredictable collisions

Power
Single-player game has impressive framerate and graphical quality slight slowdown on Xbox Live.

Style
Faithfully recreated cars and realistic handling along with a diverse soundtrack of new bands.

Immersion
Easily accessible and very addictive; you'll want to see every car available.

Lifespan
There's a huge single-player career mode but this game is virtually limitless on Xbox Live.

Overall An Live-enabled update of the original rather than an all-out fresh game, Sega GT Online sits on the grid just behind Project Gotham Racing 2.