Midnight Club 2

by Jack Of All Games

Product Features

• On the streets of Paris, Tokyo and Los Angeles, a group of notorious Drivers race on city streets, behind the wheels of the latest performance-enhanced cars & bikes. You are now a member of this Midnight Club, and are trying to reach the top of your ranks!
• There are no rules here -- use any route, shortcut or driving technique it takes to make it to the checkpoint first
• Incredible new vehicles, driving physics and mechanics for white-knuckle racing
• Compete against the Computer in Story Mode as you win the pumped-up rides of your opponents
• Master the evasive tactics you'll need to avoid law enforcement and still come out ahead in the race

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00008JOLT
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches ; 7.2 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: July 1, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,126 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Members of the world's most notorious illegal street racing syndicate meet each night on the streets of Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo. Find yourself in the position of a novice challenger, set on penetrating this secret society and trumping them all, one by one. Add insult to injury, as you win the suped-up rides of defeated adversaries, all on your way to being crowned international champion. Just remember, there are no rules. Use whatever routes, shortcuts and driving methods necessary to hit those checkpoints and arrive at the finish line before your opponent has a chance.

With entirely overhauled technology, breathtaking new vehicles, physics and driving mechanics like nothing you've ever experienced. Rockstar is about to deliver the racing game that will again change the genre forever. Midnight Club 2 returns to once again redefine street racing in 2003. Choose from the latest performance enhanced cars and bikes and compete head-to-head to make a name for yourself. Or battle it out with up to three other players in white-knuckle, adrenaline-pumping multiplayer modes. Drive anywhere in the city. Master evasive tactics to duck authorities. Find the fastest route to win. And earn your place at the top.

Product Description

Midnight Club Racing II takes you to the streets of the world's biggest cities, to experience the future of illegal racing! Four-person multiplayer action to keep your adrenalin pumping

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Addictive, fun, even with a few flaws, July 28, 2003

By 

James Fett (Georgetown, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Midnight Club 2 (CD-ROM)

Gameplay:

The game genuinely is addictive and a lot of fun to play. Midnight Club 2 features open-ended tracks through three cities. The cars respond well to control inputs and do not feel "mushy" as in other games, notably Need For Speed, Hot Pursuit 2. The races tend to be well balanced-challenging, but without being frustrating (even though some are a touch easy.) The open-ended tracks allow multiple options during one race: the only goal is to hit all the checkpoints and make it to the finish line. Any way that can be accomplished-driving on the streets, the wrong way down the expressway, making a jump off the top of a parking garage, or taking shortcuts through the plate glass of a store front-is encouraged. Over-the-top arcade controls-handbrakes, special moves, and a nitrous oxide boost that launches your car like a rocket-contribute to the overall fun atmosphere of the game.

Using a steering wheel with the game increases the gameplay further. For under fifty bucks you can get a USB wheel (force feeback for less than 100) and pedals. This game reacts very well with the wheel and the cars steer as they should.

One downside is that the speedometer seems to be miscalibrated to one's apparent speed. When the speedometer says 65 the scenery crawls by as if you're doing 25. Since you're rarely doing less than 100, it's not a problem, but it gives you an odd feeling none the less.

Graphics:

This is possibly the weakest area of the game. Since the racing takes place at night, the textures are primarily shades of grey. The cars look serviceable, but unremarkable. A nice aspect of the graphics is that there is very little, if any, pop-up. The scenery is always fluid and visible. You won't run into any traffic or buildings that come out of nowhere, as sometimes would happen in GTA3. All things being equal, I prefer this environment, where the graphics are a notch lower in quality, but very fluid and instantaneously rendered.

However, the smoothness doesn't carry over to the cutscenes, which play choppy. Thankfully, these can be skipped.

Sound:

Well done. The engine sounds blend nicely with the environment, and the ability to play your own MP3s within the game while driving is a big plus.

Value:

In a world where every new game is $50, this one comes in at $40, so it is reasonable. It is much more fun than a lot of the other driving games out there. If you are lucky enough to have a wheel, this will stay on your hard drive for quite a while.

Reviewer's Tilt:

The bad:

Some stability issues. The game occasionally crashes to the desktop (originally, every time I cranked the resolution up above 640x480, but a new Geforce driver from nVidia cleared that up). The control scheme set up to navigate the menus feels ported directly off of a console, making it counter-intuitive to navigate on the PC. The ability to change to a manual transmission is buried in the menus and can take some time to find. Remapping controls likewise is counter-intuitive. The sound, even when turned up to 10 plays at a low level. The installation crashed twice at the very end; savvy users can create their own menu items and/or desktop shortcuts; otherwise, this could be frustrating.

The good:

Just plain fun to play. The cities aren't that detailed, but I'm driving, not sightseeing. The textures don't seem to repeat (unlike in Midtown Madness, where every block seemed to be a copy of the previous). The races are varied enough to be fun without being repetitive. The controls, either the keyboard or the wheel, are crisp and respond as they should (unlike NFS:HP2). The cops, when present, offer a challenge but aren't ridiculously overwhelming (also unlike NFS:HP2).

A fun game. Not an instant classic (it won't make you sit up and say wow), and not the most polished gem on the shelves (choppy FMV; install, stability issues), but a heckuva lot of fun for forty bucks!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best racing game ever, October 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Midnight Club 2 (CD-ROM)

Although you can't edit cars in this game, it still is the best in illegal street racing game history. Awesome graphics, awesome gameplay, an adrenalin rush... The game is so intense that when you win you just want to scream and it will keep you playing for a long time (in my case it's 4 hrs on average per day). For those of you people complaining about the controls, all you have to do is use any kind of gamepad or a wheel; and controls become much better. The music in a game is perfect for racing (in my opinion) techno/trance and some rap. The best combination ever. I recommend you get this game.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars absolutely, March 4, 2009

By 

LinXX MiDoups - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Midnight Club 2 (CD-ROM)

fun fun funn! great driving dynamics, stunts and races (a little confusing though). It takes some time to figure out just where to go in the races...mainly because you can drive just about anywhere to get to a particular point, so it might take you a couple of times to choose the best route to win. But you still have to race hard to do it. The cut scenes are kinda cheesy, but it carries the story so...