That's no longer the case. I've abandoned the living room couch and spent the last two weeks absolutely enthralled with Electronic Arts' latest addition to the Need for Speed series, Porsche Unleashed. It's that rarest of titles that glues you to the monitor until the first rays of dawn start to creep in the windows. Playing it makes the entire computer gaming hobby seem more worthwhile.

More immersive gameplay is what makes Porsche Unleashed work so well. Two very different solo modes of play have been included in Porsche Evolution and Factory Driver. Factory Driver is mission-based. You start off as a trainee driver for Porsche who has to perform various tasks in order to earn his job. These involve both semi-plausible objectives like testing out a traction control system in the snow and absolutely insane ones like delivering a Boxster to a customer across town in under three minutes. Still, they're all a lot of fun, and add a sense of immediate purpose to playing the game. I want to see more of these "mission races" in future Need for Speeds.

Evolution is essentially a career mode that takes you back half a century to the beginnings of the company. After using an $11,000 opening stake to buy your first Porsche, the classic 356, you'll then progress through various races and tournaments over the following decades. Of course, this involves advancing from Porsche to Porsche until you reach the supercars of the present. Moving through the various models adds a lot of challenge to the game, particularly when you reach the 1970s and experience the brutally fast and murderously unstable 911. Over the years you'll earn money from racing purses that can be used to buy new and used cars, repair them, and make modifications. The latter even lets you adjust your car's setup. Feel free to play around with your ride height, steering, brake balance, downforce, and tire pressure.