Gaming Target - Xbox: Midnight Club II

Written by Nick Doukas on July 03, 2003

Full Review: Livin' life a quarter-mile at a timeЕ

There's something to be said for tearing through Los Angeles at speeds in excess of 120 mph. It's rather invigorating actually, and ripping through an intersection with pedestrians scattering everywhere as you narrowly squeeze between a bus and a truck while blasting a streetlamp over, hitting turbo andЕЕ.well, you get the idea. Sorry, I got a bit carried away there for a moment. That's what Rockstar's new offering is all about though -- getting swept into the world of underground street racing. Heavily inspired by The Fast and the Furious, Midnight Club II improves on its predecessor in every way, and delivers big thrills both online and off.

MC II takes you on a rip-roaring tour through three cities: Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo. There are several single player game modes available, including Arcade (consisting of Cruise -- an open test arena, and Circuit Races -- traditional lap races with pedestrians and grid-locked traffic thrown into the mix), and Career. Career mode is exactly what you'd expect. This is the meat of the single player experience, and it's where you'll unlock new cars and bikes, open new cities, and earn new tricks and maneuvers that enhance your driving to the point of insanity.

Speaking of which, the game does an incredible job not only with the visuals and huge environments, but with every other facet as well. The cars control extremely well, and flying through a tight alley, blazing through traffic at lightning speed, and spinning out around corners looks and feels incredible. The default control scheme maps steering to the left thumbstick and gas/brake/reverse to the right. You can also accelerate using the A button and brake/reverse with X, rather than use the stick. Y adjusts the camera, and B allows you to look behind. Click in the right thumbstick to engage Nitro (the game equivalent of the NOS from TFATF), which propels you forward at unbelievable speed. The slipstream effect is very well done, and the sensation of speed is indescribable. You've definitely got to experience it to understand just how cool it is.

The city environments are as tremendous as they are beautiful. All of the textures are clean and sharp, the lighting is smashing, and even though the car models are a bit basic, they're still detailed enough to look impressive. The cities teem with life, and pedestrians, traffic, and all manner of other obstacles will force you to adjust your course on the fly. Believe me, split second timing is an understatement here. All of the in-game sounds are spot on, from the roar of the engines, to the squeal of rubber on pavement, and everything in between. The music is a collection of techno-beats and Electronica, and includes such artists as Tre Little, Blu Warta, and Kinnder.

The heads up display (HUD) includes a turbo gauge, nitrous/slip-stream indicator, a Tachometer/Speedometer, and a damage meter. Since the races you run are in no particular order (hit the checkpoints, but do them by any path you choose) and the cities are tremendous, the game provides you with an onscreen map. This displays your vehicle, the checkpoints (there's also a Crazy Taxi style arrow at each actual checkpoint to illustrate direction to the next), your opponents, and any police cars in the vicinity. You will find yourself looking from the radar, to the street, and back againЕplotting your course through the checkpoints on the run. It's hectic, but a real adrenaline rush nonetheless.

Since you'll want to open up cars, bikes and cities ASAP, you'll most likely find yourself in Career mode. Cruise up behind a fellow street racer, flash your hi-beams at Сem, and it's on like Donkey Kong. After following them (and keeping up), you'll arrive at the race's starting point. After that it's the all about the winЕand the pink slip. You'll unlock faster cars, 70's style muscle, and crotch-rocket Ninjas, all while upgrading your skills with new moves and abilities. You'll be able to pull off massive jumps, fish-tails, two wheel driving, and reverse 180's. Not to mention a bunch of other cool stuff.

The game really shines in the online mode, and matches of Capture The Flag and Detonate are incredibly fun with 7 other players. Grabbing the detonator and running for the trigger point with your buddies chasing you down, or snatching the flag and hauling ass for your spot while avoiding your pals is well worth the price of admission alone. To keep things interesting, power-ups are well integrated into battle mode. Everything from Reverse Steering, to Stealth mode and a little something called Ice (which causes the unfortunate victim's car to control as if running on iceЕ..bummer), power-ups can make or break the race for you.

Some wild scenarios can occur when you're going at it with a bunch of other egotistical, volatile maniacs (hey, you gotta get in the mood for this virtual street racing thing, and that's the mind-setЕ no doubt. It doesn't matter whether you win by an inch, or a mileЕwinning is winning). Actually, let me can the Vin Diesel thing here, Сcause it can actually be quite hilarious. Playing a match of Detonate recently, I started out following DirktheDaring, who quite frankly was weaving in and out of lanes like a drunken chimp (hey, Friday night happy hour starts early at Dirk's house). After finally urging him to pick it up a bit, I found myself neck-in-neck with Kaimus and MAKuis heading for that detonator, and just inching out enough to snag it first, or so I thought. As I came upon the pick up point; an intersection in mid-town, snoops suddenly comes roaring across my windshield from out of nowhere, his car spewing nitrous, and snatches the detonator from right under my nose (I swear to God I saw him laughing at me through the drivers side window). At this point I promptly leap across the intersection and plow into Dirk, who careens out of control at 100-mph. Fiery death for all (actually it seemed to be the special that night). All told, the online play is a blast, runs smoothly, and can keep you up all night. The interface is a bit awkward, but once you get used to it, it's workable, if not completely ideal. You can host your own games, or use the Optimatch feature to join someone else's.

The game is pretty difficult, and you'll most likely have to run the single player Career races several times in order to learn the shortcuts and figure out the best path to victory. As you unlock cars and cities, you'll then be able to use them online. The game also includes a fully featured race editor, a bonus for those who enjoy designing their own courses. Dolby 5.1 is supported, as well as 480p Hi-def resolution. The game looked excellent on my 36-inch Sony HD set, displaying vibrant colors and intricately detailed backgrounds.