Need for less speed.
By PaulEMoz
Here at Way of the Rodent, we love our racing games. Need for Speed, Burnout, Gran Turismo, Wipeout. Hell, we’ve even been known to play that one that comes free with Geometry Wars. But if there’s something we’ll admit to having overlooked, it’s the Midnight Club series. Time to right any past wrongs?
EA dropped a gear last time around with Need for Speed Underground 2. The unnecessary (and corny) story mode and empty city took some of the gloss of what was otherwise a fine game. Rockstar could really have capitalised on that error with their own street racer Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition. Unfortunately there’s no bullseye, this dart bounces off the wire – but maybe, just maybe, the other couple of arrows do find a nice bed somewhere on the board?
Comerica Park, the baseball stadium in Detroit. Curiously, it’s the only “real” place in
MC3’s Detroit. I know this because I live there. And because I’m a smart-arse.
It doesn’t get off to a great start, although you’ll immediately notice that the soundtrack is not as ear-bendingly awful as recent EA efforts, which is a plus. You’re stuck in the garage with a chunky and slightly fey Mexican who sounds a lot like Derek Zoolander. Not promising, although the potential to unlock two more (but not especially accurate) cities and some slightly less dubious mechanics lends an air of hope.
“Nice wheels. I see you’ve painted it in ‘Blue Steel’.”
Things don’t immediately pick up once you’re out on the streets either. It doesn’t look that great at first, having less flash than NFS games. However, you’ll soon notice that the city is packed with people and cars, and it really feels alive. This is the game’s one huge advantage over all others, and it serves to really draw you in for a while.
Something else you’ll notice after a few performance upgrades is that this game is fast. Really fast. The problem is, it’s almost too fast, to the point where it’s unrealistic. OK, so this is an arcade racer, and realism isn’t of the utmost importance, but it’s usually nice to feel that you just might be able to pull off what’s happening on the screen. Midnight Club 3 is just a little too far-fetched at times.
They only met once, then perished in a massive, high-speed pile-up.
It’s not really very engaging either. Again, that might be due to the over-the-top speed, or more likely it’s down to the fact that you can just plough through anything and almost always remain unscathed. Another problem is that you’re constantly racing faceless opponents. You know their names, but you never actually get to see them, and for a game that’s all about face-offs and beating the best on the streets, that’s a big problem. I was in the middle of a game the other night and I realised I just couldn’t be arsed with it any more.
If you’re a racing game fan, don’t dismiss this one out of hand. It’s got speed and some nice moves, and with three cities and umpteen vehicles you’ll get a lot of play for your money. It’ll certainly keep you busy until your next racing fix hits the streets. Although, as that’s going to be in about two weeks from now, maybe you’d be as well off just hanging on to your money until then.
May 2005
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