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Midnight Club II Review
Stephen Leyton
08/05/2003
We take Midnight Club II for a spin on the PlayStation 2.
Racing on the PS2 is certainly a fiercely fought genre, with numerous titles worthy of your recognition. The latest to join the block is Midnight Club 2, sequel to the popular PS2 launch title and following the recent rise in popularity of street racing and films such as âThe Fast and the Furiousâ; but is it actually any good, or another case of style over substance, read on to find out.
Set over three locations including Tokyo, Los Angeles and Paris; Midnight Club II puts you in control of a variety of super cars, pitting you with a wide selection of missions in which you have the opportunity to prove how good your racing skills really are. Taking the racing genre to new levels, Midnight Club II isnât simply about winning races after completing a set number of laps; new gameplay elements have been added to spice up the action, from ruthless cops hot on the pursuit, to unthinkable jumps and stunts - this is the closest game youâll get to actual street racing to date.
The main game is focused around the illegal sport of street racing, where you need to challenge other racers to a race by simply flashing your lights a couple of times in their general direction. In a nod to the open ended game design of GTA3 there are no set missions as such, leaving you in charge of what missions you select and when you choose to take them; you can quite happily cruise around the cities taking in the scenery, but to be honest itâs all about the racing.
Whilst the cities are large and filled with computer-controlled pedestrians and cars carrying out their normal lives, the visuals are somewhat dissatisfying. The textures that make up the environments are dirty with complete lack of shine that you would expect from a street racing title, getting close to any object proves our point with little to no detail viewable. Unfortunately another missed opportunity is with the car models, which do not stand out like they should; the one time you would actually expect unrealistically shiny cars, we get dull plain coloured cars that lack any impact. We understand that the game engine is trying to render an entire city, but isnât street racing all about the glamour?
As you progress through the game you unlock new cars and other vehicles, each has its own attributes; fast top speeds, greater control, faster acceleration to name a few. A couple of extra additions are the Weight Transfer and the Nitro booster. The Nitro Booster is a great âone-offâ trick you can use to give yourself a sudden boost of speed, ideal for the final stretch. The Weight Transfer is another nice addition that allows you to have more control of your car when it is in the air, allowing you to perform a perfect land for a fast acceleration away once you hit the ground. All of these extraâs help the game to flow more smoothly and add a subtle layer of depth to the racing action; after a few hours of playing youâll master the tracks leaving watchers dazzled by your fast moves and smart manoeuvres.
Midnight Club II is all about the speed, so handling the cars is vital if you are to keep in the lead. Unfortunately the controls do feel over-twitchy, completely lacking the sensation of weight and inertia as you scream around the corner, and itâs quite easy to lose control through no fault of your own by simply nudging the controls the wrong way. Itâs not a major complaint and youâll find yourself quickly accustomed to it, however weâd certainly like to see it improved for MC3.
With all that in mind, you wonât be disappointed with this game; the opponents ensure itâs never an easy ride, making the challenges progressively harder as the game develops. Youâll need to keep a close eye on the other competitors, as they quickly begin to use devious tricks against you such as clipping other cars to swerve in front of you.
The game supports eight players through use of the Broadband Network Adaptor, but unfortunately weâve yet to check this aspect out as of yet.
