Midnight Club II

Rockstar's Midnight Club sequel is shaping up rather nicely. Race in Los Angales, Paris and Tokyo - online - with an Xbox version to follow.

	Version PS2	Developer Rockstar	Publisher Rockstar	Genre Racing

By Rick Larson

Midnight Club Street Racing for the PS2 was one of the best early titles for the system. Personally I don't think it got the acclaim it deserved. The second time around however it should come out with engines revving and tires screeching. Midnight Club 2 may have the same premise as the first (racing and winning cars), but the game has gone through a complete overhaul. Many comments about the first game were taken into consideration when designing this new game. So far it looks like it is paying off.

Street racing is all about the cars. They have to be faster than the competition and also much cooler looking. Who's going to respect you if you've got an ugly hunk of junk on the starting line? Well, the cars in MC2 are both fast and cool, but lack their real names. It is kind of humorous to see a 2003 Dodge Viper with a Rockstar emblem and toting the name "Jersey XS". Missing the names isn't much of a drawback though, just don't get caught calling a suped up Civic driving around a Citi near your friends. You're just asking for trouble! Motorcycles have also been added to the line up and will have different controls compared to cars, as they should.

The whole design of the levels and graphics have been completely redone. Environments are very lush and detailed. The cars look better than ever as well. In the original game the roads were basically flat and could get slightly dull after awhile. This time Rockstar wants to allow gamers to get some serious air! Ramps have been placed all over the three maps. Many races actually take place on hills so taking off on a ramp can really be an advantage.

The AI has also been beefed up. In the original you could just memorize your opponents movements. With the new AI however the driver will never make the same run twice so you'll be on your own trying to chase these guys down. Cops also got a big AI adjustment. They are now prepared to set up roadblocks in order to catch you while another unit stays on your tail. Luckily you can use ramps as that extra ace up your sleeve.

Even with all the great improvements there is still a big part of racing missing. Once again you are stuck without the ability to tune and upgrade your car. This can be a downer for serious street racing fans. Racing is two parts building your car and one part racing in the real world. In this game it looks like the only way to get faster is by winning a new car.

One of the biggest new features is the ability to play online. MC2 is Live supported so you'll able to trash talk people as you take their virtual pink slips. Sounds like fun to me! This should add a whole new element to the game. Hopefully there will be plenty of downloadable cars down the line.

Overall MC2 is shaping up to be a fine game. Even with a few drawbacks, it should please racing fans looking for a wilder ride than Grand Tourismo and SegaGT.