back to the streets with an old favorite
User Rating: 9 | Midnight Club: Los Angeles X360
midnight club la is often an extremely exciting game. as you barrel down the city streets barely in control, the next thing you know there is a 90 degree turn up ahead. thanks to the perfectly tuned controls that offer arcade simplicity and simulation control, i manage the turn easily and go on to win the race. Although many have complained about difficulty with the races and cops, i must say that although they are challenging, they are rarely frustrating. People will tell you the cops get on them for following the rules. sure a bad glitch, but YOU HAVE YOUR POLICE SCANNER FOR A REASON! when you hear it start to beep, thats your cue to leave the area. doing this, i didnt get into a pursuit until several hours into the game. the racing, on the other hand, can be frustrating at times. i would occasionally encounter a cpu opponent driving me into a wall, screwing me over for the whole race. or they would somehow avoid a crash when every lane is blocked on the road. and the traffic is unpredictable, sometimes turning into my lane at the last second, (although that is probably realistic). All told the racing is fun with a rewarding rep system and occasionally frustrating AI. Thankfully, the special powers from dub edition are back and can be assigned to any car now, so roar doesnt have to only be on muscle cars, etc. rockstar also added an emp, which kills the electrics in the cars around you. this didnt seem very useful, but roar, aggro and zone are still solid solutions in tricky situations. Rockstar also deserves props for including all of the performance and visual custimization of the last game and more. Now, you can tweak the colors of your car's interior, and swap in new steering wheels, seats, and gauges. The game may be an excellent reminder of how awesome midnight club can be, but they cut a few things i loved in dub edition.
1. they went from 3 cities to 1, which makes the progression a little more subtle and boring.
2. they ditched all of the pickup trucks, all of the choppers, and most of the SUV's. This leaves only 2 SUV's and a handful of sport bikes if you want something other than a regular car.
3. Say goodbye to car clubs. instead you will race a tuner champ, a muscle champ, etc.
4. Not every tournament gives you a new car now, only certain sponsored ones. That was the main reason i did the tournaments in Dub edition, they always got me a new car.
Overall, a great game with a few problems, but some might see the removal of car clubs and less car diversity a good thing. I guess it depends on the player.
