Midnight Club: Los Angeles Review

Midnight Club's twitch racing makes a very solid transition to the current-gen, with Los Angeles' offering a seat-of-the-pants thrill ride, which is all the more successful with the game's visceral wooshes as cars are passed at speed and the hip-hop/dance/rock soundtrack that practically sticks you into a trance.  Whilst some may be put off by the constant correction of the cars in the early sections of the career, later tweaks and upgrades (not to mention the accumulation of some game mileage) means that the handling becomes second nature, and actually enhances the adrenaline of an event.

That said, the racing experience isn't necessarily ideal.  Whilst some will find the exhilaration of Midnight Club's gameplay added to with a new dynamic camera default, the Action camera won't be everybody's liking when the nitrous comes into play.  Shifting the camera to a close wing angle, it does block a decent view of the road ahead for players at the expense of an even greater sense of speed.  Veterans of the franchise to date will probably switch to the more familiar 'classic' camera, retaining the sense of speed that Midnight Club's gameplay is renowned for, but with the view of the road to boot...but then again, you make your own choice.

So the Career mode is extensive, with Midnight Club's gameplay boosted further by the Arcade mode, along with an online component that's been bolstered by races (including capture the flag variants) for up to sixteen players - but as fans of the franchise will testify, there's even more to Midnight Club than the need for speed.

Max Power, Minimal Effort.

Racing through the streets is just one part of the Midnight Club experience, with the foot placed firmly in extensive vehicular customisation.  Several racing series have some level of customisation threaded through the gameplay, but Midnight Club's deep options, which covers everything from headlights, bumpers, paint jobs, a series of performance upgrades, rim size, tyre depth, to neon underlighting, speed gauges, seats, and steering wheels, just seems to be overwhelmingly comprehensive. 

Featuring not only internal designs by Rockstar San Diego, but parts from a mass of renowned after-market parts makers like A'PEXi and Holley, and manufacturer specialists like Bucsher Racing and Turbo XS, the customisation is as extensive as its always been.  Countless billions of tweaks, options, and changes are available, enabling racing freaks to get underneath the hood but without the hardcore technical elements that would detract from the fun of moulding a rude boy racer with ease.  Additional components become unlocked and available as the career progresses, further adding to a sense of progression, along with new cars and bikes.

But real world components and cars are given superpowers in the form of special abilities, ensuring that even the most realistic elements of Midnight Club are embellished.  Established Special Abilities like Aggro and Zone have been added to by one this time around, with the fantastical EMP adding to the small but powerful armaments on offer.  Charged up by driving 'cleanly', they're small additions that  underpin what makes LA a Midnight Club game, which manages to balance the real world with Hollywood's perceptions.  Like everything else in the game, the abilities can be upgraded as the career progresses, allowing players to unleash a number of Zone skills in a row, or shut down rival cars with successive EMP blasts.

Rockstar San Diego, unlike its Scottish sister studio, hasn't taken its beloved franchise off onto a new tangent.  Midnight Club hasn't become the street racing equivalent of Gran Turismo. Los Angeles takes the successful formula that's already been tweaked, toned, and tuned in recent years, and delivers a fast (and indeed, furious) experience for speed freaks.  For those disillusioned by EA's moves in arcade racing in the current generation, Midnight Club is reassuringly satisfying and a strong alternative.