Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition

"Off the road Granny!"

If you've played any other Midnight Club game then you know teh basics of this one. You're a newcomer street racer (fabulously illegal of course) and you get to roll around unlockable cities challenging other racers you meet. But MC3: DUB Edition expands on this formula ina number of ways. First of all gone are the nameless vehicles of past MC games. Every car and motorcycle is a real licensed vehicle and its not just your average tuners and sport bikes either MC3 adds SUVs, trucks, muscle cars, luxury sedans (try explaining to your Dad how you turned his 90K Mercedes into a ball of flame on Suicide Ridge...), and choppers to the mix. Oh and they are all customizable. All the cash you earn in the game will go toward buying new rides and tricking them out with rims body kits, and engine parts from real manufacturers, as well as custom paint jobs and designs courtesy of recommendations from the people over at DUB Magazine (hence the DUB Edition title). And another new addition is the special ability of each class of vehicle. Tuners and sport bikes have Zone with slows down time and allows for precise control. Truck/SUVs and luxury sedans have aggro which turns them into tanks for about 10 seconds. Muscle cars and choppers have Roar which sends out an intimidating engine blast that makes NPC traffic and racer alike scatter in fear.

Graphics 8/10

Rawr! Watch the PSP flex some tiny handheld graphical muscle. All the cars in the racing vehicles in the game are beautiful, and the cities are large, well lit, and with no pop up as you drive thru. The overall sense of speed is a good one, but if you've played the console version you'll notice the difference and you if you haven't well... ignorance is bliss :) The only downsides for the the fact that there is a damage meter but the most damage you'll see on your ride is a lil black smoke and sometimes you dont see oncoming traffic till you're slamming head first into em..

Sound 7/10

Sound in the game is good screeching tires, revving engines and all that. choppers sound really choppy though even when you're going full speed and all the trucks sound the same. The games sound track is provided various recording artists and is a very good eclectic mix of hip-hop, dancehall, rock, and techno tracks. Oh everything sounds better if you play with headphones on. Really it does...

Control 8/10

You steer with the analog stick for more precise movements, but if you're a clutz like me using the weight transfer on bikes I always seem to end up doing wheelies when I dont want to. All the vehicle classes control distinctly. Tuners are light and speedy with excellent cornering. Muscle cars heavy beasts who can drift outta control if your not careful. Trucks/SUVs control like muscle cars except they can power thru traffic like tanks and SUVs tend to roll over alot... The bikes can be frustrating till you get used to them so expect to see your rider and bike go flying in different directions very often...

Gameplay 9/10

Cities are large and free roaming and you can go anywhere you please to explore to find jumps and just to familiarize your self with each city. Most of the races are checkpoint races and you can take any path you like to get to them as long as you do it in order so getting to know the city in cruise mode is important. There are plenty of races in each city highlighted on each map and when you've challenged and defeated certain racers car clubs for their type of car class appear so you can win more parts unlock the special abilities, customizations. There are also city tournaments worth lots of cash and usually with a vehicle as the final prize, usually in time to qualify racing against a car club that has just invited you to race. And since you need cash to pimp your ride there a number of quickie city races scattered around so your pockets will never be empty. There are also collectibles in each city with unlock flags so more incentive to explore the city.

Conclusion

Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition is a must for any street racer enthusiast. Tight controls, challenging races, and you can pimp out your ride to your hearts content as well as bopping your head to a killer soundtrack will keep you entertained for hours. Whether on the road or just at home this game is highly addictive. i lost count of the number of times the batteries have run out on me and I haven't touched my PS2 in weeks... With only a few minor technical problems the PSP version stacks up well with its console counterparts.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/14/05