But anyway, clearly Brendan and the rest of us weren't the only ones to have enjoyed it, as now Rockstar has decided to unleash a revised version, complete with the imaginative title of Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Remix. To be frank, it's rather a small, piffling remix - there's now the chance to race through Tokyo (which, it should be noted, you could do in Midnight Club 2), 24 new vehicles, as well as a smattering of new races and battle maps. Not a vast amount in the way of change then (we'd hazard a guess at an extra five or six hours in gameplay terms), but the budget price tag means this new-ish edition is worth a look. And heck, it's a lot better than the usual Platinum re-releases, which usually arrive with zero improvements.
The Career mode is again the meat of the sandwich, and sees players zipping through the streets of San Diego, Atlanta and Detroit. The structure of the game follows a well-trodden path: win race A to snag money and unlock new car mods, beat racer B to win money, cars and to open tournament C, win tournament C to win more cars, rinse, repeat. It's not trail-blazingly original, but it keeps you glued, particularly when you realise that modding your cars is SURPRISINGLY BRILLIANT FUN. Seriously. We're a tiny bit ashamed to admit that we spent just over an hour jazzing up our first car, flicking through paint jobs, dozens of different spoilers, vinyls, decals, undercar lighting and whatnot. Naturally, there's also the chance to fiddle with the innards of the car as well - the transmission, engine etc. - but it was the cosmetic stuff we spent an unhealthy amount of time on. Ultimately wasted time? Perhaps, but there's an undeniable appeal to this kind of customisation.
Gentility, elegance, modesty. This game has none of those.
Once out on the roads, things are as solid as ever, not to mention very, very rapid. Even with our first car, a Class D vehicle, the streets of Tokyo flew past at a considerable rate of knots. To an even greater degree than fellow Very Quick Racersâ„¢ Burnout and F-Zero GX, you'll play most of MC3: DER perched on the edge of your chair, desperately trying to ensure you don't fly past another turn. Where Burnout and F-Zero GX gave you plenty of wide highways and long, sweeping curves, MC3: Remix presents cities packed with winding, narrow allies and backstreets.
They're almost a little too intricate in parts, and a handful of the later races will see you crashing head-on into walls, or speeding past checkpoints as you were travelling too quickly to notice the corner you were supposed to negotiate. Consequently, completing these tracks becomes a case of trial and error, replaying and memorising the checkpoints and turns, which perhaps isn't as ideal as it should be. That said, the checkpoints are always clearly marked, whilst the bright orange arrow that guides you about the cities is never inaccurate, Ã la Crazy Taxi 2.
But despite this need to "learn" the odd track, there's no doubting one thing: Just like MC3, Remix is very, very easy. Indeed, a good 70% of the tracks will see players finishing in top spot on the first run-through, largely thanks to the fact that your car always seems to be able to catch up with those in front, particularly on straights. As a result, the sense of achievement found in most racing games from taking a corner expertly is non-existent, and whilst the lifespan of the title is inflated slightly by the fact that there's a huge hoard of unlockables to obtain, it's hard to see the majority of players sticking around for the 30-40 hours it takes to truly complete the game, particularly when the game presents players with such a limp-wristed challenge. It's surely the weakest aspect of the title.
A snap of what your money will be paying for: Tokyo, in all its garish glory.
There's no doubt about the strongest part though, for once again a Rockstar studio has churned out a game with fantastic sound. It's not just the meatiness of the engine effects or surprisingly credible voice-acting that elevates the game, either. Crucially, there's also a fantastic soundtrack. Straddling rock, hip-hop and techno, the majority of the songs here are ideal accompaniments to speeding through neon-lit Tokyo at 190mph in your Lotus Elise. Of course they're not what everybody likes to listen to in their spare time, but that's not the point - for this game, they're perfect. Admittedly, when it comes to the cut-scenes there's an awful lot of the "hey yo, daddy-o, get down yo fool shizzle nizzle" lingo that goes hand in hand with the street racing genre, but aside from that, it's difficult to complain. It's certainly never as cringeworthy as the DJs in Burnout, for example.
Worth a punt then? Well, if you had the first Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition, then probably not, unless you're a serious fan. Even when placed at a budget price, the extra vehicles, city, races and battle maps aren't quite enough to earn our recommendation. But, if you are a new arrival, picking up this cheaper, tuned-up model comes fully recommended. Burnout 3: Takedown aside, street racing doesn't come much finer.
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