Midnight Club II

Midnight Club II
Developer(s) Rockstar San Diego
Publisher(s) Rockstar Games
Distributor(s) Take-Two Interactive
Series Midnight Club
Engine Angel Game Engine
Platform(s) PlayStation 2
Xbox
Windows
Release date(s)

PlayStation 2

  • NA April 9, 2003
  • EU May 2, 2003

Xbox

  • NA June 2, 2003
  • EU June 20, 2003

Microsoft Windows

  • NA June 30, 2003
  • EU July 11, 2003
Genre(s) Racing
Mode(s) Single-player, online multiplayer

Midnight Club II is a racing video game developed and published by Rockstar San Diego (formerly Angel Studios). It is the first sequel to Midnight Club: Street Racing, published for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. Players can race through cities based on Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo. The game also features an online multiplayer component. It is the second game in Midnight Club franchise, followed by Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition.

Cities

Dry, hilly suburbs and congested interstates can be found throughout Los Angeles, and just like Midnight Club: Street Racing, the city contains many landmarks, as well as numerous shortcuts and jumps. Paris is the home to cobblestone alleyways, monumental roundabouts, and the Paris Catacombs. Also featured are a lot of jumps taking you across the river of Paris and into alleyways. Tokyo is a city of neon-glittering avenues and tight alleyways, and contains an equal array of tourist sights and attractions.

Gameplay

Races consist of a series of checkpoints, represented by columns of light. In most races, the order in which the checkpoints must be cleared is prescribed. In this case, a transparent, glowing arrow points to the next checkpoint. In a few other races, the checkpoints may be cleared in any order. In that case, the arrow spins randomly without pointing in any particular direction.

In-game screenshot of Midnight Club 2 in Paris.

It is up to the player which route to take from one checkpoint to the next. There are no artificial barriers in the game's open-world environment that force the player to stay on a specific course. Any area that is drivable or jumpable in the free-roaming cruise mode between races may be used to get to the next checkpoint.

Some areas can be driven upon that are not intended for such use outside of a computer game. Examples are escalators, roofs, railways and riverbeds and many ramps. However, many areas that would be drivable in reality, for example entrances and some stairs, are fenced off with invisible barriers. In some areas, the player can jump or drop down. Using this to the player's advantage can be necessary in order to win a race. If the car falls into deep water, the damage meter goes to its maximum stage and the car is instantly totaled, the race being immediately lost.

The game also features damage models. The amount of damage inflicted upon a car is indicated by both an HUD indicator and visual damage to the car. The performance of a car does not degrade with damage like some other racing games. When the damage limit of a car is exceeded, the car explodes or stalls. After a delay of a few seconds, the player can continue with an undamaged version of the same car.

Vehicles

The vehicles in Midnight Club II all resemble real-life vehicles but have subtle differences to their counterparts, such as different headlamps or tail lights. Also, most of them have aesthetical modifications commonly found in street racing and import scenes, such as spoilers, hood scoops, and body kits.

In the car selection menu, descriptions and stats of each vehicle can be seen, along with the option to choose among 4 colors. Once a car is viewed, a sound effect unique to that car is played in the background.[1] Below is listed the original cars, followed by what car they are based on.

Los Angeles

Paris

Tokyo

The SLF450X seems to be the only "original" vehicle in the game (though it has visual resemblance to the Batmobile). Although no stats are seen of this vehicle, practical exercises show it has the highest performance capability of all of the vehicles previously listed. It can reach more than 400 km/h without any nitrous.

Since the game is not very capable of replicating AWD vehicles, the cars are only available with RWD or FWD setups. An example of this is the Knight (based on the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V, with an AWD transmission in real life), has a FF layout, the power being delivered only to the front wheels. Another example of this is the Stadt which has a FF layout instead of the MR layout of the real-life Renault Clio V6 on which it is based on. The reason for this is that FWD cars usually offer a more stable driving in-game with less risks to spin out, unlike many RWD cars, and thus its description in the menu states that it has formidable handling.

Soundtrack

Midnight Club II: Original Soundtrack
Soundtrack album
Released 2003
Length 03:50:00
Label Rockstar Games
Midnight Club soundtrack chronology
Midnight Club: Street Racing Soundtrack Midnight Club 2 Soundtrack
(2003)		 Midnight Club 3: DUB edition Original Soundtrack
(2005)

The album was released at E3 in 2003 as a promotional gift.[2] It consisted of mainly electro and techno music along with rap music.[3] Altogether, the soundtrack contained a total of 38 tracks.

