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Platform: Xbox Genre: Racing Publisher: Rockstar Developer: Rockstar San Diega ESRB: T (Teen) Released: Q2 2003 Support AE! Buy Games Here:
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Midnight Club IIScore: 9/10 |
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Pros: - Decent Graphics - Detailed cities with complete freedom - Online play - Lots of Cars
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Cons: - Par graphics on vehicles - Difficult AI - Repetitive levels and sequence of checkpoints - Doesn’t utilize the Xbox’ power
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Related Links: Review: Midnight Club II (Playstation 2) Review: Ridge Racer V (Playstation 2)
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"I’d
recommend this game to every gamer who spends a short amount of time
playing games, even if you enjoy a lengthy game, and wants to pick up
the controller every now and then to vent their driving anger." |
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Illegal
street racing is at its supreme point and more popular then ever thanks
to blockbuster movies, rappers, and the Midnight
Club series. The first Midnight
Club game can get the credit of setting the trend of other racing
games to follow, as well as set Rockstar as more then just “the grand
theft auto guys”. Now that “2 Fast 2 Furious” has hit the big
screen, there isn’t any reason why Rockstar can’t follow up their
title with a sequel of its own.
The
general premise of Midnight Club
II (MC2) is incredibly
simple and uncomplicated. There is no background given to your
character, other then a young street racer trying to make it to the top
(much like the characters in the GTA
series). Since there isn’t a tutorial, using the arcade and cruise
mode would be the best idea, to try and get the feeling of the cars. The
first car available is the standard box shaped jalopy found collecting
dust, but as you progress through the game, better cars can be unlocked. Once
starting out, and before every mission, you are told to find another
street racer and challenge them to race. Once they’ve noticed you,
you’re told to follow them to a given point to start the race. Almost
every single competition in the game is done through a series of
checkpoints. Once the race starts, you have to follow the given
checkpoints, done in two different styles: an ordered system of
checkpoints, or a random series of checkpoints. Each character you
compete with utilizes both those two styles, and in that order.
MC2
spans over three different locales: Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Paris, all
in diverse parts of the world. Along with the coinciding settings, each
city has its own attributes. Los Angeles and Tokyo are bustling cities
filled with busy streets and vibrant lights; which affects the way you
drive and work through the levels. The stuffed traffic causes you to
swerve off to the sidewalk (potentially running over a few pedestrians),
or finding another route other then the streets. Each city allows the
player to have complete freedom, allocating the player to find any
possible route that works best, without the annoying barriers found in
most racing games. Coinciding
with the trouble of working through the streets is the unbearably
difficult AI. Since there isn’t a difficulty adjustment setting, MC2
tries to make the game more difficult as the player progresses. Ideally,
that isn’t a bad idea; however in execution, the AI remains hard
throughout the game. From the second or third mission in Los Angeles
(the first city you race through), you’ll find yourself attempting the
same level over and over, causing you to ultimately turn off the system
out of sheer aggravation. Sometimes the AI does make the game more
interesting, though most of the time the game becomes repetitive and
frustrating, due to the difficulty of the AI racers. Harnessing all three cities, the freedom of no barriers, and arsenal of various cars, puts the weight on the graphics to carry out all aspects smoothly. At first glance, MC2 has beautiful detail within the city, with towering buildings, busy streets, pedestrians, and of course vehicles filling the screen. However, the graphics of each piece is primitive when compared to the newer racing games. To compare the graphics of MC2 to Project Gotham Racing is unfair, and shouldn’t be considered; but keep in mind that there are certain standards, especially for the Xbox, that need to be mulled over. On the other hand, the particle effects taken place in the cities is wonderfully made. Running over a light post creates sparks to fly around, creating a very real experience. As far as cinematics are concerned, they’re up to par and last only mere seconds, giving the player a brief introduction of who they are racing, and where.
Controlling
your vehicle is one of MC2’s
best features. Turning into streets and maneuvering through other cars
can be done with ease, and make the races much more interesting when
having the ability to cut through other cars without the trouble of dire
controls. All cars have differing styles and unique traits that will
help you advance through each level. Using a fast car with terrible
turning would be the car you’d choose for a straight away course,
filled with a small amount of turns. Sometimes you’ll have to do a
level several times, before finding out which car is the most effective.
Given
that street racing is associated with fast beats and head-pumping
tracks, it’s nice to turn on the car radio to set the mood. MC2
features plenty of decent tracks, from real recording artists that range
from rap to techno. Not to worry, you can change tracks in case a song
doesn’t please your fancy. The sounds associated with cars are also
well done, with car engines sounding accordingly with their real life
counterpart. The degrading part about the sound is the voice of the
competing characters. The first few times you hear these startling and
random voices are during races and, at first, don’t bother you, seeing
as a few are funny. It becomes a problem after having played the same
level more than a few times, and all you want to do is finish to move
on. It doesn’t ruin the gaming experience, but it doesn’t add the
spice it originally intended. Once
finished with the single player campaign, the Xbox version allows for
online play. You and up to seven other players can race around the
streets, or play around with different game modes. There’s the usual
Capture the Flag mode, which is pleasant to see in a racing game, and
detonate mode with has you utilize power-ups that will help destroy your
enemy. Both modes are not a tremendous amount of fun, but when boredom
reaches a certain point, playing MC2 online is enjoyable. Midnight
Club 2 sends you through a
plethora of levels that will send you trough emotional cycles of joy and
frustration. I’d recommend this game to every gamer who spends a short
amount of time playing games, even if you enjoy a lengthy game, and
wants to pick up the controller every now and then to vent their driving
anger. Nothing is better then running over a vulnerable pedestrian,
drive under an 18-wheeler while going over 100, speed across red lights
inching past others, and use your NAS booster, without being pulled over
by a cop. Eric Lahiji July 13, 2003 Search for Related Topics: |
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