Midnight Club Los Angeles

Here's our definitive verdict on Rockstar's entry into the next-generation Midnight Club series, beginning in LA.

	Version Xbox 360, (PS3)	Developer Rockstar San Diego	Publisher Rpckstar	Genre Racing

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Winning a race is very satisfying, whether it's in the singleplayer mode or the game's extensive 16-player multiplayer offering, which holds up just fine since our playing the preview versions of the game. We knew from the multiplayer preview that this was going to prove a worthy online experience - and coming out of the GTA IV multiplayer offering, we expected nothing less. Fortunately the multiplayer side of things in the final game is what we'd hoped for: stable, varied and expertly designed. We explained a lot about the different modes available on this side of the game in our previous coverage, and like we did when it came to reviewing GTA IV, we'll leave the rest for you to discover and enjoy.

MCLA is a graphical tour de force, and really shows off the RAGE engine once again (without the paint filter seen in GTA IV), rendering a very solid and beautifully lit Los Angeles whether it's dawn, dusk, noon or midnight. The visuals improves on GTA IV's vehicle segments in a number of subtle but significant ways, making for a pretty racing title that impresses in a big way - and we still can't get over the might of the engine as it renders the entire game map from above and effortlessly pans down to street level, or from one part of the city to another at high speed as if it's a pre-rendered movie (which it isn't). There's some serious technical work being shown off here and Rockstar's technical guys have to be praised. Meanwhile, the cinematic camera which sways and shakes around still looks cool, but can be turned off if you desire, resulting in what we feel is a slightly smoother looking and feeling driving experience - so see which you prefer.

The music selection is passable but coming from Rockstar, quite honestly it won't blow you away. It would have been nice if they could have licensed the sort of music that we hear in a season of the Entourage TV drama - those guys know the selection of music that sums up Los Angeles, there's no doubt about it. I'd personally like less second rate rap (either I'm getting old or it's all been shit since the nineties) and more of a selection that reflects the wide range of cultures and styles in the SoCal region.

There are a bunch of Achievements and Trophies, as well as sixty collectible items in the game that can be used to unlock cheats. We've also got nice (but unremarkable) replay and photo modes, tonnes of game stats, and you can even buy special abilities that slow down time, confuse opponents and so forth for use in singleplayer game. More importantly, there's really a lot of depth beyond the stuff we've covered - stuff we've mentioned in a our previous coverage like the great range of vehicles including bikes, the insane level of customisation on offer (which doesn't allow for the limitless freedom seen in Forza 2, but is still one of the most detailed and well thought out vehicle customisation systems we've seen to date); there's the Rockstar Social Club integration, and loads more to really get your teeth into if you want to take things that little bit further.

Midnight Club Los Angeles is a high quality, well presented racing game that is grand in scale, and stylish in execution. It's as addictive and enjoyable as you'd expect from the best PGR, NFS or Burnout titles, and as an overall racing title MCLA comfortably holds its own. As a series it's no longer on the periphery of the genre looking up to the other IP, but stands proud along with the best of its peers this generation.

Our hope is that Rockstar puts the kind of backing behind the release of MCLA that it deserves, but also that it steers the series along the right path beyond Los Angeles. It's already told us that it'll have more Midnight Clubs on the way, so we hope it chooses good cities and locations that don't necessarily need to be tied to the boring 'street' vibe theme depicted in the Los Angeles game. OK, they've mercifully toned it down a little compared to the likes of ProStreet, and there's none of the 'gangsta' nonsense that plagues some comparable titles, but the whole thing is surely one of many possible themes that can be wrapped around future instalments in the series.

With a New York of sorts and now Los Angeles rendered so superbly in the GTA IV engine, we can only look at these games and wonder if they're thinking about a Midnight Club New York or even a spin-off adventure for Niko on the West Coast.

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