Category: PS & PC Games → Midnight Club II

Midnight Club II is the first sequel to Midnight Club: Street Racing, published for the Xbox, Microsoft Windows, and PlayStation 2. Players race through cities inspired by Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo. The game also features an online multiplayer component.

Gameplay

Races consist of a series of checkpoints, represented by columns of light. In some 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 other races the checkpoints may be cleared in any order. In that case, the arrow points to the nearest checkpoint.

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 starts to overheat and the race is immediately lost.

The game features a damage model. 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. 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 a new car.
[edit] Multiplayer

Although the game is a few years old now, many fans of the franchise still play it via multiplayer. CTF (Capture the Flag) was the most appreciated (and still is) form of racing within the game.