# Title Artist(s) Genre Length
01 "Midnight Club Theme" 8-Off Agallah Rap 04:04
02 "Ride Out" 8-Off Agallah & Ike Eyes Rap 03:46
03 "Elements Of Trance (DJ Kim's Reload Mix)" ACM Hard Trance 07:46
04 "Jump Jet" Alpinestars Breakbeat 02:54
05 "Round About Midnight" Antenna Deep House 09:19
06 "Blue Owl'" Art of Trance Trance 09:04
07 "Stealth" Art of Trance Trance 07:11
08 "When I Fall In Love (Strike Acid Dub)" Axus Tech House 08:12
09 "Paranoize (Flip Path Mix)" Bipath Progressive House 07:04
10 "Midnight Club II" Blu Warta Rap 03:37
11 "Simon and Lisa" Blu Mar Ten Ambient 05:36
12 "Home Videos" Blu Mar Ten Ambient 04:52
13 "Electrified" DJ Robert & Martinez Brothers Trance 04:40
14 "Brain 26 (Question Non Vocal Mix)" D-Noiser Acid Techno 06:45
15 "Brain 29 (Demon Of The Church Mix)" D-Noiser Acid Techno 06:43
16 "Brain 30 Brain Train (Psycho Mix)" D-Noiser Acid Techno 06:57
17 "Silverscreen (Shower Scene)" Felix Da Housecat Electro 04:42
18 "Sequel 2 Sub" Felix Da Housecat Electro 03:50
19 "Nix" (Feat. Miss Kittin) Golden Boy Tech House 06:01
20 "It's Good For You To Meet People Like Us" (Feat. Miss Kittin) Golden Boy Tech House 06:42
21 "Syntrax" Jack Henderson Hard Trance 04:13
22 "Roccoco" Kansai Trance 07:49
23 "Space Station" Kinnder Progressive House 07:45
24 "Brain 21: Something For Your Mind (Kaylab Remix)" Michael Da Brain Acid Techno 05:57
25 "Brain 35: Only an Illusion" Michael Da Brain Acid Techno 08:04
26 "Never Could I Have Your Heart" Mistress Barbara vs. Barbara Brown Tech House 06:38
27 "Mirage" Moogroove Tech House 08:26
28 "Aurora" Nokternal Tech House 06:38
29 "Live 135" Patient Zero Electro 04:35
30 "Escaping Sao Paulo" Projections Deep House 06:09
31 "Timeshift" Subtech Tech House 13:42
32 "Extra Dry" Thomas Bangalter Techno 04:57
33 "Outrun" Thomas Bangalter Techno 05:41
34 "Turbo" Thomas Bangalter Techno 04:03
35 "What Is It? (Feat. Masta Ace)" Tommy Tee Hip-Hop/Rap 04:19
36 "G's Up (Feat. Doo Wop)" Tony Touch Rap 03:15
37 "Let's Go" Tre Little Rap 04:23
38 "Put Your Top Down" Tre Little Rap 03:23

Characters

Each character will cruise around the city, waiting for a challenge. This excludes Moses, who helps the player begin the Career Mode, as well as the four champions who will seek you out after all predecessors are beaten. They will talk to the player or "think out loud" during pre-race cut-scenes, during which the player can discover their motives, learn the statistics of their vehicle, and preview each character's theme song.

Character List:

Los Angeles:

Moses, Steven, Maria, Angel, Diego (not mentioned), Gina, Mauro (not mentioned), Hector, Dice (Los Angeles Illegal Street Racing Champion)

Paris:

Blog, Jewel and Julie (twins), Primo, Stephane, Ian, Farid, Owen (not mentioned), Parfait (Paris Illegal Street Racing Champion)

Tokyo:

Ichiro (not mentioned), Shing, Ricky, Haley, Nikko, Zen, Kenichi, Makoto (Tokyo Illegal Street Racing Champion), and Savo (World Illegal Street Racing Champion)

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
PCPS2Xbox
AllGameN/A[4][5]
EGMN/A8.83/10[6]8.5/10[7]
EurogamerN/A9/10[8]8/10[9]
Game InformerN/A9/10[10]9/10[11]
GameProN/A[12][13]
Game RevolutionN/AB[14]N/A
GameSpot7.2/10[15]7.3/10[16]7.9/10[17]
GameSpy[18][19][20]
GameZone8.4/10[21]9/10[22]9.2/10[23]
IGN8.8/10[24]9.1/10[25]8.8/10[26]
OPM (US)N/A[27]N/A
OXMN/AN/A9.3/10[28]
PC Gamer (US)88%[29]N/AN/A
Entertainment WeeklyB+[30]B+[30]B+[30]
The Village VoiceN/A8/10[31]N/A
Aggregate scores
GameRankings84.88%[32]85.85%[33]87.45%[34]
Metacritic81/100[35]85/100[36]86/100[37]

The game was met with positive reception. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it a score of 86% and 85 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version;[33][36] 87% and 86 out of 100 for the Xbox version;[34][37] and 85% and 81 out of 100 for the PC version.[32][35]

