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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!

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.

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.

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.

Worth the money! A game that wouldn't make you bored

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If you want get sweating while playing a racing game, get this one! But don't use a keyboard or mouse to play! It'll just waste the game. Use a wheel such as logitech formula GP in oredr to enjoy the feeling of illegal racing.

Only downside is that there are only actificial cars to be chosen in the game. I would prefer to see real cars.
But anyway, I rate it 5 stars!

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.

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.

This game kicks butt ( Don't listen to the other guys)

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: July 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is really cool it has great graphics and the buildings look really neat. The control is not that hard once u learn how to use a handbrake and the brake itself. These guys did not know how to use a brake so they gave it a bad rating. Maybe there just dumb. The cars are sweat and are completly maxed out to the fullest. I had no problem using the arrow keys on my keyboard again you have to master the art of BRAKING your car to complete the races. Aslo, you can adjust the resolution. Try looking at everything in the game. ( To the guy who said you can't adjust the resolution. )

Here's an idea -- get a cheap gamepad!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I thought these controls were awful too until I dug out my old Gravis Gamepad Pro and voila -- perfectly easy to control. This game is a blast. The enemy characters are annoying so you really want to beat them, and when you do, you feel a huge sense of accomplishment. As for the physics, it's an arcade game, so they feel perfect to me. You're doing 90-degree turns at 120 mph, so it better be a little forgiving. The music is pretty good too, though the same songs get old after a while. I thought from the commercial that the soundtrack would be mostly trance, but there's quite a bit of hip-hop. It fits, though. Great game!

unrealistic fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 21, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is very similar to another game in the past called Road Rash. It is extremely fast and wild, and a lot of fun. The courses are very challenging, and it typically takes several attempts to beat a particular map. The only penalty for crashing is that you lose time. If you like extreme speed, this is a great game.

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