Recent reviews by One_Track_Mind

What an amesome looking game. Initially, I was worried it wouldn't be able to run on my computer but with all the graphical settings on low and 720p resolution it runs smoothly. The controls had a minor but noticable amount of latency. I was amazed at how good it still looked amazing even on low settings.
This has the most impressive open world I have ever played. Each geographical region is immersive enough to get lost in. The cities are all absolutely excellent and really capture the layout and aesthetic of their real world counter-parts. As San Francisco is my own local city, I was a bit disappointed to find that it was probably the weakest of the representations but it's certainly still passable and still a lot more accurate than the versions in the Driver SF, or GTA San Andreas. The way the world loads around you as you drive reminded me a bit of the game FUEL though the map was obviously less repetative. Your car seems to be surrounded by a radius of detail and the rest that's on your horizon is a bit vague. This could also be due to the graphical settings I was playing on.
I didn't really bother with much of the story. I skipped cutscenes and completed enough tasks to unlock the freeroam driving, then played on my own terms. I'm saving the experience of the story for when the full version is released. There were a few bugs in the beta that I expect will be fixed before November. Buildings and stationary cars are overly-reflective to the point where windows become blindingly bright. The GPS line sometimes seems to not realized that you ARE following it and then givs up on you. Some of the lines, crosswalks, and street signs same a bit out of sync. The collision engine with plants is also very inconsistent at this point. Crop fields have an excellent effect of folding up underneath your car but shrubberies in the deserts will not respond at all. There's one bug that I actually found rather delightful and would be happy to see left in the final game. When you drive through the Bayou, some of the alligators walk on just their front legs. It's really funny looking.
Overall, I highly recommend this game. I think it has a lot of potential and it really deserves a lot of praise. It is vey ambitious and I am eagerly awaiting it's ultimate release. If rumors are true that more cities and regions will be added as DLC, I woud love to see Boston, and some expansion done to the Bay Area. It would also be great to drive through some of the U.S.A.'s great amusement parks such as Disneyworld, Magic Mountain, and Cedar Point.