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Lots of attitude, but no game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: July 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Midnight Club 2 has decent graphics if you have the hardware, but it's a complete failure as a racing game. All of your computer opponents fly past you even on straight stretches with the throttle maxed. The damage to your car and others is completely unrealistic, and there's no difference in the way any of these cars drive and handle. I was disappointed with the driving physics in EA's NFS Hot Pursuit, but this game makes it look like a racing simulation in comparison. It's not even good enough to be considered an arcade racer as the keyboard controls are overly sensitive and there's no way to adjust the settings.

The PS2 version got a lot of positive reviews, but something was lost in the translation to the PC. If you're looking for a racing game with good graphics and driving physics, NFS Porsche Unleashed is the one to beat. This game doesn't come close.

Controls are horrible

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: July 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If you use the mouse is pretty much impossible to play this game. So I attempted to use the keyboard to steer. When I tap left or right, I go about 90 degress the direction I turned, crashing into whatever is to the left or right of me. Everything else if fine, but everything else is impossible to experience when I can't race because I'm always hitting building and trees because of the super sensitive controls.

The most lacking game in 2003

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 3
Date: November 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I had high anticipations for this game. The commercials showed a very polished product of great desire, but it looks and plays like a game you used to see in the 1990's. Even with a top of the line gaming setup the graphics are very pixelly: there aren't any options to change your graphic settings. When you're driving around the controls on the car offer no realistic experience. When you tap the key to go right, you pretty much take a 90° turn. Compare that to the new Need For Speed Underground, and Midnight Club II looks like something your grandpa should play.

PC version is really lacking...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 7
Date: July 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The game itself is a lot of fun - it is extremely fast and wild. It is certainly not realistic - you can crash over and over again at high speeds without getting damaged, but it is an arcarde game and not a simulation. The main complaints I have are with the graphics and the controls. I have a very good graphics card (GeForce 5900), but there are no video options for this game! I'm stuck at a low resolution, and it looks terrible by todays standards. Also, there is no way to adjust brightness or contrast, and in a game that takes place primarily in the dark it is often impossible for me to see where I'm going. I don't appreciate having to adjust the displays on my monitor just for this one game. For the controls, I have a force feedback steering wheel, but for some reason I can't configure the use of the gas or brake pedal! Overall, a very disappointing game.

A Game To Change The Genre?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: July 11, 2003
Author: Amazon User

"Not so good" pretty much sums it up. I have a high performance, new computer and it still does not perform well. The graphics are, at best, sub-par, especially in comparison to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City or even to GTAIII. Either of these would be a much better buy for anyone interested in exciting computer games. It was quite smart and a nice feature to have motorcycles and nitrto boosts and the whole idea of the game is quite good especially after the "Fast and the Furious" movies. However, this game simply does not live up to Rockstar's reputation or previous games. Buy your son/daughter/self a diffrent game (e.g. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Soldier of Fortune II, Battlefield 1942, or something else!)

-Max

Addictive, fun, even with a few flaws

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: July 29, 2003
Author: Amazon User

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!

This Game is the Ultimate Racing Game for Computer

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: July 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is awesome! You need a good computer to play this and space on your hard drive. This game takes 1.50 to 1.67 GB! This game is a lot more fun if you have a controller for your PC.
You need a good online connection for online play and you can only use the cars you unlocked for online play. The career mode is more fun when you unlock more cars. This game is long. Each race is about 1.0% to 2.0% of the game (It tells you percentage completed). This game is a lot like The Fast and the Furious or 2 Fast 2 Furious with the NOS (nitro) and cops trying to get you for illegal street racing.

WOOHOO

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 7
Date: July 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

this game could be better but midnight club racing is one of my favorite games so this game rocks

Can't Wait

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: May 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I already saw the trailers and all the movie clips and it looks good.I also actually played it on my friend's PS2 and it was so fun.The graphics were better than any other racing games that I know of.If you want a racing game you should get Midnight Club 2,The Italian Job,or maybe Need fo Speed Hot Pursuit 2.I can't wait for Midnight Club 2 to come out for PC.

the best racing game ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: October 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

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.

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