Midnight Club II

tracks per se but are set through the streets of the metropolitan city you happen to be in.  (Either L.A., Tokyo, or Paris.)  This means that in getting to a certain checkpoint, there are many possible streets you could take to get there.  No particular route to a checkpoint is really advantageous over another so the freedom offered in a race really gives you the sense that you are racing against others in not only a battle of speed but of wits.

The usual shortcuts in any arcade racer are accounted here, but they only offer a very slight advantage for all but the most precise driver.  A shortcut that may save you a couple of seconds will likely also lose you those seconds because of the sharp turn you have to make to hit the checkpoint or because there is a last second obstacle that gets in your way.  The opponent AI usually takes the path of least resistance through the checkpoints, but they are skilled enough to make it challenging for any seasoned racing game player.

The locales included try to mimic their real life counterparts in theme. L.A. offers wide long roaming freeways on risers, with grid like urban streets beneath them.  Paris offers the familiar sights of the Eiffel Tower, L’Arc de Triomphe, and plenty of narrow winding streets.  Tokyo has a mix of everything and combined with their left hand drive streets, offers some of the tougher yet more rewarding circuits to race on. 

Unfortunately, the cars in the game are not officially licensed so instead we get easily recognizable cars with different names.  The game doesn’t lose much from this though as seeing the name “Civic” instead of “Citi” above a car in a vehicle selection menu really doesn’t add anything to the game.  There is also no customizing your car except for the ability to change the color.  This is a feature I really would have like to seen, but it seems that Rockstar really wanted to keep this game a pure arcade racer.  While I can appreciate the concise nature of the game, it would have been nice to see the career mode enhanced a little bit more with upgradeable parts, especially considering the content of the game. (Street racing in bone stock or pre-modified cars? How passé.)

The cars that you win from your opponents offer the usual arcade differences between vehicles.  As if you couldn’t have already guessed, these are speed, acceleration and handling.  The real differences offered by each car is noticeable, and everyone is likely to find a car that they prefer.  This is a testament to the game in that there is no one ultimate car that will always win when you are playing through the career mode.  Depending on the player’s driving style, skill level, and choice of route, it is possible to win in a number of cars although it will most easily be with the one that is best suited to the gamer’s driving style.

The inclusion of motorcycles is also one of the game’s greatest strengths.  The bikes offer superior acceleration and handling at the slight expense of its straight line top speed.  Riding on the bike does leave you susceptible to some spectacular wipe outs though.  Always competitive, the bike has its own unique handling properties and special abilities.  Rather than feeling just like a programming afterthought, it really feels as if the bikes are totally different than the cars.  While the bikes are always capable of winning, the gamer’s success in driving them will depend on their commitment to using them.  While they are quick , they do take some getting used to and require a totally different strategy in driving them.

The handling physics of the game leave something to be desired (in my opinion).  The constant drift turns and stop on a dime handling properties of the cars feel a little too precise and not quite as challenging as they could have been.  This being said, MC2 is a true arcade racer complete with two wheel driving, air control, 180 degree turns on a dime and blow-by drafting passes that would make any Nascar driver scream with laughter.  There is no damage model and if your car takes too much damage you will simply explode on the next impact and be on your merry way with a brand new vehicle with no damage, costing you only a small margin of time. 

Playing the career mode is only scratching the surface of the rich gameplay options available.  In the arcade mode you can race against your past opponents, play capture the flag, detonate, or just cruise.  There is also a race editor mode where you can create your own circuits in the cities you have conquered.  The real gem though is the online play mode.  With the ability to host races only in the cities that you have completed in the career mode this allows the seasoned racers to be identified quickly by where they race while keeping newbies, and the inexperienced to the streets of L.A. 

Combined with the incredible sense of speed offered by the game, Midnight Club 2 will leave you craving more, and you will likely be up until the early hours of the morning trying to beat those pesky French sisters in Paris.  The opportunity to race through traffic at 300 KM/H on city streets against a pack of other cars is not only fun but very addictive.  Rockstar can really do no wrong in my eyes, and this game further enhances my confidence in them as one of the premier game developer/publishers in recent memory.

- Mark Leung

(August 20, 2003)