Review: Midnight Club: Los Angeles

Mike Bantick
Friday, 28 November 2008 05:54

Opinion and Analysis

This is all part of the arcade style nature of the title, and on the flip side, you will be struggling to get too far into the lead without being – somewhat suspiciously – caught rather easily. 

After a while, this gaming mechanic as well as the constant repetitive taunts can take its toll.  The racing is always a white knuckle intense experience, but always at the back of your brain, there is a nagging sense of inevitability, whether you are playing catch up or under the pressure of leading the pack.

To mix things up however, there is the Nitrous and Slipstreaming effects.  Essentially the same thing, a dramatic, temporary boost in speed, enabling you to slingshot past competitors.   Nitrous is a one shot any time, unless replenished by racing through a petrol station, Slipstreaming is a built up ability by trailing another racer for a short period of time.

Other abilities can be unlocked and purchased as the game progresses.  These give ‘super’ capabilities such as temporary invulnerability or an EMP blast that disables competitors.

Then there are the cops.  Not viewed in the early hands on, the cops have the ability to muscle onto the scene at any time, starting to chase you if you speed whilst cruising, actually involved in a race or, for some reason they get angry when you drive through the shop fronts of a Mall.

Seems unreasonable, but they are keen to corral you, a fine being the usual result of being caught.

All up MCLA keeps you in the game for as long as possible, each action in game can earn cash, or at the very least some rep (reputation) to keep the game ticking over. 

Multiplayer is quick to set up and get into, and with a number of racing modes, and ‘real’ competitors to go up against, there will never be the nagging feeling of AI cheating to worry about. 

7 loose bumpers out of 10