I remember the day I first played Midnight Club 2 for the Xbox a few years back and I clearly remember hating the game with a passion. It’s not too often that I end up returning a game the very day I purchased it, but I did just that with Midnight Club 2. So, I guess it’s easy to understand why I didn’t have high hopes for Midnight Club 3. I mean, if you didn’t like the first installment in a movie series that’s bound to part of franchise cinema, what reason do you have to look forward to the next? Well, let me just say that after spending many hours with Midnight Club 3, I can already see it becoming one of my favorite arcade racers of this videogame generation. Yes, it’s just that damn good.
This Ain’t No Sim
Midnight Club 3 is not a simulation racer. So, if you’re looking for that type of racing experience, you’re definitely looking in the wrong place. The game is an arcade racer and one of the best alongside games such as Nintendo’s F-Zero GX and Criterion’s Burnout 3. It borrows a unique gameplay element from the Grand Theft Auto games in which players travel throughout large cities in order to enter different kinds of race types and tournaments. Also, like Electronic Arts’ Need for Speed Underground series, Midnight Club 3 puts an emphasis on customizing your vehicles with performance parts, body kits, and things of the like. However, it should be noted that Midnight Club 3 utterly destroys any version of EA’s Need for Speed Underground series in terms of gameplay. MC3 is in a whole different league.
After playing Gran Turismo 4 for the PlayStation 2 extensively for the past few months it becomes difficult to adjust to how an arcade racer such as Midnight Club 3 controls. In a racer such as Gran Turismo 4, in which you must slow down or brake to make sharper turns, doing something of the sort in Midnight Club 3 will actually make you turns become wider. Having to adjust to this can be a bit of a nuisance, but it seems to be intentional in order to put an emphasis on drifting. As you can imagine, Midnight Club 3 controls as unrealistically as any other arcade racer, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing since gameplay is more focused on enjoying yourself with the game’s chaotic atmosphere than it is mastering specific turns and cars.
One of the things that I hated most about the original Need for Speed Underground had been that nearly every track that the game featured felt exactly same. When I first started cruising around San Diego in Midnight Club 3’s career mode, I began to fear that the same repetitive level design would plague this game. Well, not only was I wrong, but I’ve come to believe that Midnight Club 3 has some of the very best track designs I’ve ever seen in an arcade racer.
Large and in Charge
There are three different cities featured in Midnight Club 3: San Diego, Atlanta and Detroit. Each one is unlocked as players progress through the game’s career mode, and each city features its own distinct feel and look. When I say that these cities are massive in size, it almost doesn’t seem to do their actual size justice. Unless you’ve played the game, you won’t be able to comprehend their size. They’re so massive that each track that is laid out throughout various points in each city feels unique enough that you will remember specific turns and obstacles that you must keep an eye out for, and gameplay trait that is practically non-existent in EA’s Need for Speed Underground games. You go from city streets, onto a busy expressway, onto an off-ramp that leads to another expressway, and then back into the city area. The game’s track design cannot be rivaled by any other city racer available today, it’s just crafted in a way that everything is connected seamlessly, and this folks is only the tip of the iceberg.
While playing through the game’s extremely lengthy career mode, you’re sure to encounter a nice variety of race types. My favorite race type is "Ordered Race" and this is what the majority of the game’s career mode is comprised of. In Ordered Race various orange flares are spread throughout a city to create race paths to follow until reaching the final red flare. It is the player’s goal to go over each one of these flares and progress onto the next and the next, each of which are shown on the game’s map and by an arrow featured on-screen which tells players what direction to go in (akin to Sega’s Crazy Taxi). At first this may not seem like anything too spectacular, but since each race takes place in a city area, there are many slightly varying routes each racer can take, almost allowing you to create your own paths, and of course there are a number of shortcuts and jumps that players can take advantage of as well.
