With the game speeding towards an October 7 release, Rockstar has rolled out a new trailer for its latest underground street racer, Midnight Club: Los Angeles. In case you were wondering what an open world racer with an ... open world on the level of GTA IV would be like, this (ahem) fast and furious footage is your answer. And, if you're watching this between 12am and 1am PST, it's also incredibly appropriate.

It's interesting to see Rockstar San Diego fleshing out the story aspect of this sequel, right down to seeing your character behind the wheel during races. Although it's definitely the complex world detail matched with the pedigree of this series that really gets our motors running.

We hope you opted to use pencil when scribbling the release date for Rockstar's latest non-felony related driving game into your Niko Bellic pinup calendar. Midnight Club: Los Angeles – the fourth installment in Rockstar San Diego's pimp-your-ride racing game – has jettisoned the old September 9 release date in favor of a new October 7th date (October 10 for you Europeans). Ostensibly, the extra time is being used to put that final coat of Turtle Wax on the open-world, track-less, load-time-less title but we like to imagine they're having difficulty getting the LA traffic experience just right.

With Grand Theft Auto IV's release ever-looming, it's easy to forget that Rockstar isn't just about guns and ladies of the night. The company's San Diego outfit announced this morning that its previously announced Midnight Club: Los Angeles,the fourth title in the studio's racing series, will drift to North America for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on September 9, with Europe getting the title three days later. In addition, the game will share self space with the Rockstar London-developed Midnight Club: LA Remix for the PSP as well.

While little is known about what to expect from the portable racer, the console versions promise to let players rev their officially licensed rides in a variety of LA-themed environments, with "no load times, no tracks, and no rules." Rockstar San Diego adds that players will be able to dress up their cars inside and out with an array of licensed paraphernalia, from rims and spoilers to interior gauges and tires, giving those of us with an eye for bling an outlet to flex our garish sense of style.