Midnight Club: Los Angeles

by Ashley Coomer - 2008/02/26 11:26am

The term ‘next-gen’ is bandied around a lot these days, despite now not referring to this generation of consoles now they’ve all been released. Still, if it provides publishers with a way of making their games sound more interesting than they actually are, things are going to stay the same. Thanks to not everyone taking advantage of the term, we have publishers like Rockstar actually making games that live up to the next-gen tag. First there was Rockstar Games Presents: Table Tennis on the X360, and soon there will be updates of Bully and Grand Theft Auto. Rockstar is also bringing back an old friend though, in the form of Midnight Club: Los Angeles.

You’ll probably have noticed a trend that is Rockstar never releases new games for the sake of getting a sequel out there. Taking a look at the differences between GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas will show this, and Rockstar San Diego isn’t going to rush Midnight Club: Los Angeles… well that’s a relief! The main thing to shout about here is RAGE, the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine. As you might expect from a new engine, this will bring better visuals but also a massive step up in gameplay quality and scale. We mean it, we’re told the LA in Midnight Club is bigger than the three cities in Midnight Club: DUB Edition combined.

The game has obviously been improved in many ways, too. The emphasis has been put on constant action in the game, so unless you feel like free roaming (which is indeed possible, just like in Burnout Paradise) there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be racing every moment you spend on the game. Proving this claim bears fruit, Rockstar is going to streamline the game so it won’t contain useless HUD items or unnecessary race screens. Instead, any information about the race will be displayed on the screen post-race.



One of the new additions to the game is Reputation Points. These are awarded to the player for competing in races, though the better your performance, the more you’ll earn. These Reputation Points have a… point, though! You’ll need to earn a certain amount before new events are available, and by having a large amount you’ll be able to afford nicer cars and parts people laugh at in real life! We’re no doubt worrying over nothing, but we have to wonder if this will make the game any easier. Whereas previous Midnight Club games required you to win races to progress, in LA you’ll be able to rely on your fix of points.

The game is visually stunning and we’d even go as far as saying it pushes the boundaries of how racing games should look, second only to Gran Turismo 5 of course. The screen is going to be as minimalist as possible, which is an idea we’re rather fond of. All games seem to be taking this step forward now, and Midnight Club: LA will have everything you need to know in the HUD that appears in the corner of the screen. There’s the map background which can be brought up fully, and displayed on here is key info, such as race locations, checkpoints and opponents.

It’s still an arcadey game compared to the more realistic racers of the moment, but the lighting effects and day-and-night cycles make it look just as good as the other racing games on the PS3 right now. Something else we love about the game is the detail that has gone into crafting it – Lamborghinis and ’69 Mustangs (the car, not guitar) all look wonderful, with the sun’s reflections on them and the 100,000 or so polygons used to create their bodies.



Speaking of the cars, there are new damage models in Midnight Club: LA. You won’t be able to completely wreck your ride, but carelessness will cost you in terms of handling and overall performance. At the end of races there will be two options. One, you can go to a garage and get your vehicle fixed up by the professionals. Alternatively there’s the backup plan, which is adding unpainted parts just so you can get back into racing. It might look like cars you see driving along the streets of England these days but hey, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do (to get back into the race)!

With the racing genre picking up with the recent release of Burnout Paradise and upcoming release of Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, Midnight Club: LA looks like it’s going to come in at just the right time. Plenty of new ideas… check. Realistic cars but arcadey gameplay… check. Awesome damage models… check! And really, ladies and gentlemen, that’s all Rockstar needs to put on the back of the box. Sold!