Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition

"Rollin on Dubs"

Rockstar's debut onto the PSP is filled with stylish, exotic cars, big rims, and massive landscapes. If you have a need for speed, Midnight Club III: Dub Edition may satisfy you, but not without a few speed bumps.

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Graphics [8/10]
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First off, the graphics are simply fantastic, one of the best the PSP has seen to date. The game impressively handles the large city landscapes quite well, with virtually nonexistent slowdown though there is NPC traffic. The car models are fantastic, and highly detailed, along with the beautiful scenery. However, when it comes to a "sense of speed", the game seems to lack it. You could be cruising at 150mph and it would look like you're only going 50 or so. Beyond a lack of true "sense of speed", MCIII is a marvel.

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Controls [10/10]
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The controls are very easy to learn and are fairly intuitive.You steer using the analog plate, shuffle through songs using the directional buttons, as well as look back or flash your brights (used to initiate challenges against other racers). X is used for acceleration, square for your nitrous boost (if your car is equipped with them), triangle for reverse/break, circle for slowdown (consider it a racing "bullet-time"), R for handbrake, and L plays with your cars weight (like throwing your car onto two wheels, and controlling your car in mid-air). All in all, I have no complaints with the controls, everything's all good.

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Sound [9/10]
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Rockstar decided to not go the route of generic racing music and used "actual" songs. The track listings are more weighed onto the hip-hop/techno genres (featuring artists like The Game, 50 Cent, Ying Yang Twins, Fat Joe, etc), though there are also a few scattered rock songs (featuring artists like NIN, Queens of the Stone Age, Marylin Manson, etc). If you would prefer to listen to a specific genre, you can select one in the options menu. In the end it all works out.

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Gameplay [7/10]
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When it comes to illegal street racing, it's all about finding the right paths, and exploiting them (having a mean machine couldn't hurt, either). In the game's three major cities (Atlanta, San Diego, and Detroit), there are tons of pathways and roads to take, though the game tends to try to lead you on one specific path using road markers. Races won't just be given to you, though. You'll have to drive around and scout, though they are most certainly NOT hard to find. You can race other rivals by hunting them down and flashing your brights, or you can race in tournaments scattered throughout the three cities. Don't feel like going through more than one race? You can do single races scattered all over the place. In the end, it's all about cash and pride...well...more so about cash. While single races will earn you quick cash, racing rivals and doing tournaments will rake in the dough.

What would you do with all that money? Why "pimp your ride", of course! MCIII absolutely SHINES when it comes to car customization. You can do so much, it's crazy. You can fix almost all aspects of your ride, in terms of performance or looks (note: some cars, namely the more "exotic" ones, cannot be changed physically. Example: Dodge Viper GTS-R, Lotus Elise, etc). Don't like the stock spoiler? Ditch it and get a new one. Car seems to bare? Slap some decals on that thing. Hell, you can even customize the license plates! It's that deep.

However, with all the beauties of the game, there are a scars. The biggest, most crippling one is the loading times. They are just ridiculous. Average loading times between cities and races is well beyond two or so minutes. Granted, you won't have the bear through the loading when restarting races, but going on to new ones or going through cities will take you a long time. It's ridiculous how bad it can be. You will spend less than a minute finding a race, then spend two minutes loading, then finally race, then win, then go through the long loads AGAIN. If you have the patience, MCIII will most definitely reward you, but if you lack it, then you will easily be turned off (or you'll think your PSP froze).

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Conclusion
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MCIII:DE is a fantastic racer scarred by horrible loading times. However, it's impossible to say MCIII is NOT a fine racer. It very much is. If you've got the itch for illegal street racing, MCIII will scratch it. Oh, it will scratch it.

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Score:

Graphics [8/10]
Controls [10/10]
Sound [9/10]
Gameplay [7/10]
Replay [10/10]
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Overall [8/10] (based on average)

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/09/05