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Midnight Club 2 PS2 Rockstar-2003 Ok, I wasn't going to write this review until I had beaten the game. Then, I realized I never will. Then, I beat the game. That's the secret, apparently: giving up. So, here's the review. Midnight Club 2 may be the best all-around purely driving game ever. First of all, it looks beautiful, with very realistic car models, fantastic lighting schemes (just wait till you see Tokyo at night!), and radical speed/acceleration effects. Also, your selection of vehicles is, if not diverse, at least creative enough to offer the basics . . . one solid muscle car, a jillion customized street racers, and at least three supremely satisfying sport motorcycles, the last of which is my absolute favorite vehicle in the game (including the pseudo-batmobile you get as your final unlockable vehicle). Finally, the map designs are extremely creative, offering the best balance of realistic street atmosphere and impossible, could-not-exist stunt opportunities ever arranged. True, this game lacks the sheer number of vehicles found in many other driver-types. Hell, even GTA3 and Vice City, not technically drivers but other Rockstar titles, offered a much broader and more entertaining selection of rides. Likewise, though the game physics in MC2 are... (as opposed to some drivers where physics simply "are not..."), they can't compare with the realism of a game like Gran Turismo. Actually, however, I prefer driving games that bend the rules, because if I wanted to blow gaskets and strip my gears and stall and slide over every little thing, I'd race real cars and not virtual cars. The bulk of the game is your "Career" mode. In this mode, you play as an up-and-coming street racer, who works his way from the alleys of America all the way to the World Championships in Tokyo (and back, but more on that later, too). Rockstar, in a very clever move, actually took the time to create a supporting cast (as your character doesn't really say much) to help you along your way. Some are helpful, giving hints, advice, or just encouragement. Most, however, are your opponents. You cruise the avenues at night looking for potential racers, flash your brights at such a vehicle, and get to meet whoever's behind the wheel through the computer-animated monologues prefacing all the subsequent races you have with that someone. The reason I call this a clever move is that, by giving us faces and voices for at least one (usually the dirtiest) of our competing racers, Rockstar has put a name to our pain. You know that murderous impulse you get when a computer-controlled racer does something stupid to get you killed, or uses the computer handicap to cheat its way to victory at the last second? Well, once you've seen the "person" behind the wheel (and been verbally abused by him/her a number of times), you're actually more motivated to keep trying than when a voiceless, faceless machine whups your hiney effortlessly and with no real sign of pleasure. These characters actually seem to enjoy your humiliation, which makes you want to beat them that much more. Further adding to the cool, unlike all too many story modes in racing games, this time, you actually get to choose ANY car in your garage for each race. And you can change your car if you decide another may work better. And the other racers' comments are actually related to the vehicle you're driving (well, at least they distinguish between the motorcycles and the cars, usually by mocking you for driving a bike as they smash into you with their automobiles and leave you bleeding on the asphalt). Let me just take a moment to address the motorcycle dilemma. Ok, so everyone knows the sport bikes have the fastest acceleration available, end of stories. You use one, you burn EVERYBODY off the start, unless they use nitros immediately, in which case they can almost keep up with you for as long as the boost lasts. Of course, the first problem is collisions. Rockstar was a little more generous here than in Vice City, since you don't fly off the bike EVERY time you touch something, but still, you do it most of the time. But, you now have the option to adjust your weight, both in the cars (which helps on landing jumps) and on the bike, which is essential to success. Want to turn on a dime, or bounce off that building you accidentally flew up to the second story of, sideways . . . just lean into the turn hard enough to get your wheels against the driving surface, even if it is the wall of a high rise, and you can keep on trucking. This is pretty awesome. On the upside again, you have wheelies and ducks. You pop a wheelie, you get at least twenty more mph, up to the bikes absolute maximum speed. If you drive while ducking to be more aerodynamic, you can achieve the same final speed much more slowly, but you have a little more control. . . AND A BETTER CAMERA ANGLE. You see, the beauty and the curse of the bikes in this game is the camera. You may drive a bike like a car, without leaning, and have a standard camera view from behind. You will also lose, end of story. If you lean into turns (essential to victory in the early stages) the camera suddenly shifts drastically to one side or the other, making the turn look beautiful and making you lose all sense of direction. If you decide to wheelie, you get an even more insane shift, not quite upside-down, but perhaps equally disorienting. Don't get me wrong -- the camera still faces forward. It's just that while it shifts, you have no idea whether to steer according to the camera, or your previous position. Seriously, I beat the game using the bikes, and I still don't know. The game also includes some unusually well put-together and well conceived alternative games. You can take the arcade challenge to unlock even more cars than in your career mode. Also, you've got a couple of chase games, multiplayer, of course, and the ever-popular car-capture-the-flag. Finally, you can design your own races, which allows you complete freedom of route on any of the maps available in the game. This way, if you particularly like one stage, you can set up the race you want, without the occasional stupidity the game asks of you (e.g. going from 145 mph on the highway to an immediate 30-mph left turn between two columns -- makes you wonder if the game designers ever drove these courses). Challenge yourself, challenge friends multiplayer or solo. Fun for the whole family. Anyway, here's the ADHD-friendly review. What I liked: Fantastic vehicles, great camera work, the night-lighting ("oh, man, this city is gorgeous"), arcade physics (as opposed to total real-life physics), nasty opponents, the motorcycle camera shift. . . oh, and going REALLY fast What I disliked: the night-lighting ("oh, man, this city is gorgeous. . .where the hell is that turn--oh, there it went"), the ridiculous impossibility of those last few stages (you have to beat the Russian dude like 6 freakin' times . . . c'mon, old man, give it up already), and the fact that you can never win a race until you know the route by heart (yeah, they give you arrows, but it's kind of hard tell where they're trying to point as you blow by at ten million mph, especially since they're just big, blue blobs floating in midair), oh, and the motorcycle camera shift What to expect: super-fast driving, pretty graphics, fun What not to expect: after the first half of the game--winning, also, no guns (without cheat codes, anyway) What sets it apart: motorcycles . . . I've never seen motorcycles reproduced with so much love; and, the hyper-fast appearance of the cars Ratings On:
#1 thing I hate about this game: "You call yourself a raze-AAHH!?" by |
