A small hate speech, diluted with Stockholm syndrome, about an already old, but quite iconic racing game.
Midnight Club is a series of arcade racing games from Rockstar Games, abandoned and forgotten (like all franchises of this studio outside of GTA and RDR) more than ten years ago.
In the 2000s the series made good noise on consoles. Together with Burnout, they fought for the hearts and wallets of gamepad adherents, while the PC boyars were forced to crank out only Need for Speed year after year (there were, of course, two parts of Flatout, the Test Drive series and so on, but kamon, guys).
At the same time, Midnight Club appeared as a result of the fact that the developers of the purely boyar series Midtown Madness (the first two parts) fluttered out from under the wing of Microsoft and came to Rockstar Games. In fact, Midnight Club is the spiritual successor to Midtown Madness, borrowing many elements from its older sister. The main difference between the new series is the setting.
The Cooler Daniel
The first part, released in the line of Playstation 2 launch titles, revealed the theme of street racing as a fashionable youth subculture three years before NFS Underground. And even, bitch, a year before the first Fast and the Furious! Perhaps this was the first pop culture product about street racing created in the West (this topic originated in Japan, and the Midnight Club itself was a very real street racing club). And here, from the beginning, there was an open world, and not just an open world, but two real cities at once – New York and London (well, this is where fish, chips, tea, crappy food, disgusting weather, Mary fuck… in short, you get the idea).
The third part was released in the same year as NFS Most Wanted and was noted for the atmosphere of night neon racing (for those who haven’t had their fill of the two undergrounds), and the monstrous number and variety of cars (and motorcycles), spare parts for tuning and songs in the soundtrack at that time. And also because all this is good (including already three open cities) was also released on a pocket PSP with only slightly cropped graphics. If anyone doesn’t remember, spin-offs of famous “big” series were usually released on Zyz, often very messed up not only graphically, but also in gameplay. And Nidforspeed was one of the most striking examples of such a policy.
The latest Midnight Club with the subtitle Los Angeles distinguished itself with even more advanced car customization (full interior tuning in 2008!). And also because it was technologically ahead of its time and anticipated some of the features of GTA V, having been released in the same year as GTA IV. We’re talking about a first-person view (okay, yes, it’s already been in a bunch of other racing games, but here it’s very immersive and sophisticated, especially on motorcycles) and most importantly, the technology for seamless “flight” between locations through the map screen, which in GTA will be used to switch between the main characters.
And since ancient times, the Midnight Club series has been famous for its mind-blowing complexity.
Now to the main course of this post. Sequel.
I told you what is remarkable about the first, third and fourth parts of Midnight Club. What’s so special about the second one??
Well, it came out on PC. And during my journey through the creativity of Rockstar Games, this time my gaze fell on her. No need to worry about emulators or buying a game for the console through workarounds – download the repack, install it, and have fun. You really get it.?
If subsequent games in the series are distinguished by a rich fleet of vehicles, a set of parts and a soundtrack, then the sequel has nothing like that. The local career is a series of battles with bosses that you find in the open world (it turns out that Midnight Club II – Shadow of the Colossus from the racing world?). For defeating the boss, his car is awarded. By the way, the cars are unlicensed, but by God, the authors didn’t even try to somehow change the real models – this is not GTA or even Snowrunner. There is no tuning in the game, but all cars are pre-pumped in street racing style.
Each boss, in addition to his own car, has his own music track, which plays without alternative during races with him. The music in the game seems to reflect its era – a little generic hip-hop, a lot of trance, house and other Eurodance. But either the music is just not my thing, or it’s really so-so, but for my taste it doesn’t suit hyperdynamic racing at all and rather infuriates me, although I don’t want to turn it off.
Well, the graphics here https://cupcakebingocasino.co.uk/mobile-app/ are so-so, NFS Porsche Unleashed for PC was better. What can we say about the later parts?.
This is what I mean – in terms of style and atmosphere of street racing, the second “Midnight Club” loses out to NFS Underground, released the same year, with its beautiful graphics, a rather large fleet of vehicles, elaborate tuning and a god-like soundtrack. The whole meat of Midnight Club II is in its gameplay. And he makes you love and hate.
I hate Midnight Club II.
I warn you right away, there will be a lot of swearing in this block. Because there’s no other way.
Actually, the gameplay of any Midnight Club is a race through checkpoints in an open city. Not like in the old nidforspeed games – when the track was fenced off with transparent walls with arrows so that the player, God forbid, would not fly away anywhere. Not like in modern arcade races – where every 50-100 meters there are clearly visible gates through which you need to pass. Like racing in the GTA series. Only several times more hardcore.
