Miami Nights 2

Using games to escape from the humdrum nature of the real world is hardly anything new, but Gameloft's 'Nights' series has turned living our Heat Magazine style dreams into something of a cash cow. The trips to New York, Paris and Las Vegas all serve up the same brand of star-enthused escapism.

Miami Nights 2, like its predecessors, has that same aim - to drop you into city life and charge you with 'making it', both in terms of your career and your love life. The latter is what most of Miami Nights 2's play is geared towards, though anyone who has sampled any game in the Nights series might find their stay in Miami at little trickier to master.

The principles are largely the same. Choosing either a male or female avatar, you're dropped into the middle of Miami and prodded and poked to make friends and pull in the cash. Everything you do has an effect on your ratings, which range from your physical prowess, intellect and esteem, right down to how clean you are at that particular moment.

These ratings are key, as they affect everyone's reactions to you. If you're in need of a wash, for instance, then chances are no-one will want you near them. Commit too many crimes and you'll be similarly ostracised.

The difference between Miami Nights 2 and some of its siblings, however, is that while much of play remains identical - meeting new people triggering events and targets that unlock new areas, with money to earn, rent to pay and goals to reach - actually talking to folk has seemingly been made much more difficult.

The idea is identical. You need to use the information that scrolls along the bottom of the screen about each character to steer the conversation in a direction geared to win their favour. However, now not every avenue is open from the word go.

Try and talk about sports, for instance, and you may find yourself insulted, your potential mate insisting you get down the gym and buff up before you dare to talk ball again. Such hurdles are no doubt intended to be prompts for exploration, but in truth they're simply one blocker too many.

To start a conversation with someone who claims to be looking for new friends only to be rebuffed because they consider you a bit flabby doesn't entice you to get pumping iron - it simply turns you off talking to strangers in the first place.

But more problematic than that is the fact that nothing here is especially new or original. While the presentation seems to get slicker with each new release, creativity has plateaued. At almost every turn, Miami Nights 2 is identical to its predecessors and, before long, Gameloft's glitzy retreat may well end up as more of a boring chore.