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Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition
Score: 8.8 / 10
I’ve always heard good things about the
Midnight Club series, which is why it’s so nice to find that they’re
true. And though I can’t condone street racing, I will condone Midnight
Club 3: DUB Edition (MC3) as a great game for mature gamers. (Mature
meaning gamers possessing the ability to distinguish between reality and
make-believe.)
You begin your career in San Diego with enough cash in-hand to buy a
vehicle. The stock vehicles are nice enough but to really pump up your
ride’s potential you’ll have to hit the streets and compete against
other street racers for cash (and car) prizes. Earning enough cash lets
you outfit your ride from what’s under the hood to the rims and tires
right on back to the decal on the rear window, and all points in-between
including body work. It’s an easy customization system and the brand
names that pop up in associating with various upgrade parts aren’t in
your face. And as your career progresses, more upgrades and
customization options become available. However, beyond modifying the
engine and related hardware, you may
want to save your money because customizing
the exterior of your vehicle has no discernable affect on your ability
to win races. Although I admittedly went crazy customizing my first car,
I would recommend hanging on to your cash so that you can buy your car(s)
of choice later on.
There are well over 60 vehicles to drive but it’s almost a guarantee
your ride will wind up being a
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reflection of your personality.
There are three sprawling cities to test your racing skills in and each
cityscape there are a load of race events and challengers (done at your
leisure) so there never seems to be a lack of things to do. Even when
you’re just cruisin’ and scoping out possible shortcuts there are
Rockstar logos to find which unlock goodies along the way. 90% of the
races are of the checkpoint variety with no artificial path laid out in
advance, so sometimes it’s not about being fastest, it’s about being
smarter by exploiting available back door routes. And because each city
is “alive” you’ll also have to pay heed to other vehicle traffic –
avoiding it when necessary and getting into the thick of it to lose
pursuing law enforcement or screw up opponents.
While Burnout 3 featured eggshell-like vehicles that shattered with
minor impacts, MC3 features cars like tanks that can plough into a
building at 150mph with barely a dented bumper. But fun trumps realism
in this case with lots of fantastic skids, insane jumps – 300ft over an
aircraft carrier? Do-able. It’s all in the name of fun and this is no
better demonstrated by each class-specific special move.
When I write “special move” I don’t mean an arsenal of missiles. Take
for example the Roar special move for muscle cars. Punching Roar at the
right moment can actually win races. When it’s activated a shockwave
rolls out in a circle around you. Basically, it punches civilian cars
out of your way, but it also screws up nearby opponents as they try to
regain control. Used with a bit of strategy it can force opponents into
buildings or to miss sharp turns. Roar is charged up by performing
powerslides and the like and four “shots” can be stored for just the
right moment. Every vehicle class has the ability to acquire a
slipstream boost by riding behind an opponent until the meter is full
then hitting the nitrous and flying past.
The AI opponents are good and there’s none of that “come out of nowhere”
miracle comeback that some racing games suffer from. Additionally, even
if you’re lagging in 5th place midway through a race it’s still possible
to win.
MC3 captures the sense of speed with some nifty visual effects but there
are some situations where the action chugs along. This happened most
often to me when getting massive air and a lot of the city is visible or
big crashes when it’s raining. But it’s not a constant problem either so
it’s not a game killer – 95% of the time you’ll be screaming through the
streets, maybe taking out a telephone pole or two with a satisfying
"crash-snap" sound. Accompanying the visuals is a very good soundtrack,
which includes a number of genres. Soundtracks are something Rockstar
seems to excel at but where the soundtrack scores the voice work misses
the mark by being a little too annoying. Thankfully the lines are
infrequent since there’s no story mode shoehorned into the game.
Besides the career and online modes, MC3 includes a very fun arcade mode
which lets you set your parameters (like no traffic) and just have fun
in the city of your choice. It’s a great option when you just want to
drive.
Racing fans should get a copy of Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition, and I
would even go as far to say that non-racing fans should give it a whirl,
because its arcade enough to appeal to casual players but “realistic”
enough for the technically inclined. It’s not just a good racing game;
it’s a good game.