And if, for example, in MC Los Angeles most checkpoints are relatively well readable and are located directly in turns and exits, then in Midnight Club II they are placed much more meanly. The checkpoint in Midnight Club is a pillar of light that you need to drive through. Yes, this pillar is usually clearly visible from anywhere in the city. Yes, each checkpoint has a large arrow pointing in the direction of the next checkpoint. But if you don’t know the city, this won’t help you. A straight road from several alleys can lead to the pillar of light, you drive there to celebrate, turn on the nitro and… drive yourself into the wall, because the alley ends exactly one house before the checkpoint, and you need to go around this house. Or, for example, the arrow points to the right, on a street washed out at high speed, you sharply steer to the right and… drive into a wall, because the checkpoint is here, and the turn is half a kilometer away. You restart the race, having learned from experience, you turn after half a kilometer and… you are hopelessly behind your rivals, because the path to the next checkpoint is a zigzag of 90-degree turns, and all these computer fuckers went through the next intersection, where the road, it turns out, goes straight.
Therefore, the first few attempts you learn the route. A few more attempts, you learn to take tricky turns at speed and fly into alleys and other shortcuts at the right angle (and this is so fucking difficult, they atthe same thing that fucked Yuri Dud). And then, after a dozen or two attempts, you try to actually win the race.
Because this game hates you and does everything to make you lose. You’ve already heard about the sneaky checkpoints and narrow as a point of the Rockstar employee, because of whom the GTA VI trailer was leaked. But these are just flowers. Bend your fingers.
Since each of your opponents is a boss, his car is a priori more powerful than yours, and if you drive like him, you will lose (and they drive well).
Despite the fact that you seem to be competing with a specific boss, there are vanishingly few one-on-one races in the game – usually from five to eight bots are racing against you. And all on more powerful cars. And you have to overtake everyone. Overtook the boss, but lost to his suction – restart (although in the first part, it seems, this was counted). Took second or third place – restart. Fell into the water – restart.
Oh yes – water. Midnight Club, in terms of track design, has always been a more arcade series than, for example, NFS. While the "Need for Speed" players were jumping in a spectacular slo-mo from some bump in the road, the "Midnight Club" fans were looking down on them, chuckling, flying over the entire city from a jump as high as a house. So, in the second “Midnight Club” you need to jump especially accurately and accurately. And the jumps here are unfenced and often narrow. Jumped too hard or, on the contrary, hit a wall or another car and didn’t jump enough – there is a non-illusory chance of drowning the car and selling it in Vladivostok as almost new… oh, that is, starting the race again. This often happens a few seconds before the finish line. Against the backdrop of such a strict rule, it’s even strange that after breaking a car to zero, it simply respawns with a very gentle cooldown – literally in one second.
On the other hand – and thank God, because we will have to fight here in any case. Weak graphics are compensated by the highest traffic density, quite at the level of GTA IV and Driver San-Francisco. Traffic that always tries to fuck you up. I found a free lane and stepped on the gas? Let someone change lanes under your nose. I decided to drive around the traffic on the side of the road? Be sure that at the next turn someone will rush across you. I estimated the speed of the car at the intersection and chose a trajectory to go around it? Fuck you, she suddenly stops at a traffic light right on this trajectory! Dodged it all? Well, okay, let a random driver just fucking turn across two lanes into oncoming traffic right under your nose. And miraculously avoided this one? Don’t be afraid, here’s a truck from an inconspicuous yard, don’t thank me.
However, do not think that your opponents always avoid all these obstacles, far from it. Bots get into traffic, miss shortcuts, and generally behave like real people in this regard. Only this also has a small problem. Remember that you are alone, but there are usually many opponents? So, having gotten into an accident, the bot creates absolutely total chaos on the road, which is almost impossible to avoid. Both you and other opponents fall into this chaos, but there are always one or two who dodge and drive away from you, losers, to the point. You say, “then drive in front, then you really don’t give a damn who crashed into who behind you.”? But for the sake of such incredibly smart bots, they wrote a script according to which some of them selflessly turn on nitro as soon as the player gets to first place. Often they do create chaos and bury you and themselves in it, so that you, such a bitch, don’t win the race.
But it’s not just traffic and opponents who want to destroy you. In addition to the sneaky jumps and alleys, narrow as the horizon of the author of the post, because he could not come up with a third metaphor, there are still a lot of jokes in local cities. For example, unbreakable poles in those same alleys and sidewalks. Yes, you heard it right: in these already limited spaces you are often forced to be precise in your penetration almost down to the pixel! Dodged a continuous stream of traffic by turning onto the sidewalk? Man, harosh. And it’s hard to dodge a pole in the middle of this sidewalk? No? Well, screw your restart.
There are also a bunch of columns, pillars and trees in the middle of the road, and checkpoints are often placed on both sides, forcing you to write a fucking snake. Also, local cities are full of fountains, statues, benches, dicks and other shit that really likes to appear on your way, as soon as you turn off the road into a “civilian” zone to take a shortcut. Several races take place in the port, and it’s completely fucked up. Not only are there no direct paths, and there are cargo containers standing randomly everywhere, but from behind each of them, according to the script, a fucking truck is taxiing, and all this, fucking, right before the finish line!
