Midnight Club 3: Dub kicks it a nickle.
User Rating: 9.4 | Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition PS2
So you've played racing games, so you don't expect much change from the dribble that has been put out in the last year or two. You've been subjected to tight tracks and loss of creativity. A far cry from the old days of Gran Turismo 3, A-Spec and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. You may have thought that these new games would be a blissful breath of fresh air as they broke from the norm. Unfortunately it was more like putting icing on a meatloaf. One game had kept its purity and freedom throughout and that was Midnight Club 2. Showing they may have not been the first to go online, but that it remained superior. Unfortunately, MC2 was wearing a lackluster shine from wear. The game was pushing up the years in a genre that release dates were based on months. But here it was sitting in front of you. The shiny chrome DUB symbol could be a blessing or a curse. It was now promising licensed vehicles and tuning duties to the mix. Not to mention everything DUB was known for with body kits and rims. Returning to its roots, the low-riders and trucks were making a return and joining in with the MC2 favorite motorcycle, and if you played Midnight Club 2, you'll see the return of all your unlocked abilities in 2 already happily unlocked for you in 3. You'll also have full damage and the old unfriendly gas tanks and water-ways. From the title screen it grabs you that this game is different. Gone is the talkative characters so expected in the Midnight Club series. Replaced by a lone shop owner chatting away on his cellphone. Yes, this "es-ai" will be your teacher through the first city. He'll teach about all the cool new things in the game. Next you'll notice something very cool in your garage. Not only can you purchase vehicles, but you can "test drive" them! A testament to Rockstar's ideal of innovation. After you've bought your first vehicle you'll have some extra cash to spend on modifications and the all faithfull cruise mode is still a handy dandy way of testing what you've done to your vehicle so far. This is where you're going to have to take a seat and get some experience. Although the navigation is basic, there's so much stuff that it'll take you awhile to get used to it. To make everything simple, Rockstar has added an Auto Upgrade feature for the engine section. Shortcuts are great, unfortunately you won't be able to afford all the cool toys at first. Once you get on the map you're instantly inundated by all the little icons. Thankfully they're color coded. They even added the descriptions to the red "optional" races, so if you need a little extra cash before facing off against the next opponent you can just throw down against some random racer. Racing opponents unlock everything from upgrades to other vehicles and other tournaments. You have ordered, unordered, tournaments, and autocross. You'll need to get used to the tracks to win. As you'll quickly figure out, your opponent is getting better with every victory you secure and soon victories will be nearly impossible to gain. Not to mention you're racing in city streets with thick traffic. You're going to need iron clad wits to keep winning. Thankfully the more you win the more upgrades you'll be getting. The first thing you're actually going to feel is the seriousness of the game. Gone are the silly characters trying to trash talk their way to victory against a superior opponent. Now it's about the business at hand, street racing and dodging the cops. This may have been a good addition, but it took away from some of the flavor of the game. The positive is that upgrading isn't a necessity. You can either upgrade your first car or just unlock a better car. Although your starting car won't be enough to take you to the finish line of the game, it gives you tons of choices and non-linear gameplay. Although their upgrade system is great, the performance section is simple eye candy. Yes, the performance gains are appropriate, the selection of company's products aren't. Improvments are definitely going to be a necessity in the future, with the hope that the current simplicity is kept in mind. As for the body kits and paint it's application can best be described as tasteful. Something sorely lacking in other titles. And when the game is over, you'll still be able to race and collect cash through the ever recycling optional races. Although it won't be too evident in the beginning, this game is fast. And by fast, I mean nose bleed mind numbingly fast! Cars will dart through streets at break neck speed. It'll take time just to get used to it. They've also added three new car specific abilities. Zone, Aggro, and Roar, but we'll leave that for your game play experience. Lastly, Midnight Club 2's evident replay value was exonerated by its online feature and Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition successfully expands on it with online tracking and dynamic hosting, so if the host leaves the game, the game finds a new host so the game doesn't stop. Now, if the game has room, you can jump in on the action and wait for the next start. Rockstar has also proven its support for online play by stepping up the difficultys in cheating. As for the soundtrack, take your pick of a very long list of various beats and rythms and full Dolby Pro Logic support. By the end of the game you'll won't be restarting so much as exploring your upgrade potential. The game itself you'll want to rush through just so you can get the cool exotic cars. To some this could be considered a downfall, but how bad can a new term, "endless play" be? The game introduces features that we ask ourselves, why didn't anybody else think of. But then we won't think about it too long as you'll be too busy screaming at how fast you'll be going! 
