Midnight Club: Los Angeles review

The next-gen return of the racing game we all want membership to…

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Obviously, these new additions would count for very little if the driving experience was underwhelming. But if you’ve ever played a Midnight Club game before, the arcade handling will be more than familiar.

Po-faced simulation is nowhere to be seen. Instead, outlandish power-slides, outrageous handbrake turns and seat-of-your-pants traffic dodging is combined with a weight to the cars that requires a degree of driving skill that prevents MC LA being written off as a lightweight racer. Something that’ll be further reinforced after you’ve hung onto a screaming superbike and darted through obstacles that threaten to turn you into man jam.

Adding an extra layer of strategy to events is the return of ‘power-up’ skills from DUB Edition. Only this time, Zone, Agro, Roar and new skill EMP (which briefly disables surrounding cars) can be applied to any vehicle. So, if you fancy a bike that can smash other vehicles out the way, well, there’s nothing stopping you…

Some might argue that the ‘street racing thing’ peaked a couple of years after The Fast And The Furious and every publisher with two pennies had a game where you could stick neon lights under a car. But think about it – how many are there now? The original Midnight Club not only pre-dated the aforementioned film but has survived since relatively unchanged – something only a truly competent racing game could do.

By sticking to its roots, Midnight Club Los Angeles may not be a master of innovation, but as one of the most polished, finely honed and adrenaline-filled racing games, you won’t find any that do it better. You’ll love your time in the City of Angels...

More info

GenreRacing
DescriptionRockstar pimps out another installment in its underground racing series, Midnight Club.
Franchise nameMidnight Club
UK franchise nameMidnight Club
Platform"Xbox 360","PS3"
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