Long before I submitted my first game review I had written tens of thousands of words on professional athletes, covering the gamut from opinionated pieces to the mundane — such as scouting reports and trading cards. Along the way I conducted numerous interviews and grew annoyed by an axiom athletes were using to answer questions. That popular phrase: “It is what it is.”

The vehicular modes tend to be hit or miss. I enjoyed transforming in tight quarters to zoom around the battlefield, but I didn’t think it held up as well during longer sequences. The pseudo on-rails elements of flying make it a bit confusing as to where you can maneuver, and it always seemed like the cars were hovering slightly above the ground without any feel for the road.

Although the game chooses to slowly introduce the various controls during the career mode, everything is so responsive and intuitive that it really isn’t necessary. After just a few games you’ll be pulling off back flips and waving to the crowd as you soar through the air. My lone quibble is that it feels a bit odd to switch from the throttle (R2) to the L1/R1 buttons to perform aerial stunts, but it’s something you’ll get used to as you play more.

The music doesn’t do much for me as there’s a fairly limited score that won’t hold your interest for very long. However, the sound effects are quite solid as bullets whiz past and planes detonate. There’s even some of Snoopy’s signature noises mixed in.