Score
Gameplay:	9
Graphics:	8
Sound:	8
FunFactor:	8
PlasmaFactor:	9
Overall:	8.4

Midnight Club 2 Review
July 31, 2003 by Jody

by Jody - July 31, 2003

Back when the original Midnight Club released for the Playstation 2 as a launch title, I thought that it really sucked. I could barely stay on the street � at every turn I almost flipped my car. At that time, the graphics were simply amazing. Now, almost three years have gone by and several developers are pushing the system to its limits. One such title is Rockstar Game�s recently released sequel to MC, Midnight Club 2.

One of the main features that Rockstar was pushing for during its marketing campaign is the fact that the game contains online capabilities. Did we mention it can support up to eight players? Only draw back though is that gamers will need to play single player mode in order to play the cars online. Is this game better than its predecessor? Let�s get started and you�ll find out.

Wow! I can stay on the road!

Most recently the Xbox has been seeing quite a collection of racing titles and a few of them have been quickly becoming favorites (Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 is just one I can�t seem to get enough of). Yet racing fans all seem to crave one thing: a racing title that truly captures the world of illegal street racing. Midnight Club II, thankfully, has crossed over from the PS2 to the Xbox and fans couldn�t be happier. As far as sequels go, the game continues to offer the same �street� feel but now there�s something of a story in the game�s main single player mode, Career Mode.

Career Mode mainly takes you through a variety of races and pits you up against a number of colorful characters. You start in the Downtown streets of Los Angeles (and later make it to the streets of Paris and Tokyo) with a decent racing car as you go looking for challengers. Flashing your headlights, you challenge a racer who takes you through different types of races. Some races have checkpoints you must clear while others lean to a more chaotic fastest-one-to-X-location wins. If you don�t know much about illegal street racing (or haven�t seen the Fast and Furious films) the basic rule is if you challenge a racer and beat him or her then you win the loser�s tricked-out ride. In this game, you don�t really lose your car if you lose but you certainly win new vehicles when you win.

Aside from this deep single player mode, Arcade Mode offers some fun challenges that can even be enjoyed with up to four other friends (or eight if you have a System Link cable hooked up to another Xbox setup). Circuit Races has a small number of traditional lap races using any of the vehicles you unlocked during Career Mode as well as any of the other cities. Battle has two game types: Detonate (grab a detonator and make it to trigger point in one piece) and Capture the Flag (which speaks for itself). There�s also a Cruise mode where you can just test out new vehicles and get to know the streets of any of the cities you unlocked. There�s also a Race Editor that allows you to create your own races.

Can multiplayer action get any better than this for a racing game? Up to four players can take each another on in modes such as Detonate or Capture the Flag and although there aren�t many other multiplayer modes you can sink your teeth into, these modes are great fun. And, using a System Link cable, you can get up to eight of your friends in on the action as well. Yet the cherry on top of this highly sweetened cake is the online feature. Oh yes, you can race up to eight die-hard street racing fans on the Xbox Live service and even talk trash while you�re in an intense Capture the Flag session. It just doesn�t get any better than this.

Thanks to the arcade-styled controls that are downright perfect, the racing action is both hot and fun. The game offers a few new tricks such as weight transfer and a nitrous boost when you need an extra push during the most extreme races. You also get to race on speed bikes, a new feature to this series. In all, these things help make the races both challenging and amusing enough that even if you�re attempting the same race for the seventh time, you won�t mind it at all.

This game, though, scores big points for going online with the Xbox Live service and you�ll quickly find many racers just waiting to show their stuff--there�s even a Stats screen that tells how other racers stack up. Imagine Los Angeles at midnight, the streets nearly empty and eight online racers in their favorite vehicles of choice (most of which are available to you through the single-player campaign) revving up their engines and ready to burn rubber. And, because of the Communicator is used; you�ll hear them boast and brag about beating the best. �Eat my dust,� you�ll say out loud as you tear through the streets and on to victory.

A lot better than the original, but still pretty jaggish.

As for the game�s graphics, Midnight Club 2 looks great. Whether you�re in Los Angeles, Paris or Japan, the surroundings are wonderfully detailed and feel as if they�re breathing with life. You�ll encounter traffic and law-abiding citizens that easily get frightened by the speeds of the racing vehicles. The vehicles themselves are recognizable despite the fact that no actual licenses are used. The cars reflect the lights of the city as they speed through the streets and smash lamppost or cars in the freeway. You�ll also be treated to a few cut scenes where you�re introduced to the various zany characters you�ll race against.

Techno and Rap -- like it or not.

Silky smooth trance music makes up the game�s soundtrack and, for the most part, it actually does fit the driving theme. There�s quite a collection of tunes too and you can cycle through them with the directional pad in the same way you�re skipping tunes on a CD player. While the tunes are okay, the sound effects and voice acting found throughout are far better. Crashes, for instance, have that awful crunching sound and it sounds even more horrific when you hear the other racers besides you get into these crashes. The engine sounds are also authentic. As far as the voice acting is concerned, the dialogue is done nicely--although the personalities of the characters in Career Mode are urban stereotypes.

Online play, motocycles, flying people, what more do you want?

Gamers will find that this sequel certainly improved on the computer-controlled racers in the single-player modes enough that their aggressive racing style gives you a nicely balanced challenge. While they�re challenging enough to keep up with the race, they are also prone to some real boneheaded mistakes or can also lose control of their vehicles in the same way you do. While this ups the realism factor--which is a plus in an arcade-styled racer like this one--it also makes each race different each time you attempt it. You�ll find plenty of challenges in Career mode and most of the racers in this mode are quite difficult, but never enough that it will leave you frustrated.

The game goes for an arcade feel and pulls it off wonderfully. The controls are actually pretty tight and the action is smooth as ice throughout the single player modes as well as the multiplayer action. There�s seldom a time during System Link play or online when the frame-rate drops. As for the controls, they�re pretty basic and easy to manage without throwing in anything too complicated. When you need a boost, just press the nitro button. When you want make a much sharper turn on your motorcycle just press the weight transfer button.

A lot better than the first!

As you probably already know, racing games are not my thing. I hated Midnight Club, and with any other racing game, I can barely stay on the damn road. With Midnight Club 2, all of that changes. I really don�t know if I have gotten better at racing games or the sheer fact that Midnight Club 2�s controls are simply awesome, but I love this game. Even though I can�t get out of my car, shout obscenities at the next driver, and get back in my car and go, Midnight Club 2 is still a lot of fun. From many hours of just cursing around the cities to the brutal racing death-matches (or just career mode), I�m sure that Midnight Club 2 is right for just about everyone � well, except those bitchy parents.

 

Something for all gamers.

Midnight Club 2 manages to capture the true essence of illegal street racing by way of the hot rides, the way you flash down potential racing opponents, win vehicles from the losers and the many personalities (never mind the character stereotypes) you encounter in the single player mode. One of the best features available is the Race Editor that allows gamers to design their own race down to the type of weather you�ll encounter. You can also race on motorcycles as well. And did I mention you could play online? Midnight Club 2 is racing action at its most finest and most enjoyable and, to top it all off, it offers a real excellent online experience as well. While there are a small list of little things that would have put this game over the top--a customizable soundtrack, for example--it�s not enough to drag down the truly fun racing this game has to offer. Trust me on this one, loyal readers, this is a worthy buy.