excellent.
Gameplay: Superb. Unlike Underground 2, this game is able to make itself extremely fun because it essentially uses no plot and is less boring as a result. Some of the perks of MC3 over Underground 2 having waaaay more races. With Undergound 2, you will have about 50 races (more or less) and you can only go through each of them once and receive a significant amount of money. Once you beat all the races, you can't do all that much. While you can go back and do the races again, the most you ever get is around $ 5,000. In MC3, however, things are much different. You will have about 100 races at the start and there is and infinite number of optional races that you can participate in for at least $ 10,000 if not more. Also, MC3 has special tournaments. There are 2 types of tournaments in MC3: Club Tournaments and City Tournaments. The fundamental differences between the two is that Club Tournaments are really a series of races restricted to one type of car or one class of car and that you do not need to complete all of the club races at once. While this may seem like a rather trivial difference, it is actually rather significant. If you actually compared Club Tournaments and City Tournaments, the Club Tournaments are the best ones. The club tournaments offer a significantly larger sum of money for the races (you are rewarded for each one individually rather than just one reward and a prize car). What I dislike about the club races, though, is that you simply cannot complete all of them at once. Generally, you do 5 or six races in the series, win a car, and then you need to keep doing other races until the next section of the Club Tournament appears. The thing that disappointed me the most was the City Tournaments. City Tournaments are either sanctioned races sponsored by the city (in these you get a single small cash prize at the end and also receive a prize car) or tournaments sponsored by DUB in which you still only get one small cash prize at the end, but you also receive a customized vehicle as well (customized as in cosmetic, not performance- wise). These tournaments are done as a series of 3 or 4 races in which you only get one try on each and you are given a point score which depends on the position you finish in. What I dislike about these races is that they only give you one try and that you receive a prixe that is rather diminuitive in comparison with the prizes that you receive from Club Tournaments.
Soundtrack: O.K. but most of the songs leave something to be desired. While there are a few good tracks from artists like Fabolous, the Game, Unwritten Law, and some others, the majority of them are bad. Seriously, who wants to listen to Paul Wall or Marilyn Manson in a game about the hip- hop culture?
Vehicles: Pretty good selection of cars, ranging from tuners to choppers, but it, too leaves a little to be desired. While they did manage to snag some good cars, like the Lexus IS300, the 1964 Chevy Impala (can you say, "lowrider"?), the Chevy Silverado, and some choppers from West Coast Choppers, some of the cars are just plain ugly. The good news, though, is that there is something for everyone there.
Customization: Superb. There are parts from almost every respected maker out there, including Dayton rims, body parts by Kriminal USA, Weiand West, and many others. Also, this game has an unparalleled number of decal options as well. Some of the best, though, are reserved for the "lowrider" muscle cars, which include the 1964 and 1996 Chevy Impala, the 1978 Chevy Monte Carlo, and some others. Also, the game allows you to do custom colors for just about every exterior part, ranging from the chrome all the way to the window tint.
While this game is pretty good with the hydraulics in that you can install them on quite a few cars, I am a bit disappointed by how many cars you can't put them on. What leaves me puzzled, though, is how you cannot put hydraulics on an H1. I mean, it's not like you couldn't fit a system in there.
To sum it all up, MC3, while it has its flaws, is excellent.