Last June Pixar released what would go on to become the biggest animated movie of the year – Cars. Cars tells the story of Radiator Springs, a small town that's been abandoned for big city excitement. The basic premise isn't all that unique, but its inhabitants couldn't be more original. Every living, breathing character in the movie is a car. These cars are just like people. They can talk and interact in ways you would never expect. Their story, written by the same geniuses that gave Toy Story and The Incredibles their unforgettable scripts, is as hilarious as it is heartfelt.

Rainbow Studios, the creator of Splashdown and the ATV Offroad Fury series, was chosen as the company to bring Cars to the game platforms. Despite being a licensed property – which often have the least amount of innovation of any game – Cars turned out to be a fun, unique, and memorable racing adventure. Rainbow's trademark, highly polished controls and superior course design made the game a huge success.

Originally a current-gen release, Cars has now made its next-gen debut via Xbox 360. The sharper, high-res version is essentially the same game you played five months ago. Unless marginal graphic updates are your thing, there's no need for those who already own the game to purchase the 360 version. Those who have not played it, however, should take this opportunity to enjoy this port of one of the most creative racers of the year.

Play as Lightning McQueen, Mater, Sally, Doc Hudson, and several others from the film. Mack is back to carry McQueen to victory. All of the film's classic locales have been re-created in polygon form, enabling you to explore every nook and cranny of Radiator Springs. Visit Mater at the junkyard, and say hello to Sally at the Cozy Cone. Luigi's tire shop is also in town. Each locale represents a different mission, with the exception of Ramone, whose shop lets you customize body art.

The game would be boring if that was as far as you could go. Most cars would agree – they started bypassing visits to Radiator Springs as soon as the new highway was built. Lightning McQueen started to bring 'em back with his new racing headquarters, but the town still has its limitations.

Take a drive past the Radiator and you won't feel so limited. The game has one enormous, persistent (mostly) world that stretches much further than the eye can see. The draw-in distance isn't perfect. Crafty players will spot a few hints of pop-up and fade-in. It probably could've been fixed on the 360, but this is a port, not a massive upgrade. And even though we all want better graphics, I don't think kids or any other Cars fan will spend a lot of time thinking about this minor drawback.

Their focus will be – just as mine was five months ago and still is today – on each and every mission. Race against Sally and Doc Hudson. Race as Sally or Doc Hudson. As Mater you'll get the chance to tip the film's answer to cows: tractors. (Get it? They call it "tractor tipping.") Take command of the town Sheriff and catch the tricked-out speeders that caused Mack to fall asleep.

Lightning will be asked to collect a series of hard-to-find items, and compete in various race circuits across several different tracks, all of which were inspired by locations from the film.

Real-time movie sequences are presented before and after each mission. They tell the story of life after the movie – how the cars have been doing since Lightning first arrived at Radiator Springs. Character dialogue is often clever, funny, and relates directly to the film's events. It's the perfect way to continue the Cars experience. The cars’ facial expressions are a near-perfect to those in the film.

As an added bonus, players will be able to unlock brief CG scenes from full-length feature. And when I say brief, I'm not exaggerating. They will start a scene and cut it off just before it gets to the best part. I suppose that's a good thing for those who have not seen the movie yet, but for those of us who have, we want more! (Actually I wanted the whole movie to be hidden on the disc, but that's beside the point.)

Additional playable cars, accessible via two-player races, can also be unlocked. You'll get the chance to acquire deleted game scenes and other goodies as well.

Rainbow Studios is great at designing worlds, race courses, and other massive environments. The area where their games stand out the most, however, is the controls. Cars is no different but has one exception: severe camera issues. The steering aspect is excellent and effortless. You can pick up the controls, drive around, jump over objects, win a few races, etc. – and feel very good about it.

Disappointingly, the camera problems that stemmed from the PS2 and other current-gen versions have not been fixed. A few tweaks appear to have been made. After being spun around, the camera will snap back into place a little more naturally. What it won't do, however, is stay out of trouble. You'll still have to fight against it during certain races. Expect to have a nightmare of a time getting it to stay in place during Mater's tractor-tipping sessions.

With the problematic camera still in place, Cars is not better on Xbox 360 than it was on the current-gen consoles. That said, the game still rocks. It may never be without the camera issues that plagued the original, but it will always be an addictive and memorable racer. Don't pass up the chance to see what is possible when a developer is allowed to enter new territory. This game, no matter how flawed, gives me hope for the future of the racing genre. Because I know that if Rainbow Studios can find and achieve innovation in a licensed property, they can find it anywhere.

Gameplay: 7.8
A magnificent collection of racing circuits and innovative mini-games. I almost hate to add the word “mini,” because that often implies simplistic, button-mashing time-killers. The Cars objectives were more thoroughly designed than that. Players can expect a highly enjoyable set of things to accomplish. All of the film’s cars are incorporated, plus new hotshots that think they have what it takes to beat the great Lightning McQueen.

Graphics: 6.5
Crisper, cleaner, and running at a higher resolution than the PS2 version (up to 1080i). Comparatively, however, the PS2 version stacks up better against other PS2 games than the 360 version does against other 360 games.

Sound: 7.9
Same as the other versions available. The film’s celebrities lent their voices to this semi-sequel, including Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Larry the Cable Guy, and Bonnie Hunt. Music comes from artists like The All-American Rejects (“Night Drive”) and AutoPilot Off (“What I Want” – a track that sounds eerily similar to The Offspring’s “All I Want,” which was featured in Crazy Taxi).

Orchestral tracks were also written for the game. They’re a lot less rock, taking on more of a twang-y, country sound, and are a bit repetitive.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Rainbow Studios serves up a fulfilling portion of fun races and mini-games / side objectives.

Concept: 7.9
Cars is an inventive, wonderfully designed game with ideas you won’t see anywhere else. The 360 port doesn’t add much to the experience, but its original qualities haven’t aged since the game’s PS2, PSP, and Xbox debut. If you haven’t played it before, now’s the time to act.

Multiplayer: 7.0
Two-player split-screen racing that’s more of a bonus than a deep, full-fledged multiplayer mode.

Overall: 7.8
Those who have played Cars before need not proceed to the Xbox 360 version. The graphics have only been given a slight upgrade, and the old camera problems are still present. Fortunately, for those who haven’t played the game yet, that isn’t all that’s been carried over to this port. The excitement of playing the game for the first time, its replay value, and satisfying driving and racing styles are completely intact. If you love the movie Cars, you mustn’t wait another second – play this game now.