About ketchup. He’s not here. But even without it it’s seriously fucked up. Bots crash regularly and lose control only while they are in your field of view. Having fallen behind or, on the contrary, gone far ahead, they turn into ideal drivers. Therefore, having taken first place, it is impossible to come away with a margin, but to let the enemy go so far that it is impossible to catch up with him is easy.
And I said that traffic scripts in 90% of cases are tied to the player, and bots that are not very close to you will most likely pass the problem area like a boss? And I said that physics is simulated here in sufficient detail, and on wet asphalt or grass, rear-wheel drive cars become almost uncontrollable, or that you can roll over by landing poorly or jumping onto a curb? And I said that bots regularly try to butt or turn around a player, even at the cost of their own leadership? Didn’t say? Well, now I said.
And here there is absolutely fucking keyboard control – sharp and jerky, practically making it impossible to drive along an accurate trajectory. Somewhere in the middle of the game I couldn’t stand it and went to the Internet in search of a guide on how to make the game work with a modern gamepad. I found it and life became… not just easier, but not so unbearable. If you want to play it yourself, don’t repeat my mistakes, download the ready-made XInput gamepad configuration from the link and don’t worry about it.
It’s awesome.
You can probably guess that the main advantage of the project is the power of those positive emotions that arise after winning almost any race. Seriously, not a single race is completed here the first time except the two introductory ones. And if you completed the race in less than ten attempts, consider yourself very lucky.
In addition, this game often rewards persistence – if I had pressed the restart after the first major accident, I would have won a third of the races in more attempts. If you keep your opponents in sight, there is always a chance to snatch victory from their clutches at the last moment. Such a victory makes the pleasure even greater.
And, of course, skill. The game forces you to improve your driving skills in general and your knowledge of local cities in particular. Feelings comparable to mastering some DiRT Rally. When, having jumped through half the city, you land exactly at the gates of Notre Dame de Paris, you feel like the greatest stuntman.
Police cars are awarded for completing side circuit races. The Japanese cop is made in a special way, as if with a cel-shading effect. Maybe a reference to some anime?
Speaking of Notre Dame. The game takes place in Los Angeles, Paris and Tokyo. And these cities are revealed in a really cool way, providing the opportunity to drive not only along the streets, but also in more exotic places. In L.A. you can drive through shopping centers, in Tokyo – through sewer tunnels. But Paris surpassed everyone in this regard: in addition to the opportunity to rush through the already mentioned Notre Dame Cathedral (F, by the way), the game will allow you to check out the legendary catacombs and jump from the glass Pyramid of the Louvre. All this brings back memories of the track in a huge aquarium in NFS 3 Hot Pursuit or the steel foundry in Porsche Unleashed. In Underground there were no such slightly crazy locations, but in Midnight Club II there were. And they are also sorely lacking in modern racing 🙁
And the main boss (respectively, the world champion) here is Russian, who gives out epic pearls.
That machine seems to have the horsepower. Do you have the… eggs?
Savo
I’ve completed every Need for Speed title from 1998’s Hot Pursuit to The Run (including both Porsche Unleashed careers and every challenge in Most Wanted and Carbon). I completed the Mobil 1 British Rally Championship. I played the original Driver and Driver San Francisco (including all side missions). I eventually completed Midnight Club 3 (on PSP) and Midnight Club Los Angeles (on Xbox Series).
And no race bothered me as much as Midnight Club II. She is complex, not very honest, makes you swear, but, bitch, she is passionate and gives indescribable emotions in return.
However, if the game has elements that I would not change (checkpoint locations, physics, campaign, etc.), there are also some things that I would change and add. In my opinion, they would have made the game better and the gameplay a little more enjoyable. Firstly, the soundtrack: it should have been made more vibrant and varied, which is what was achieved in the following parts. A suitable soundtrack helps create a state of flow very well, I still remember singing along to Marilyn Manson in MC3 and Disturbed in Los Angeles. In addition, it helps smooth out negative emotions from accidents and losses. It would also be cool to be able to partially release negative emotions at the moment with something tasty. In Burnout, for example, this was slamming an opponent into a wall or traffic (which in MC is difficult and dangerous), in Carmageddon – smearing pedestrians with a bumper (in Midnight Club II it also exists, but it was very modestly developed), and in the subsequent "Midnight Clubs" – special abilities that allow you to scatter opponents at a distance. And I consider these special abilities to be the most important discovery of subsequent games in the series (it was from the Midnight Club, by the way, that Franklin inherited his slo-mo in GTA V), and they are sorely lacking in the sequel.
In short, if you want an old-school challenge, try Midnight Club II. If you want complete nerves and peace of mind, avoid Midnight Club II.
