Midnight Club LA is fun, challenging and immersive - though like every arcade streetracer ever made, not without flaws.

User Rating: 9 | Midnight Club: Los Angeles X360
I think Gamespot gave this game an overly harsh review. I have played through MCLA from start to finish about 4 times now, and never did I find it too difficult. Challenging, certainly, but not unfairly so.

The biggest flaw I found was the driving engine - at first it feels quite sloppy and unresponsive. But you realise quickly that physics have very little to do with the driving, and once you get used to the controls, it's a hoot - very fast and exciting. And honestly, anyone who has played a Midnight Club game before will already know what to expect. A little more realism would have been nice, like the NFS series which always found a perfect balance between arcade and sim (with the obvious exception of the abysmal Undercover - but that's another review!) However, it doesn't take long to get a feel for how each car class handles. I mean, once you realise that the classic muscles are a bit like driving on ice, you can adjust your driving style to compensate. Sorry, but I suspect that anyone who claims that MCLA is too difficult is just not very good at arcade racing games.

The graphics are beautiful, the cars look photorealistic, and the variety is nice. I like that they didn't just roll out the usual street racer suspects, but also included some interesting choice such as the classic muscle cars. The motorbikes were also a fun addition. I've heard people complaining that there are enough cars to choose from, but personally I found it just right - I mean how much choice do you need?

The customisation is very deep, especially the paint and vinyls, and so versatile you can literally spend hours pimping your ride. The soundtrack is pretty cool, and the sound effects are all mostly top notch, although some of the tuner engine sounds are a little tinny - the Nissan 240SX sounds particularly nasal. The muscle cars sound great through, deep and throaty, conveying a real sense of power.

I think the thing I liked most though is that the game has a real personality. Your AI opponents are given voices, faces and characters of their own - although admittedly they are all very stereotypical - but the little cutscenes and radio banter during races really makes you feel like you're racing against people as opposed to faceless AI controlled cars.

In summary, I haven't had this much fun with an arcade streetracer since NFS Underground 2 and Burnout Revenge - nuff said.