Speaking of creating your own paths, there is a race type that allows you to do just that, and that is the "Unordered Race" type. In this race type players must cross over each one of the flares spread across a city in a sequence created by the players themselves. This allows for users to take any street, highway, and tunnel that they want to reach each checkpoint, but this isn’t the type of race players can win on their first try. It’s likely that you’ll have to play these races repeatedly until creating the most efficient path to get in first place, and remember, if you don’t place in first, you won’t complete the challenge, thus not really being able to progress much in the game’s career mode. So, is this race type enjoyable? Yes indeed, it’s really fun to drive around and zip through other racers, in addition to oncoming traffic, risking those dangerous head-on collisions.
If you desire even more race modes, don’t worry... Midnight Club 3 has plenty more types to play, including autocross races. Although, I found the above two to be the most entertaining.
Variety is the Spice of Life
One of the most interesting things about Midnight Club 3 is that you can race against a variety of different vehicles including Imports, Exotics, Luxury Sedans, Muscle Cars, Superbikes, Choppers and even SUVs, and each type of vehicle has its own characteristics that make each handle uniquely. So, there is some depth to the game in this respect, since you’ll have to adjust to each different type of vehicle the game features. However, the differences in vehicle types don’t end there. No, each type of racer also has their own unique special moves. Yes, you heard me right... special moves.
When I discovered that Midnight Club 3 featured these sort special moves, I was turned away at first. I thought that if I wanted to play a racing game with power-ups and moves of the sort, I’d pick up a copy of Mario Kart. However, after awhile I started to like these unique special moves since they made the game’s experience even more chaotic and entertaining. Some types of vehicles like Import Tuners, Exotics and Superbikes have this Matrix-like slowdown mode that allows players to maneuver in and out of traffic and around tough corners with ease; muscle cars and choppers have the ability to "roar" and send enemy racers and traffic flying and out of your way, and SUVs have the ability to rage and plow through vehicles without losing speed. These special moves don’t just end here though. There’s also a "slip stream turbo" maneuver that can be earned by drafting enemy racers, thus earning a NOS-like boost. All of these special maneuvers help add an extra layer to the game’s gameplay that really adds to the fun factor.
The Benefit of Having AI That Doesn’t Suck
As a fan of racing games of all types, a common complaint that I have about most games, including critically acclaimed simulation racers such as Gran Turismo 4, is that the AI put into competing CPU-controlled opponents is often half-assed. Far too often have I played games where competitors would each drive in the same exact racing lines, one after the other, and lap after lap. Midnight Club 3 is one of the very few games which I can say doesn’t feature AI of the sort.
I’m very impressed by the fact that the game’s AI makes mistakes itself. Opponents crash into traffic, they spin out of control, and they try to avoid the on-screen chaos just as you do. You usually don’t see gameplay characteristics as these in other racing games, and it really is one of Midnight Club 3’s most refreshing traits. However, I’m sure only the hardcore racing fan will take note. There also doesn’t seem to be any type of rubber-band AI in the game either, so the CPU has to compete just as hard as you do to finish races in first place.
The only thing that I can see someone complaining about, including myself, is that opposing racers will slam into your car far too often than ever desirable and this can result in you being tossed off you present course and onto a highway or into a wall. You really have no way of avoiding any of this since the CPU-controlled racers’ actions are not in your control. In short, MC3’s AI is fairly intelligent, although it could use some further tuning for future installments in the series.
Why Is Everyone So Infatuated with Customization?
Much like Electronic Art’s shallow Need for Speed Underground series, Midnight Club 3 features a slew of customizable auto parts for the game’s sixty-something vehicles. Unfortunately, if you’re looking for some depth when adding performance parts to any of the game’s vehicles, you’re not going to find it here. While the game does feature many recognizable performance parts brands, every one provides the same upgrade as the next. So, it really makes no difference which one you choose to purchase. However, there are various levels of parts that you can purchase, and, as you would expect, each higher level upgrade is more expensive than the previous one. Upgrading your performance parts is very Tony Hawk Pro Skater-like, in a sense, in which earning money by winning races lets you improve your car gradually to move onto more difficult events that require cars that are faster and handle better.
