Compared to the other games out there, LA Rush doesn't have enough freedom or characteristics to stand out against them.
You'll find yourself starting with a car, racing that car around a pretty well simulated, and quite expansive version of Los Angeles. Here is where the problems start, traffic is bumper to bumper through out the city, maybe they could have fudged a little on that aspect, not only is traffic an issue the wonky control you have over the vehicles doesn't make it any better. Those things considered lead us to the wrecks, which at first seem very fun to watch yourself and your car fly off into oblivion in pieces but after the first 10,000, which you'll rack up quite quickly, they'll soon become a nuisance. The cars, both traffic and player controlled, are rendered quite well with the player controlled cars taking the win.
Though the cars are very well rendered you can customize them, and to say that perhaps is very misleading. When I say customize them I mean you drive to West Coast Customs and much like the show Pimp My Ride this game offers you no control over how your ride is "pimped". This game sometimes can seem like a vehicle for MTV to pimp a show more than it is a game. There are millions of cops which seemingly don't see you blaze past them at high speeds until you smash into them or traffic around them. Cops will chase you and fine you but chases are easily dodged by taking on an event.
In LA Rush you can't do burnouts! What kind of racing game won't allow you to do burnouts!? You can find NOS tokens through out the city during races which is an very odd place to find it, out in the middle of the road. The day and night cycle is a good touch, giving more depth to the game and adding more skill for night races. The game offers GPS since the map is so huge, sometimes the GPS is too critical and based on road more than event location so you may find yourself heading all over the place before you're actually where you need to be.
One thing that can be frustration above all is the fact that it takes your entry fee and saves before you start a race, unknown competition and some very tricky race routes can make this a very frustrating affair. Compared to the other games out there, LA Rush doesn't have enough freedom or characteristics to stand out against them but it's not a terrible game in it's own right.