Entertainment Weekly gave it a B+ and stated that, "Whether racing against the clock or attempting to beat the other drivers in checkpoint contests, memorizing the maps and finding the many shortcuts is crucial."[30] The Village Voice gave the PS2 version a score of eight out of ten and stated that "The only way [Rockstar] could make [the game] better would be to set it in Boston, where drunks get kicked out of the bars long after the T has shut down, flooding construction-choked highways."[31] Maxim also gave the game a score of eight out of ten and said that "It may not boast garages bloated with the usual name-brand chick magnets you find in other racing games, but the dark racing underbelly of Midnight Club II has every bit as many thrills as the leading grease monkey autopia."[38] However, Playboy gave it 75% and said that, "Touchy controls require precision to avoid wrecking or, even worse, forking over your ride to a Frenchie."[39]

The game has sold 1.28 million copies worldwide on the PlayStation 2 version.

References

  1. ↑ "All 31 of the Midnight Club II Vehicles (with stats).". YouTube. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Midnight Club II Soundtrack Sampler". Discogs. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Midnight Club II Soundtrack page". YouTube. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
  4. ↑ Marriott, Scott Alan. "Midnight Club II (PS2) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  5. ↑ Marriott, Scott Alan. "Midnight Club II (Xbox) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  6. ↑ EGM staff (June 2003). "Midnight Club 2 (PS2)". Electronic Gaming Monthly (168): 111. Archived from the original on March 30, 2004. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  7. ↑ EGM staff (August 2003). "Midnight Club 2 (Xbox)". Electronic Gaming Monthly (170): 116. Archived from the original on March 31, 2004. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  8. ↑ Reed, Kristan (May 7, 2003). "Midnight Club II (PS2)". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  9. ↑ Reed, Kristan (July 7, 2003). "Midnight Club II (Xbox)". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  10. ↑ Kato, Matthew (May 2003). "Midnight Club 2 (PS2)". Game Informer (121): 76. Archived from the original on September 17, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  11. ↑ McNamara, Andy (July 2003). "Midnight Club II (Xbox)". Game Informer (123): 113. Archived from the original on May 28, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  12. ↑ Major Mike (April 14, 2003). "Midnight Club II Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  13. ↑ Dan Elektro (June 3, 2003). "Midnight Club II Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 8, 2005. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  14. ↑ Connor, Angela K. (April 2003). "Midnight Club II Review (PS2)". Game Revolution. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  15. ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (July 18, 2003). "Midnight Club II Review (PC)". GameSpot. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  16. ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (April 10, 2003). "Midnight Club II Review (PS2)". GameSpot. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  17. ↑ Gerstmann, Jeff (June 6, 2003). "Midnight Club II Review (Xbox)". GameSpot. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  18. ↑ Accardo, Sal (July 8, 2003). "GameSpy: Midnight Club II (PC)". GameSpy. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  19. ↑ Williams, Bryn (April 10, 2003). "GameSpy: Midnight Club II (PS2)". GameSpy. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  20. ↑ Williams, Bryn (June 3, 2003). "GameSpy: Midnight Club II (Xbox)". GameSpy. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  21. ↑ Raymond, Justin (July 27, 2003). "Midnight Club 2 - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 3, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  22. ↑ Bedigian, Louis (April 13, 2003). "Midnight Club 2 - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  23. ↑ Romano, Natalie (June 9, 2003). "Midnight Club 2 - XB - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  24. ↑ Butts, Steve (July 3, 2003). "Midnight Club II Review (PC)". IGN. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  25. ↑ Perry, Douglass C. (April 8, 2003). "Midnight Club II (PS2)". IGN. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  26. ↑ Boulding, Aaron (June 4, 2003). "Midnight Club II Review (Xbox)". IGN. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  27. ↑ "Midnight Club 2". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: 82. April 2003. Archived from the original on April 7, 2004. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Midnight Club II". Official Xbox Magazine: 80. August 2003.
  29. ↑ "Midnight Club II". PC Gamer: 102. October 2003.
  30. 1 2 3 4 Robischon, Noah (July 18, 2003). "Driving Forces". Entertainment Weekly (719): 82. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  31. 1 2 Catucci, Nick (June 3, 2003). "Sharp Shooters". The Village Voice. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  32. 1 2 "Midnight Club II for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  33. 1 2 "Midnight Club II for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  34. 1 2 "Midnight Club II for Xbox". GameRankings. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  35. 1 2 "Midnight Club II for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  36. 1 2 "Midnight Club II for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  37. 1 2 "Midnight Club II for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  38. ↑ Boyce, Ryan (April 9, 2003). "Midnight Club II (PS2, Xbox)". Maxim. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  39. ↑ "Midnight Club II (PS2, Xbox)". Playboy: 34. July 2003.

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