The car customization doesn’t end at just adding performance parts to your cars. Although, I’m not a big fan of "ricing" or "pimpin’ my ride" I can see how lots of players would enjoy adding new types of rims, spoilers and bodykits to their cars. MC3 offers a very large variety of cosmetic parts to add to your vehicles and it also adds lets you give them further personality by allowing for custom paint jobs, etc... However, anyone who’s played Microsoft’s Forza Motorsport can tell you that MC3’s customization features pale in comparison, to say the least.
Showdown! MC3 vs. Burnout 3
While some may not immediately see the similarities between the two, Midnight Club 3 is comparable to Burnout 3 in a number of ways. The games are indeed similar in that the enjoyment found in their gameplay is often the result of the chaos ensuing on screen. Make no mistake about it, even though the game runs at thirty frames per second, Midnight Club 3 is an incredibly fast racer. No, it’s not as fast as Burnout 3 or F-Zero GX, but it’s not too far from that level of speed. Of course, the faster things are, the more intense races are bound to be. Add to that flowing and oncoming traffic, destructible objects, and ramps, and you have an even more intense racing experience in your hands. I must say, however, that Midnight Club 3 isn’t as intense as Burnout 3. The over-exaggerated and explosive crashes found in Burnout 3 make the game more intense and chaotic than Burnout 3, but as far as it comes to traditional arcade racing, Midnight Club outshines Burnout.
Please Refrain From Breaking Controllers
If you’ve ever played a racing game that has gotten you frustrated to the point where you’ve wanted to slam the controller, it’d be wise to take note that Midnight Club 3 is that kind of racing game. There are a number of obstacles and variables that make the game incredibly frustrating at times. However, I do believe as if some of these frustrating elements were not included in the game, Midnight Club 3 wouldn’t be as good as it is. Although, that hasn’t stopped me from restarting races over a few hundred times (and that is no exaggeration).
One of these elements that I’d like to mention is the presence of the law in the game. While cops won’t always pose a threat in a race, as the game’s difficulty increases with your progress, you’ll notice that more and more cops will be on your ass. Not only are they an incredible pain in the ass, but it seems as if they’re only out for you and none of the other racers on the track. They also have this tendency to knock you off you’re route in the last stretch of each race, and this can completely screw you over (moving you from 1st to last in a flash).
When getting tossed around the track after getting hit by another car, there is a likely chance of you getting thrown completely off the designated route, and this can sometimes result in you having no chance in hell of finishing the race in a position other than last. If Midnight Club 3 perhaps featured a "car reset" feature (like most arcade racers), to put you back on your original path, this may have lessened the frustration of having to restart the race from the very beginning. Additionally, this could’ve also helped players when they’re vehicles get flipped over, because often when the car is re-spawned onto the track again, it’s not unlikely to be placed facing the opposite direction, or facing a wall, or some other obstacle that’s going to leave you treading even further behind your opponents.
Spoiled by far better online modes
Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by games like RalliSport Challenge 2 and its excellent use of Xbox Live, but I can’t help but feel underwhelmed by all of Midnight Club 3’s online multiplayer modes. Sure it is entertaining to be able to race all of the game’s single-player race types online with other live players, however, there are far too many flaws with the game’s setup, and that leads me to believe that MC3’s multiplayer modes are worthless.
Whenever entering a race, it’s a rare occurrence to actually race with the car you want to use. There is no "ready" feature like in RSC2 which allows players to choose their cars, and with a good amount of time given to make the right decision. Additionally, unless the match rules specify so, there’s no obvious way to distinguish between the cars you’ve customized and those which are left in their stock form. This may sound trivial to some, but it easily managed to piss me off on many occasions. Although, it surprisingly didn’t piss me off as much as being dropped out of a race simply because the game’s servers have a tendency to lose connections for no real reason or not being to track my winnings or ranking (seriously, what’s the point then?). On a positive note, autocross races with power-ups does feel quite like Mario Kart, but it’s clearly not as enjoyable; a cool gameplay addition nonetheless.
