Midnight Club II

Midnight Club II

Usually I count myself amongst the better half of the racing gamers having mastered games as diverse as Gran Turismo 3 and Grand Prix 4. Seldom has neither the computer nor the console been able to mount a challenge in the long run. But with Midnight Club II that state of mind changed abruptly. The fall from a semi-racing-god to a ridiculous Sunday-driver was hard, bitter and painful. Here I met computer drivers that were cunning and unbelievably fast. Often I felt convinced that I held victory in my grasp, just to see the complete field of computer cars overtake me on the very last corner because I made a tiny mistake. This is racing for tough-guys only.

Midnight Club II has been developed by Rockstar San Diego, but don’t make the mistake to think that it is similar to Rockstar’s biggest franchise, Grand Theft Auto. Midnight Club II is about illegal street racing just like you saw it in The Fast and the Furious, and believe me this game is very fast indeed.

Forget intelligence – it’s about instincts

Midnigth Club II is illegal street racing at its best.

I didn’t know that the PS2 was capable of rendering graphics this fast until I saw Midnight Club II. Being used to games like Gran Turismo 3, the way I hammered through Los Angeles just blew me away. Often you’ll only have split-seconds to react and soon you’ll stop thinking and rely purely on your instincts. This is indeed a very impressive and also a very scary experience. Buildings, incoming traffic, pedestrians all become blurry as you try to focus on the road ahead. If you are looking for the closest experience possible to real street racing, I bet that Midnight Club II is it.

The career mode sees you entering the mysterious Midnight Club – a group of daring drivers that challenge each other at night time in Los Angeles, Paris and finally Tokyo. You progress from race to race only by winning, however you can to some extend choose which events you want to participate in.

In between the races there’s a cruise mode and here you can move through the city and challenge other Midnight Club racers. The purpose of the races is to win the competitor’s car – also known as pink slip races.

Please buckle your seat belt

Motorcycles are a new addition in Midnight Club II.

Most races also have one (quite frustrating) factor in common: You have the slowest car. As the story is about a racer who’s working his way up in the Midnight Club this is very plausible, but it also increases the pressure on your driving skills. Unlike other games you can’t just choose a faster car, if you are having problems beating the competition. Especially on the highways you’ll see that while your car has reached its maximum speed, the computer cars still pass you. Add to this that the artificial intelligence is brilliant. No matter how many times you restart a race, you can be sure that they won’t act the exact same way twice and they will always drive to the limit. So there’s only solution: Practice, practice and then some practice.

Fortunately you’ll get new equipment and learn advanced driving techniques as you progress. For starters there’s the possibility of weight transfer in-air, which helps you land correctly. Later on you’ll also learn to pull of stunts like endo’s and duck while you are driving a motorcycle. Yes, you get to drive motorcycles. They are a new feature in Midnight Club II, and they spice up the gameplay a lot – just like they did in GTA: Vice City. Overall there are about 30 vehicles ranging from small Honda look-a-likes to classic muscle cars.

The light and dark side of the controls

The three cities include many famous landmarks. For example you can take a ride around the Eiffel Tower.

Since the graphics are fast as lightning, you naturally need a perfect control system in order to cope with the speed. Else the game wouldn’t be any fun. Luckily Rockstar San Diego have obviously put a lot effort into the controls as the handling of the car is nearly perfect. When you dot through high-way traffic with 150 Mph and (again – purely on instinct) zoom from left to right and back without hitting other cars, you’ll feel an unparalleled satisfaction. The only complaint I have is the number of controls and actions that have been assigned to the PS2 controller. With the insane game speed, I often failed to remember the right combination for the special moves and ended up crashing the vehicle. And there are plenty of famous places to crash your car.

The three cities are all quasi-realistic - meaning that you can find many famous landmarks and places as you make your way around the cities. Feeling for a trip to Santa Monica or a romantic drive past the Eiffel Tower? Midnight Club II makes it possible. All races take place in the manic traffic level that haunt Los Angeles, Paris and Tokyo and the cities are full of short-cuts, alleyways, ramps (for jumps) and underground structures. This is the second complaint I have about the game apart from the complicated controls. Although there’s a map and although each control point has a large arrow pointing to the next control point, the fast graphics and the night setting sometimes reduce the events to pure luck.

Now go race against your mates

The artificial intelligence is tough, but online competitors are often even worse.

However, the most important feature of Midnight Club II may be the online portion. The game supports the PS2 online kit and offers you two game modes with up to eight players. While Capture the Flag is the traditional one, Detonate adds some new elements to multiplayer fun. The goal is to blow up your opponents by picking up a detonator and making it to the trigger point in one piece. The technical side works flawlessly without lag and disconnects, and the interface is well designed. If you manage to hook up with some friends regularly the multiplayer possibilities certainly extend the durability of the game.

While I’ve was impressed a lot by Rockstar San Diego’s graphic engine, I wasn’t really happy with the in-game music, although this has been hyped quite a lot with a huge number of tracks. I know this exact subject has seen a lot of discussion. Either people hate the music or they love it. Personally I disliked it so much that I always turned the music off. The tracks are primarily ordinary hip-hop and techno, I would have preferred heavy-rock like in most other arcade racing games. Sounds effects are good, though.

The ultimate challenge

Midnight Club II is without doubt a brilliant PS2 racing title, and especially the online features will ensure that the game will last a very long time. Cities, vehicles and car physics are great; however you should be aware of the fact that the overall difficulty level of Midnight Club II is very high. I fear this will limit the appeal of the game to some players, which is a shame. If you aren't an experienced racing gamer or easily get frustrated, you should probably choose a different game. If you on the other hand are looking for the ultimate racing challenge available on a PS2, then go for it.