After you pass the garage (congratulations, you are now a man), you start the real game, called Undercover. Tanner works his way in with the bad guys one job at a time, in four cities. Between jobs you're back at your hideout, and the jobs come in as messages on the answering machine. Sometimes you get to pick which one you want.

NO SPOILERS PAST MIAMI. I'll tell you about the driving in every city, but I'm not telling you what happens in the story after Miami. You have to earn it like I did.

What it's like: Flat, sunny, wide streets, lots of palm trees. It's the easy city, which is good, because you're still learning to drive here no matter what the garage said.

The story so far: Tanner is brand new and nobody trusts him. The jobs are about proving you can drive: get a guy somewhere before time runs out, lose the cops when they show up, get a car somewhere without wrecking it, stuff like that. The bad guys keep testing you to see if you're for real.

Tips:

• The timers are tighter than they look. Don't stop to mess around.
• When you have to lose the cops, get off the big streets. Turn a bunch of times in a row. They lose you faster on side streets.
• If a job says don't get the car damaged, they mean it. Take the turns slower than you want to.
• Figure out where you're going before you hit the gas. I didn't at first. I should have.

Frankie rating: Fun. Not too hard once you know the handbrake.

What it's like: THE HILLS. You go over the top of a hill and your car flies through the air like in an old cop movie and lands with a big bounce. It is the best thing in the game. It's also how you lose control and smash into a building.

Tips:

• Try to be going straight when you go over the top of a hill. If you're turning when you take off, you land sideways and spin out.
• Don't turn right at the bottom of a big hill. Slow down a tiny bit first or you slide into whatever's there.
• The streets go up and down so much that you can't see what's coming. Cars appear out of nowhere at the top of hills. Watch for them.
• Cops get airborne too. Sometimes they land on each other. That's not a tip, it's just awesome.

Frankie rating: Best city. Hardest to drive in. Both at the same time.

What it's like: HUGE. It's really spread out and the streets are long and straight. Lots of room to go fast.

Tips:

• Long straight roads mean the cops can see you from far away. Don't think you're safe just because you got a block ahead.
• Because it's so big, a wrong turn costs you a lot of time. Pay attention to where you're going here more than anywhere.
• Your top speed matters more in LA than anywhere else. Keep it floored on the straights and save the handbrake for the corners.

Frankie rating: Good for going fast. Kind of easy to get lost.

What it's like: Crowded. Traffic everywhere, short blocks, and the cops are no joke. This is where I am right now, and it is HARD.

Tips (so far):

• You're turning every couple of seconds, so you have to be really good with the handbrake by now. If you're not, go back to the garage and practice. I'm serious.
• There's so much traffic that sometimes the best way is the sidewalk. People jump out of the way. Just don't hit a light pole.
• Don't panic when there are three cops behind you. Panic when there are five.

Frankie rating: I'll tell you when I beat it. Which will be soon. Probably.