If you’re going to pick up Midnight Club 3 for any reason in particular, it shouldn’t be simply because the game is playable online. Its 30+ hour career mode alone should be satisfying enough. The addition of online gameplay sure is welcomed, but it’s far too flawed for hardcore online racing fans to enjoy or prefer over something far superior such as Forza Motorsport, Project Gotham Racing 2, or RalliSport Challenge 2. Well, if you don’t have an Xbox I can see where we might disagree, since there aren’t that many good online racers available for the PS2. So, in that case, MC3 isn’t that bad of a choice.
Large Cities and the Speed that you Need
The visual presentation of the Midnight Club 3 isn’t as impressive as it would’ve been as if it had come a year or two earlier, although the game has its strengths and can be considered a great-looking game by many gamers.
First, I would like to say that the game’s cities are just spectacular in every way. There are towering buildings, tons of neon lights and signs, etc... tons of things that add to the atmosphere of the game, making it feel completely believable. Of course, there’s also a great amount of action occurring on-screen during a single moment. Whether it’s oncoming traffic, pedestrians walking around, helicopters soaring through the sky, or construction machines working on buildings, there’s always something happening on screen other than the chaos being created by you and your fellow racers. At first, "small" details such as these may not be noticeable, but the more you the play the game, the more you take notice of its visual intricacies.
The most important visual characteristic about a game like Midnight Club 3 is its sense of speed and I have to say that MC3 is pretty damn fast. Surprisingly, it even delivers an excellent sense of speed while running at 30fps. There has never been a racer that I’ve played in the past that felt this fast at 30fps, because it’s definitely one of those games that make you hesitant of blinking in order to avoid crashing as high speeds. However, are there drops in framerate? Yes, at times there are, but in the Xbox version of the game slowdown is only seen during the start of races with weather effects turned on. The PS2 version on the other hand does seem to encounter some shaky frame rates, but is still one great looking racing game, even on the PS2.
Does Licensed Rap Equal Licensed Crap?
I’ve said this many times before, but games such as Project Gotham Racing 2 and SSX 3 have proven to me that some developers can utilize popular licensed songs to create a game soundtrack that compliments the title’s gameplay perfectly, enhancing the atmosphere the game presents to us. Thankfully, Rockstar has done just that with Midnight Club 3.
The game features a large variety of music spanning multiple genres including Rock, Hip-Hop, Drum & Bass, Techno, and Dance Hall, featuring artists such as "Queens of the Stone Age," "Nine In Nails," "Jimmy Eat World," and "50 Cent." While the game’s playlist isn’t half as large as Rockstar’s previous game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, it has a enough variety to have something that most players will enjoy listening to. Although, if you’re like myself and dislike Rap, you could select to just listen to specific genre of music instead of random tunes by selecting the option in the Options Menu. Or, if you’re playing the Xbox version of the game, you can listen to your favorite songs from your Xbox’s HD.
The game’s sound effects are pretty impressive for an arcade racer. No, the engine’s of each racer do not sound like their real-life counterparts. And no, adding performance parts won’t change the sound of your cars either. So don’t expect the same type of audio bliss you would here in something like Forza Motorsport. The other effects used to create the smashing of glass, the sensation of zooming by other cars and traffic at high speeds, and such, is what makes the game’s audio effects impressive. These effects are used to create a world that feels living and that is more important to me than if a car engine sounds authentic or not, since these audio effect are used to enhance the game’s atmosphere rather than to take away from it.
Midnight Club 3 vs. Burnout 3: The Winner is...
In comparison to Criterion’s Burnout 3, Midnight Club 3 is easily the better racing game of the two, however, I truly believe that Burnout 3 is more fun to play. MC3 has a much stronger sense of competition, and the chaos that ensues on-screen is more of an obstacle to overcome, than a gameplay trait that increases the fun factor of the game. Even with this said, I love Midnight Club 3. It’s a very challenging and enjoyable arcade racer that is absolutely chaotic, creating a unique challenge for each race that I’ve never experienced ever in racer before. It has its frustrating moments but one cannot deny the sense of accomplishment felt after finishing the game’s incredibly fast and adrenaline filled races. If you’re a fan of arcade racers, you can’t go wrong with Midnight Club 3, nor should you pass it up.
