Gaming Target - Xbox: Midnight Club II

Written by Nick Doukas on May 01, 2003

First Impressions: It doesn't matter whether you win by an inch, or a mileЕwinning is winningЕ

It's pretty safe to say that Rockstar is on top of the gaming world. Max Payne, and of course, GTA III and Vice City, push the envelope in terms of game development, and gamers everywhere eagerly await the next killer hit from Terry Donovan and company. Wait no longer, as Rockstar unleashes Midnight Club 2, the follow up to the PS2 launch title that puts you into the fastest cars in the fastest cities, in illegal late-night street races ala' The Fast and The Furious. Serious attitude and serious speed add up to unbelievable romps through the streets, and best of all, it's Live compatible. Read on and find out why the next major Xbox Live title is Midnight Club 2.

To understand why MC 2 is more than just another racing game, the first thing you have to realize is that developer Angel Studios (now called Rockstar San Diego) has spared no expense in creating cities (Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Paris) that maximize the racing experience by allowing the player to choose their path through each one, and make use of not only the main thoroughfares, but side streets, alleys, and everything in between. Lead game designer Mauro Fiore: УThe philosophy of design was hyper-realism. You take aspects of real life and you make it fun. We took that approach. So, here's an open city, and people would say, СOh, it's a city Ц McDonalds and 90-degree corners.' In our game, you'll be driving down the street, suddenly you'll be going up a ramp, then you're on a rooftop, andЕbefore you know itЕyou're jumping over the Seine River in Paris. It's that hyper-realism that will shock people. It's not just your everyday city.Ф To this end, the developers have painstakingly modeled detailed urban environments for you to shred through. Each city will consist of over 70 virtual miles, and will include surface streets, underground tunnels and pathways, and countless shortcuts and unique jumps that will give judicious players a clear advantage over their opponents.

In each city the developers have created a dozen or so landmarks so players will be able to orient themselves in the huge, open areas. The cities are made up of different neighborhoods, and these diverse areas are represented in-game by individual lighting arrangements, color schemes, and layout. Graphically the game sports fantastic textures and lighting, and the dense, urban areas are packed with detail. Players will be cued to shortcuts and other areas of interest by subtle lighting clues (but not so subtle that you won't notice them as you rip by at 120mph). Overall the game packs a huge graphical punch, and should be among the better-looking Xbox titles when it releases.

Midnight Club 2 will offer 28 cars, ranging from souped-up Honda Civics, to Seventies muscle cars (well not exactly; much like the GTA games, the cars aren't actually licensed, but they are solid representations of their real world counterparts) and everything in-between. Add to the mix a new toy debuting in MC2: motorcycles. The ability to race bikes right alongside cars looks to breathe new life into the racing genre, and that, coupled with the ability to tear through a huge city taking most any path you choose, should put MC2 at the forefront of racing games. Throughout the races, unexpected events (scripted, as well as spontaneous) will occur all around you. Cars backing out of driveways, a scooter in the middle of the street (the very definition of Уwrong place at the wrong timeФ), or a police roadblock will add serious thrills, as well as split second timing to your racing style. Expect other racers to cause unforeseen issues at every turn as well.

The storyline of the game will be presented through prerendered CG cut-scenes, and will take players on a pilgrimage through the world of illegal street racing. There are over 20 different characters in MC2, and each racer will have their own exclusive musical selections. Rockstar is currently at work putting together licensed tracks by major artists. As we all know by now, Rockstar certainly knows how to put a soundtrack together. It should be very interesting to see who makes the final cut.

MC2 will fully support Live, and up to 8 players will be able to go at it and trash-talk to each other every step of the way. All the courses from the single player career mode will be available online, and several different game types are slated to be included. Capture the flag, as well as a new twist: Detonate, in which you'll be required to deliver a detonator to a specific point, which will then be used to destroy all of the other racersЕouch. Multiplayer races will include several different types of power-ups, including a cloaking device, which should make for some interesting sequences. Imagine the possibilities of racing through the aforementioned environments with 7 other players. Sounds like some major league fun to me, how about you? Overall, Midnight Club 2 looks to improve on its predecessor in every possible way. Look for more details here at Gaming Target as the spring release date approaches.