#3: GTA Race
Fairly self-explanatory, this one. Eight players line up in a straightforward (ish) race to the finish line. Except, of course, you can shoot at your opponents. And there’s A LOT of oncoming traffic.

Rob: Rockstar picked a simple two-lap circuit across a city block, gave us the choice of a few pimped up SUVs (we plumped for the redneck hick’s car of choice - a Humvee emblazoned in the Star Spangled Banner!) - and then the klaxon signaled the start.

Tim: I don’t mind admitting I was hopeless at this one. Or maybe just the victim of some bad luck. Either way, hunched behind the wheel of my super-slick SUV, I was first off the grid… only to immediately careen into the side of an oncoming bus before we’d reached the end of the street.

Rob: And you somehow managed to flip the car right over onto its roof too!

Tim: Yeah. Once a vehicle’s on the roof, you can’t do a thing with it. So, I just had to crawl out, flag down another car, toss out the occupant and try to play catch up. The upside? I got myself a Lamborghini-like Infernus. The downside? It was twitchy as hell. It was virtually rocket-powered and you could get up to ridiculous speeds on straights - but as soon as I took corners, or veered between traffic, it was a brick wall express.

Rob: I’m going to be controversial here: I reckon this was the least engaging of the multiplayer modes.

Tim: Really?

Rob: Yeah. I just didn’t think it had the cleverness of the other modes.

Tim: Maybe. But as a straight up road race, it was still a lot of fun. Plus, there’s a cheeky little nod to Mario Kart, of all games, as you pick up new weapons by driving over the icons.