Midnight Club: Los Angeles - Complete Edition

- Reviewed on PS3 -

Midnight Club: Los Angeles - Complete Edition released on October 12th, 2009. 

Developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games, Midnight Club: Los Angeles - Complete Edition is an open-world, arcade racing title that still has a dedicated fanbase years after its release. 

Rockstar is obviously best known for franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, but after finally spending a good amount of time with this racing game, I can confidently say that they knew exactly how to make driving feel fast, exciting, and rewarding.

This review WILL have Major Spoilers so keep that in mind before continuing...

The plot of Midnight Club: Los Angeles is fairly straightforward. You arrive in Los Angeles with one goal in mind: becoming one of the city's most respected street racers.

Throughout the story you'll meet various racers, earn their respect, unlock new opportunities, and slowly climb your way to the top of the racing scene.

Personally, I thought the story was just alright. The dialogue during many of the cutscenes feels incredibly cheesy, especially with that late 2000's style of writing that hasn't aged the best.

I honestly found myself paying much more attention to the racing itself than the characters or the overall plot. Thankfully, that's where the game truly shines.

One of my favorite aspects of Midnight Club: Los Angeles - Complete Edition is simply driving around the open world.

Instead of constantly selecting races from menus, you can freely cruise throughout Los Angeles, discovering new events, challengers, garages, and shortcuts along the way. It helps make the city feel alive and encourages exploration between races.

The day and night cycle also adds a nice touch to the overall atmosphere. Driving through the city as the sun begins to set or racing through brightly lit streets at night never really got old for me.

Now, onto the gameplay itself.

The driving in this game feels fantastic. The vibration from the PS3 controller, combined with the overall handling of the vehicles, made nearly every race feel immersive.

I also only played this game using the cockpit view. To me, that's easily the best camera option available. Looking through the windshield while weaving through traffic at high speeds made me feel much more connected to the vehicle than using one of the outside camera angles.

Funny enough, this is probably the closest I've personally felt to starring in a Fast & Furious movie while playing a video game. Flying down highways at ridiculous speeds, narrowly avoiding traffic, and constantly fighting for first place made for some very memorable moments.

There are also plenty of different race types to participate in throughout your playthrough.

My personal favorite races were the Highway Races. There's just something about racing at extremely high speeds while trying to avoid regular traffic that creates an intense feeling from start to finish.

Of course, there are several other race types as well, helping keep the gameplay from becoming repetitive as you continue progressing through the story.

While Midnight Club: Los Angeles isn't exactly trying to be a racing simulator, it does introduce several special driving abilities that spice up the gameplay.

Certain vehicles have unique abilities that can temporarily give you an advantage during races. These abilities definitely sacrifice realism, but honestly, I think they make the races much more enjoyable. They create exciting moments without completely taking away from the challenge of winning.

Progression throughout the game also kept me invested.

As your reputation grows, you'll unlock access to new groups of vehicles, giving you more options for future races. Unlocking faster cars and motorcycles always gave me something to work toward, and I enjoyed seeing my collection slowly expand over time.

Speaking of vehicles, the garages were another highlight for me.

Not only can you improve your vehicle's performance with various upgrades, but you can also spend time customizing both the exterior and interior appearance.

Whether it's changing paint colors, wheels, body parts, or improving the engine itself, I always found myself spending extra time making each vehicle feel unique before heading back onto the streets.

The soundtrack is another area where this game succeeds.

There are plenty of memorable songs throughout the game that fit the street racing atmosphere really well. Even then, I sometimes found myself putting on my own music through headphones while driving around Los Angeles, and honestly, that worked just as well.

Cruising around the city with your own playlist almost makes the experience feel even more personal.

One gameplay mechanic I also appreciated was the vehicle damage.

As you continue racing, your vehicle gradually becomes more damaged depending on how reckless you drive. While this won't completely stop you from winning races, it definitely adds another layer of immersion.

Instead of treating every race like a consequence-free sandbox, I found myself being more careful around corners and traffic because I actually wanted to keep my vehicle in decent condition.

That being said, the game isn't without its flaws.

The loading times on the PlayStation 3 can become fairly annoying, especially if you're jumping between multiple races during one session.

Texture and graphical pop-in also happens fairly often while driving through the city. Thankfully, once everything finishes loading, the graphics themselves still look pretty good and never really took me out of the experience.

My biggest complaint, however, is still the story presentation. While becoming the city's top racer is a perfectly serviceable goal, I just never became invested in the characters or their conversations.

Most of the time, I simply wanted the cutscenes to end so I could get back behind the wheel.

In the end, Midnight Club: Los Angeles - Complete Edition is a racing game that focuses on what matters most: making driving enjoyable.

Between the satisfying controls, exciting race variety, immersive cockpit camera, detailed customization, memorable soundtrack, and enjoyable progression system, I had a great time with this title.

The loading times, cheesy dialogue, and forgettable story hold it back from perfection, but if you're looking for an arcade racer that still feels exciting today, then I highly recommend giving Midnight Club: Los Angeles - Complete Edition a try!

Pros: 

    - Excellent Driving Mechanics

    - Immersive Cockpit View

    - Great Soundtrack

    - Fun Vehicle Customization

    - Open World Encourages Exploration

    - Reputation System and Vehicle Progression

    - Variety of Race Types

    - Vehicle Damage Adds Immersion

Cons:

    - Long Loading Times on PS3

    - Frequent Graphical Pop-in

    - Cheesy Dialogue

    - Forgettable Story

My Rating for Midnight Club: Los Angeles - Complete Edition (on PS3):

4 / 5

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Disclaimer

All Reviews, Ratings, Pros, Cons, and Opinions Shared on this Blog (Press A Reviews) are my (Connor Butler) own Thoughts and Feelings.