• ID = PS0530
• STYLE = Mission-Based Racing
• DEV. = Rockstar San Diego
• PUB. = Rockstar Games
• R-DATE = Apr-28-2003
• ESRB = T / For Teen
• PLAYERS = 1-8 players
• LIST PRICE = $29.99
  

In Midnight Club II you are an elite, next-generation illegal street racer, racing through the cities of Paris, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. Each location boasts open-ended routes, loads of shortcuts, and massive jumps. Filled with pedestrians, vehicles backing out of driveways, benches, lights, parking meters, trash, and other municipal properties, these living cities will require complete concentration and deft driving skills.

Description 2:
Midnight Club redefined the racing genre at the launch of the PlayStation 2. Rockstar is back to up-the-ante with Midnight Club 2 and is poised to set a new benchmark in the racing genre. You are an elite, illegal street racer, more dangerous and skilled than ever racing throughout the cities of Paris, Los Angeles, and Tokyo.

* Midnight Club 2 is all about unlimited freedom and fun in three separate living cities - LA, Paris, and Tokyo. Open city racing brings a whole new level of intensity compared to racing within the staged, controlled environment of a track-based racer.

* Eight player online multiplayer action! Also connect two Playstation2s via the Ilink adaptor to play four player multiplayer.

* The Midnight Club is now open to motorbikes. Take advantage of a bike’s size for speed and control through tight traffic and alleys - but watch yourself, a wrong move will send you flying.

* Race more than 30 new performance adjusted vehicles, muscle cars, hot rods, rally cars and the world’s fastest domestic and foreign autos.

* Cops want to break up an illegal racing circuit at any cost. Sophisticated techniques are the norm - they won’t simply chase you down. Now they have helicopter patrols, will set up roadblocks…so not only drive fast, but know the city and drive smart.

* Storyline and characters take you into the worldwide underground of illegal street racing.

Members of the world's most notorious illegal street racing syndicate meet each night on the streets of Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo. Find yourself in the position of a novice challenger, set on penetrating this secret society and trumping them all, one by one. Add insult to injury, as you win the suped-up rides of defeated adversaries, all on your way to being crowned international champion. Just remember, there are no rules. Use whatever routes, shortcuts and driving methods necessary to hit those checkpoints and arrive at the finish line before your opponent has a chance.

With entirely overhauled technology, breathtaking new vehicles, physics and driving mechanics like nothing you've ever experienced... Rockstar is about to deliver the racing game that will again change the genre forever. Midnight Club 2 returns to once again redefine street racing on the PlayStation 2 in 2003. Choose from the latest performance enhanced cars and bikesandcompete head-to-head to make a name for yourself. Or battle it out with other players in white-knuckle, adrenaline-pumping multiplayer modes. Drive anywhere in the city. Master evasive tactics to duck authorities. Find the fastest route to win. And earn your place at the top.

Amazon.com Review
Midnight Club II builds on the illegal street racing fun found in the PS2 launch title Midnight Club. Like that game it pits you against street toughs in non-linear street races, all for bragging rights and access to better and more sophisticated rides. New in Midnight Club II are the police and the ability to drive a motorcycle.

The game begins with you in the charge of a slob named Moses. He acts as tutor, teaching you how to control your beater car and how to use power-ups, as well as offering overall moral support. He teaches you how to go about the business of the game: earning new gear such as Nitrous Oxide, new cars, and even new controls. The award of new controls later in the game show how you're a novice driver at the start but by the end you're a pro who can land on all four wheels after a jump, expertly control a power slide turn, and much, much more.

Much of the game consists of cruising around three large and well rendered cities: Paris, Tokyo, and Los Angeles. You don't just challenge someone to a race or sign up for an event and show up. Instead you get a map and have to follow a red dot. The dot is a rival racer. Once you track and chase him down, you flash your high beams and then you can race him. It's a clever way of giving you a warm up, keeping you immersed in the game, and best of all, teaching you the layout of each city.

Racing is fun, fast, and furious. This isn't a simulation, it's an arcade-style racer--but the physics system is internally consistent so it feels more "realistic" than it actually is. Rockstar has put a premium on keeping you in control, keeping the thrill-factor high, and giving you a heart stopping sense of speed. The graphics are fantastic and the cities are incredibly detailed. As a counter-point, the voice acting is just plain awful.

Midnight Club II offers a wide range of game modes ensuring it will be playable for a long time to come: career, mission, and a mode that lets you just jump into a race. Multiplayer is possible in hotseat mode, but it also supports Internet play. Internet lag is bad over dial-up modem (PS2), but broadband players (Xbox Live or PS2) will find the game silky smooth. All of this makes Midnight Club II a great addition to any videogame racing fan's library, but a must for online fans. --Bob Andrews

Pros:
Great physics, intense action.
Excellent graphics.
Plenty of game modes, including broadband multiplayer.

Cons:
Poor voice acting.