Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition

It’s midnight in the streets of San Diego and you’re driving down a near empty street when a shiny black Nissan pulls up beside your sleek ride.  The Nissan’s engines sound like the low growl of a panther ready to strike down its prey and its owner’s eyes meets yours and you just know.  As easy as you can spot a toupee you know he belongs to the same club as you . . . the same club that meets in the far corner of an empty lot.  The other driver nods his head--the challenge is made--and without a moments notice you find yourself slamming your foot down on the gas pedal.  It’s on and losing is not an option because your reputation is at stake.  This is the world you’ll encounter in Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition and one fans of the series will not want to leave the very second you start the first race.

Rockstar San Diego’s third outing of its illegal racing series continues bringing us all the things that revolve around this dangerous but interesting scene but thanks to input from DUB Magazine the series has now given us a huge dose of import tuning.  The result is a game that outshines the excellent Midnight Club 2 as well as its competitors and that’s not an easy thing to do since EA’s street racing game wasn’t bad at all.  Still, the Midnight Club games do a great job of showing us this interesting world while offering arcade-styled racing and this one isn’t any different.

For starters, the game’s main Career mode might not be big on story but then again it wasn’t story that made hardcore fans out of gamers in the second game of the series.  Here you play a faceless, nameless illegal racing enthusiast in San Diego who finds himself stepping foot in the Six-One-Nine Custom shop run by a mechanic that installs tuner parts for the mere love of just being next to a car.  It is here that you’re asked to purchase your first car; although the selection is limited to six cars at first (the choices include a ‘64 Chevy Impala to a recent Mitsubishi Eclipse).  Once you’ve selected your car, you can head off to your first race and then you can cruise around looking for races.  It’s accepting races that you earn your money to customize your car’s appearance or performance.  Winning races unlocks new cars and this time there are loads of great licensed cars like classic muscle cars, SUVs, modern vehicles and racing motorcycles make their return.  You start in San Diego and work your way to Detroit and Atlanta.

It is in this lengthy Career mode that you earn money to customize your vehicle with performance parts, bodywork and other details.  By competing in circuit races found in areas on the map, you can earn lots of money.  Yet it’s competing in club races or accepting a challenge from a respected street racer that you earn performance parts, unlock new custom details and even win new cars.  Import tuning fans can head back to the Six-One-Nine shop and upgrade everything from new front bumpers, add spoilers or install new hub caps if you wish.  There are hundreds of options but if you’re interested in keeping up with the skilled boys and girls out there you’ll be upgrading engine parts, hydraulics and adding nitrous.  In short, everything that you can possibly want in imports can be found here.

Making its return again is Arcade mode filled with game modes such as Autocross, Track, Capture the Flag, Frenzy, Circuit, Ordered, Tag and Cruise.  The modes are pure arcade-styled races with a few of them bringing back the power-up items.  Each mode offers various different unique slants; for example, you can play a classic game of Capture the Flag or you can play using the Split or Basewar settings.  Included again is the Race Editor that allows you to design your own race course complete with start and finish points.

How does it play, you might ask?  Midnight Club 3 feels right at home on the PS2 and even more so now that the controls have been tightened.  Each car handles differently but the basic control scheme allows gamers to experience the new moves such as the somewhat baffling two wheel Dukes of Hazard-styled driving or Roar--in which your car’s engine makes itself loudly clear that other cars just swerve out of your way.  The motorcycles have the weight transfer shift using the L1 button but even that doesn’t stop you from flying off your speed bike like a human missile.  Still it's great to pull off stoppies on your bike and the addition of choppers makes cruising down the streets of Detroit downright cool.

Multiplayer is still very much emphasized seeing as Midnight Club 2 became something of a fan favorite online.  It had its share of problems even with the Broadband connection but many of the game’s framerate stutters and the occasional lost connections have been remedied greatly in this one.  It’s smooth as a baby’s bottom and with up to eight players it’s downright fun.  The plentiful modes is what makes this one a multiplayer treat with all the arcade modes available including cruise but its games like Paint and Capture the Flag that will be fan favorites.  There are also neat new features that keep the race running even if for some reason the host somehow drops out of a race in progress and you can also join a clan with a neat ranking order.  My biggest gripe, though, is the fact that the game doesn’t support a USB headset so there’s no chat in this game.   

Visually speaking, this is not a good-looking game on the PS2 but then again it is not an amazing one either.  The pedestrians still look blockish and unnatural and watching them whiz away on the nick of time is hilarious.  Still when it comes to the cars the game does a great job of displaying plenty of detail for each individual licensed vehicle.  In motion the cars show off superb motion blur and they even take damage.  The environments are massive and great to look at since the details are certainly plentiful.  Still it’s hard to knock a game that fills the streets with traffic and other small environmental details.

The sound, on the other hand, is excellent and really pushes the engine sound of all vehicles so a Hummer sounds different from a VW Jetta.  Slam your car into a lamppost and listen to the loud clank of the post hitting the pavement and the crunch of your front bumper.  There’s voice acting to be found in this game and once again it hits on the usual racial stereotypes of the last game although this time not to an exaggerated degree.  As for the game’s tunes, it’s a massive song list that includes hip hop from artists like Fat Joe, hard-hitting tunes from Queens of the Stone Age and loads of electronica from artists like Calyx.  It’s okay stuff that wouldn’t cut it in other racing game but it somehow works beautifully in this game.   

Outshining many of the street racing games already out there, Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition is pure racing joy for those who like their import tuning and midnight street racing done to perfection.  As a fan of the second game, it was hard to imagine the series getting much better than this but with so much added to the game’s addictive racing will surely make some new fans with this one.  Go out and buy this one, you won’t regret it. 

Gameplay: 9.0
Solid controls and a steady framerate make for a racing game that feels good on the PS2.  The game’s second outing was nothing to sneeze at but this one has improved its controls to make for one addictive racing game.  The import tuning offers loads of customization options that will surely thrill fans.

Graphics: 8.2
This is one good-looking game on the PS2 but the pedestrians still look very odd up close.  Still--and most importantly--the rides look hot and the environments are massive and nicely detailed.  The speed effects look amazing this time around.

Sound: 8.9

The engine sounds are loud and they vary from car to car but it’s the sound of the streets and the traffic that give you the feeling that you’re speeding through a living, breathing world.  The soundtrack is an eclectic mix of tunes that are okay if you’re big on dance club techno music (not my cup of tea) or hip hop.  As for the voice acting, it’s just average.

Difficulty: Medium
The wide open streets make for some challenging races but it’s your opponents that will have you keeping an eye on traffic, turns and your objective.  Racing motorcycles is also not as easy as it looks and you’ll often find yourself being tossed off your bike.

Concept: 9.5
So many cars and they can all be upgraded with performance parts and you can custom detail it to your heart’s desire.  With so many customizable choices you’ll have your own unique rides.  Motorcycles are again a welcome addition and so are the various arcade modes like Capture the Flag.  Add online play and you’ll think you’ve died and gone to gaming heaven.

Multiplayer: 9.0
Aside from a very addictive single-player career mode, this one has a solid multiplayer mode that can be taken online.  It runs at a steady framerate online using a broadband connection but there’s no headset communicator support like the Xbox.  That means you can only keep the trash talk to yourself and that’s no fun.  Still, this is one game you should share with friends.

Overall: 9.3
We’ve seen importing tuner games and we’ve seen illegal racing games but not at the addictive and exquisitely detailed level of Midnight Club 3.  It roars and it looks and feels so darn good at the same time so if you’re like me and love an arcade-styled racing game that plays like a dream on the PS2 then you should definitely buy this one.