Review NaN of 48
, from Philadelphia PA
Price Paid:
$20.00
from Best Buy Summary:
Midnight Club: Street Racing (MC) was released at the PS2's launch waaay back in October 2000, and it became an instant hit. (Which is probably why it is now on Greatest Hits...heh) It's easy to see why. The gameplay is fun as hell, the cars control great, the story mode is excellent, and it packs a solid 2-player mode to boot. What more could you want from a racing game?
The cars in Midnight Club are awesome. Not only do they look cool (with the first taxi cab being an exception..ugh), each one drives differently to boot. You will notice a significant difference from driving that ugly taxi cab to driving the tricked-out pickup truck. Despite the differences, all of the cars handle very well, which I am pleased to report. Tearing up the streets in your whip is fun and effortless. You'll have a joy powersliding around corners, punching the gas, and zooming past your competition.
The cities, New York and London, are great as well. Not only are they accurately modeled, with all of the major landmarks in place, but they are also very deep. Each level has an abundance of shortcuts and alternate routes you can take to help you shave seconds off your time and win the race. The cities are also quite large, and you can have a good time just cruising around and exploring them. There is also an abundance of real, living traffic and pedestrians, and plenty of cops to pester you and other racers, adding to the realism
Career mode is the main mode of Midnight Club. You pick a name for yourself and start out racing a man named Emilio (in the ugly a$$ taxi), in an effort to get into the "Midnight Club", a mysterious, exclusive group of street racers around the world. After you beat Emilio and his crew for the first time, you are in the Club. You then compete in Waypoint (checkpoint) races against the main driver (the "Hookman") and his posse. If you win, you get the Hookman's cell phone number. You can call him up to challenge him to a head-to-head waypoint race. If you win, you get his ride. Your ultimate goal is to defeat all of the drivers and reach the race against the mysterious "World Champion." If you defeat him, you earn the title as the best in the world. Its all very cool and addictive, and really brings the true culture of street racing to life in a videogame form. Sweet.
The Arcade mode lets you go at against a friend or AI cars in cool modes, such as Cruise, Waypoint, Capture the Flag, and more. Cruise Mode is an essential undertaking for new players, as it allows you to learn all of the ins and outs of the city through exploration.
However, there are some things lacking with MC. There are almost no car customization options. This is the name of the game in real street racing, however in MC just about the only thing you can customize is your car's paint job. That is saddening, especially when you consider that you will see the brand names of many leading parts manufacturers (Stillen, GReddy, WingsWest, etc) on the cars. I also wish that some of the physics were more realistic; a 2-seater Honda-like hatchback cannot plow right through a light post as if it wasn't even there.
Despite these flaws, MC is still nearly perfect in the gameplay department. Report this review >>
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