Tech News on G4'Midnight Club: Los Angeles' slick, but repetitiveDec 1, 2008By Adam Swimmer - G4 Canada |
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In this game, the fourth title in the Midnight Club series, you play a new resident of Los Angeles, trying to make a name for yourself in the world of street racing. You have the freedom to move about the large map of the city in a sandbox-style game engine ala Grand Theft Auto. The graphics are quite impressive as the scene usually focuses on what computer animators seem to be best at emulating: the urban environment of roads, trees and shiny cars. A Mulholland Drive street sign really looks like a Mulholland Drive street sign. Same goes for the Best Buys and 7-11s you can drive past in the game. Ah, the realism of product placements...
The controls can be a little awkward at times. Acceleration, braking and reverse are controlled by the right analog stick and not buttons as in many competing racing titles. But it's not too difficult to get a handle on. Pushing in the R3 button will deploy nitrous gas to give you an extra boost at a key point in the race. That's always fun. You can soup up your cars and purchase new ones with money you earn from racing. The races will also raise your street cred which unlocks various features of the game.
Frankly, the police are alerted way too often in the game. I mean here I am, just minding my own business, casually driving through a mall to see what sales were on during a Sunday afternoon - And all of a sudden I'm in an outtake from The Blues Brothers movie.
Thankfully, you can always escape while the police are still responding to the call. If you can manage to hide from the cops, who appear as blue triangles on your map, when they first arrive on scene, they will eventually leave and you can avoid a police chase. But the main problem with Midnight Club: Los Angeles is that it becomes too repetitive. And its semblance of a storyline and slick recreation of the City of Angels, only leaves you wanting more.
Midnight Club: Los Angeles |
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I like racing games as much as the next person, but I can honestly say I don't understand Midnight Club: Los Angeles.
Despite being able to roam freely, unlike like, say Grand Theft Auto IV, where there's a lot more to the game than just stealing cars, this one basically comes down to street racing. That isn't to say the street racing isn't fun. The large environment offers a wide variety of racing experiences. And there are different styles of races to choose from, such as ordered races where you drive through specific checkpoints, freeway races and time trials.
But you don't want to draw too much attention to yourself otherwise the cops will chase you down and fine you for speeding. And, of course, you can't exactly shoot your way out of it, or steal another car if you crash the one you're driving so there are less options for escape. Granted, if you do manage to evade the cops, you get a big boost in street cred because it's really hard to do.
Seriously, though, at one point, the cops were called because I drove through an underground parking garage. Last time I checked that wasn't breaking the law, but who knows what crazy criminal code they use in this game
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About G4 in Canada
G4 Canada (formerly TechTV Canada) launched in September 2001. G4 is the one and only television station that is plugged into every dimension of games, gear, gadgets and gigabytes. Owned Rogers Media Inc., the channel airs more than 24 original series. G4 is available on digital cable and satellite. For more information, see www.g4tv.ca.
