You know a few years ago everyone was going on about games being like movies? But then all that happened was games got stuffed full of rubbish movie clips and got more boring and worse. Well, we've got some good news about that - True Crime: New York City does a fantastic job at shovelling Hollywood production values into Xbox.

The cut-scenes, characters, acting and general presentation of the action here are all quite superb, with top-drawer Hollywood actors and a stylish, cool and a very enjoyable plot being told between True Crime's many shooting bits. Sadly, the plot is that same really old, rubbish one about people getting killed, finding out who did it and unearthing a conspiracy, but the way it looks and unfolds is Triple-A Hollywood through and through.

The New York City part is equally polished and big budget. The streets are rammed with cars, pedestrians and suspiciously flimsy lampposts to send cartwheeling through the air, giving the town a buzzing atmosphere. Central Park is packed with people that you can drive over or help, depending if you're going for a good or bad cop day.

The controls are way better than those of 2003's Streets Of LA. Marcus has a lock-on auto-aim for shooting ease, plus a press of a button kicks in manual override and lets you aim for yourself if you'd prefer. Fighting is simpler and easier with less emphasis on bullet time and martial arts skills, and more importance on hammering A and X. Simpler, but it makes the game more instantly playable.

The whole tedious idea of training your character through Streets of LA's lengthy dojo sections has been obliterated, in favour of letting you buy new skills or, better still, the game just giving them to you when you rank up. It's an easier, friendlier system that removes much of Streets Of LA's boring bits.

Also new for New York is a collecting angle that encourages you to clean up the streets to earn money, whether by honest means or by planting drugs on housewives. Each mission starts back at the precinct, and from here you pick your clothes and car for the day - or until you die and have to start again. Instead of just stealing cars you now have an underground garage of cop and civilian vehicles you've unlocked and bought, which lets you drive what you like without having to bank on stumbling across the right car to steal outside.

Buying cars means you're forced to complete random street crimes for the money, making the game a much bigger proposition. The only downside to this precinct business is that you have to start there whenever you load a saved game, so the process of picking a car, selecting your outfit and cashing paychecks does start to drag after a while. Damn paperwork!

What remains, though, is an extremely tight and linear plot. There's not much deviating from the story, with failed missions dumping you into straightforward alternative play sections where you get yourself back on the main story arc. If you play it solely to follow the plot, and ignore the bonus missions that pop up as you drive about the city, True Crime: New York City will be a rather short experience.

The whole good/bad play angle remains to boost longevity many times over, with you able to make Marcus a goody-goody nice cop or have him steal, plant evidence and generally rough up the citizens. It works, makes the street crimes worth solving and gives you a reason to go back to it long after the gangsta plot has been resolved.

Despite all the murders, New York's a great place to be - and the game's better as a result. The city is more interesting than LA and easier to get around thanks to the subway. The story is clichéd 'gangsta' nonsense but extremely well presented, plus the good/bad cop city-cleansing missions are a huge challenge that'll have you busting human scum for months. New York kicks LA's arse.

1. An incredibly city, New York is very busy and packed with cool little details that really bring it to life.
2. The supplementary missions that 'pad out' the story sections are numerous and, on the whole, good fun.
3. Fantastic presentation of the (admittedly cliché-packed) plot gives the game a stylish vibe.

1. Slightly dodgy car handling and physics - crash in Central Park and your car bobs and floats all over the place.
2. Gets a bit jerky on occasion when too much stuff's happening - big crashes and slides create lots of juddering.

With tons to do and big bucks Hollywood presentation, New York is one of this year's hottest gaming destinations.