Silicon Fusion >> Reviews >> Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition

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Review:

5th May 2005:
Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition
Rockstar's fast and furious racing franchise returns to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, and we look under the bonnet of both versions.
Posted by John Grothier - PlayStation 2,Xbox - UK and Europe

As Rockstar were kind enough to send us both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions to review, we thought we would give you a joint review of this street racer. Myself, John Grothier has looked at the Xbox version, while Chris Snook is reviewing the PlayStation 2 version.

John: Midnight Club 3: DEB Edition is the third in the series of Rockstar's street racers. This time around you will get the chance to race in three huge open-ended cities; San Diego, Detroit and Atlanta. The main new feature in the game is the customisation options which allows the player to jazz-up their pride and joy to their hearts content, and Chris covers this in more detail later in the review. Firstly you are limited to just San Diego, but eventually Atlanta and Detroit will become unlocked. Unlike Need for Speed Underground 2, the cities are full of secrets and hidden shortcuts to find and all this exploring can be done in the cruise mode. Find the hidden Rockstar logos and you will be rewarded with some nice goodies…

The racing in MC 3 is really fast and furious; with most of these being checkpoint races. While there seems to be a logical route through these, you will find that most have multiple routes, some giving you valuable seconds to put you ahead of your rivals. However, sometimes the racing becomes tedious and frustrating, especially when you hold the lead for 90% of the race, only to be shunted out of the front by a chasing Police car or colliding with one of the many non-destructible pieces of scenery. Point-to-point races and also timed races help to add some variety to the game, but essentially this racer is all about the checkpoints and finding the best route by trial and error. However the additional special moves are fantastically well implemented, and add to the racing experience immeasurably.

Unfortunately the framerate can suffer quite badly, especially when there are weather effects like rain, and also notably when there are a lot of cars and action on screen. While the cars themselves look good, the cities and the rest of the traffic looks a little bland and lacks real detail. The framerate problems in this racer mar the Xbox version significantly, which is a real shame. The online racing is good fun for up to 8 players on Xbox Live and features a number of race modes and online options - but in truth the online play is nothing special.

Chris: There is one heck of a lot of gameplay here. Even after a number of days play there is still well over fifty percent of the first city to explore and more races, vehicles and moves to unlock. There is enough content to keep almost anyone happy for a long, long time. Then there are all the modifications you can do to each and every car, both to improve performance and in many ways the reason for the game in the first place, the way they look as you blast along the road. There are hundred of these customisations each adding a personal touch to your car or bike ranging from a new paint job through to decals and spoilers.

For the most part control is smooth and intuitive, there are no obvious flaws and the layout is logical and easy to pick up, which is a boon as the action speeds up. Response is crisp and barely lags as you execute a pinpoint turn or often a crash when going around a corner. The various modes are well thought out as are the humorous power ups in the arcade version, for those moments when you just want mayhem rather than constant serious racing. There is an online option for those with a Broadband adapter, powered by GameSpy, which means it is pretty solid; however there are not that many games ongoing at any one time - a testament to how few people may have the adapter.

Right from the start, visually MC3: DUB Edition tries to go the extra mile to be different. The menus, connected by short track animations are nice to begin with but the sudden changes of position become wearing after time. The graphics are superb, the cars are gorgeous and the way they move is as close to spot on as you can get, with smooth animation and the only slowdown occurring when the screen is packed to the overpass with vehicles and also the Xbox Version has similar framerate problems. The environmental effects and time effects are also well executed.

On the music side it is a mix of hip-hop and trendy tunes, which could put off the gamer who wants just to drive, but they do indeed slot into the game and after a while are nice complements to the action. Other sound effects are as smooth as the graphics with engine roars, Doppler effects and tyre screeches, even the hiss of hydraulics. All add to the feel of a tricked out car and the manic speeds you gain. Voice acting is generally fine but in the sections where they explain a new race type or similar there are gaps that do jar. John: The Xbox version allows you to listen to your custom soundtracks which is a welcome addition, although the music is nowhere near as bad as Need for Speed Underground 2 - there is much more variety to be found here.

One gripe that purists will have is that the option for manual gear change, on the PS2 it is buried in the options. It probably would have been logical to make this more accessible, but you can change the control layout if you need to. Other than this the execution is well done and the over all experience is satisfying as certain elements, most apparent in cruise mode, which recaptures the feel of the first Driver which is not a bad feeling to generate.

John Grothier

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Review Summary:

The series that took racing from closed tracks to urban streets is back. Trick out your ride with the latest rims, trims and upgrades. Take on the street racing elite as you blaze through traffic at speeds of over 250 MPH. Build you dream car from over 60 licensed vehicles - Tuners, Muscle cars, SUV's Choppers all included. The framerate problems are severe enough to spoil the game and stop this racer from being the classic we all hoped it would be.

Related Games:

Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition
for PlayStation 2

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