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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Racing Developer: Rockstar San Diego Publisher: Rockstar Games |
Rock star Games has always been popular for their work on a little gaming franchise called “Grand Theft Auto,” but the world of Liberty
City isn’t the only open world that they have created though. They have also created the very popular “Midnight Club” series, ripping up
the streets of the world for many years, with the latest release coming into the racing world as “Midnight Club: Los Angeles.”
The game marks the first time that this series makes its appearance on next generation consoles, and along with that are some pretty
amazing graphics. The game has a lot of great features and racing fans will want to check this out. However, it isn’t perfect, though the
few bumps in the road don’t keep the game from being one of the best racing games to be released to date.
The racing in the game is once again great, all the way from the handling and general physics to the overall feeling of the driving. The
cars and motorcycles in the game kick and squeal when players hit the game and take off in a cloud of smoke. The controls this time
around aren’t as tight as what could be found in games like “Burnout,” making players rely more on power slides for taking turns, which
works surprisingly well.
The difference between each of the cars in the game makes the game that much better. Muscle cars handle very different than the
exotic cars and both handle different than tuners. Muscle cars are generally the hardest cars to handle in the game, whoever they are a
lot of fun to drive, making an even trade off.
Something that many players are going to enjoy about this game is the variety of events in the game. Players will compete in time trials
to delivery missions, series events and more. The storyline is quite basic and is what one would expect from a racing game, and it
stays out of the way of the player’s progression through the game. The game keeps players in the seat of the car at all times, making
sure the players can continually play the game. Race results come up in a window that will pause the game for a second and once
players have seen them, it is back to the game.
Players will also need to deal with cops which can slow down the players experience a little bit. If the cops catch the player speeding,
they can pull over and pay a small fine or take off in a high speed pursuit. The latter of the two is usually a lot more fun. However,
players should be advised that getting away from the cops in a chase can be a challenge, but it still a lot of fun. When players get
caught by the cops they are set at the police station, which may put players far away from where they need to head to next.
The biggest complaint that some players may have would be something that can others will love about the game, the difficulty. The
game is extremely difficult. After the first few tutorial events, players will find themselves having a difficult time finishing in first place in
almost any of the events. Even when players do happen to finish first, most events are series races which means that players have to
win more than once to officially win the series, so getting lucky once and taking first place doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be
able to move on without a couple more wins. The AI in the game starts off a lot faster than the player. Starting with a beat up car,
players will get burned by the competition, but it may take only a couple of upgrades to get an edge on the others. Players who are
willing to drop some cash on new parts will find that the AI also upgraded their cars and will continue to beat them. Upgrading to better
cars won’t necessarily help either since more of the AI starts off with high quality vehicles, including Lamborghinis and Corvettes. Even
the vehicles that should not be able to keep up will be right on the tail of players, which gets a bit frustrating.
While the single player difficulty level is one thing that probably could have been set quite a bit lower, the true test of skill comes into play
when players take on other players online. Luckily, “Midnight Club: Los Angeles” has a number of different online options. Getting
online is very simple, hit Start, select Online, set the preferences and it is race time. People who send an invite will show up on player’s
phones and a single button will accept their invite and it is off to the races.
“Midnight Club: Los Angeles” is a great racing game that gives players an experience unlike any other. Of course, like any other game,
there are a few flaws to it, but they are heavily outweighed by the positive elements. The cars handle great, the city is designed almost
perfectly, the GPS works great and the customization is awesome. Though the game may be way to difficult right from the start, it proves
to give even the best players a challenge. Reputation points help player progress through the game even if they can’t win any of the
races, however it is annoying to race on the same track over and over again on the same race. Fans of street racing, and the Midnight
Club series will find a lot to enjoy here, but players should not expect to be riding easy on the streets.
City isn’t the only open world that they have created though. They have also created the very popular “Midnight Club” series, ripping up
the streets of the world for many years, with the latest release coming into the racing world as “Midnight Club: Los Angeles.”
The game marks the first time that this series makes its appearance on next generation consoles, and along with that are some pretty
amazing graphics. The game has a lot of great features and racing fans will want to check this out. However, it isn’t perfect, though the
few bumps in the road don’t keep the game from being one of the best racing games to be released to date.
The racing in the game is once again great, all the way from the handling and general physics to the overall feeling of the driving. The
cars and motorcycles in the game kick and squeal when players hit the game and take off in a cloud of smoke. The controls this time
around aren’t as tight as what could be found in games like “Burnout,” making players rely more on power slides for taking turns, which
works surprisingly well.
The difference between each of the cars in the game makes the game that much better. Muscle cars handle very different than the
exotic cars and both handle different than tuners. Muscle cars are generally the hardest cars to handle in the game, whoever they are a
lot of fun to drive, making an even trade off.
Something that many players are going to enjoy about this game is the variety of events in the game. Players will compete in time trials
to delivery missions, series events and more. The storyline is quite basic and is what one would expect from a racing game, and it
stays out of the way of the player’s progression through the game. The game keeps players in the seat of the car at all times, making
sure the players can continually play the game. Race results come up in a window that will pause the game for a second and once
players have seen them, it is back to the game.
Players will also need to deal with cops which can slow down the players experience a little bit. If the cops catch the player speeding,
they can pull over and pay a small fine or take off in a high speed pursuit. The latter of the two is usually a lot more fun. However,
players should be advised that getting away from the cops in a chase can be a challenge, but it still a lot of fun. When players get
caught by the cops they are set at the police station, which may put players far away from where they need to head to next.
The biggest complaint that some players may have would be something that can others will love about the game, the difficulty. The
game is extremely difficult. After the first few tutorial events, players will find themselves having a difficult time finishing in first place in
almost any of the events. Even when players do happen to finish first, most events are series races which means that players have to
win more than once to officially win the series, so getting lucky once and taking first place doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be
able to move on without a couple more wins. The AI in the game starts off a lot faster than the player. Starting with a beat up car,
players will get burned by the competition, but it may take only a couple of upgrades to get an edge on the others. Players who are
willing to drop some cash on new parts will find that the AI also upgraded their cars and will continue to beat them. Upgrading to better
cars won’t necessarily help either since more of the AI starts off with high quality vehicles, including Lamborghinis and Corvettes. Even
the vehicles that should not be able to keep up will be right on the tail of players, which gets a bit frustrating.
While the single player difficulty level is one thing that probably could have been set quite a bit lower, the true test of skill comes into play
when players take on other players online. Luckily, “Midnight Club: Los Angeles” has a number of different online options. Getting
online is very simple, hit Start, select Online, set the preferences and it is race time. People who send an invite will show up on player’s
phones and a single button will accept their invite and it is off to the races.
“Midnight Club: Los Angeles” is a great racing game that gives players an experience unlike any other. Of course, like any other game,
there are a few flaws to it, but they are heavily outweighed by the positive elements. The cars handle great, the city is designed almost
perfectly, the GPS works great and the customization is awesome. Though the game may be way to difficult right from the start, it proves
to give even the best players a challenge. Reputation points help player progress through the game even if they can’t win any of the
races, however it is annoying to race on the same track over and over again on the same race. Fans of street racing, and the Midnight
Club series will find a lot to enjoy here, but players should not expect to be riding easy on the streets.
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