MY VIEW
Games: 'Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition'

By Jeremy Castillo
Special to The Advertiser

The Verdict: THE RATINGS 5 — Outstanding: Add it to your collection now. A must-have. 4 — Great: Buy it or rent it — definitely play it. 3 — Good: Worth playing despite some flaws. 2 — Fair: Unless you're a fan of the license or series, don't bother. 1 — Poor: You'd have more fun playing Pong.

Console: PlayStation 2 (also for Xbox, coming to PSP).

Developer/publisher: Rockstar Games.

Genre: Racing.

Number of players: 1-2 players; 8 online.

ESRB: E10+, for crude language and violence.

Premise: Hit the streets looking for races to earn money and bulk up the collection in your garage.

Game play: "Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition" is Rockstar Games' latest entry into the ever-popular racing genre. With competition from Sony's "Gran Turismo 4" and EA's "Need For Speed: Underground 2," it would have been easy for the developers to add minor tweaks, buffers and polishes, then call it a sequel. Luckily, they didn't do that.

There are still only three cities to race around in: San Diego, Atlanta and Detroit. But this time, there are a lot of hidden detours and jumps for racers, as well as hidden Rockstar icons that unlock prizes. Game play is backed by an electric soundtrack of rap and rock songs by artists from Trick Daddy to Reel Big Fish.

The game's main selling point is the career mode. Much like NFSU2, you start off with one car and are required to drive around looking for other racers' challenges to win prize money and street cred. Most of the challenges are checkpoint races, but point-to-point and timed races also are thrown in the mix.

When you have enough money, you can go back to your garage to customize your car with options varying from color to decals. There are also 60 vehicles at your disposal — after you earn the dinero to drive them, of course — from the H2 Hummer and the Volkswagen Golf to, interestingly enough, the Kawasaki Ninja. Other cars, such as the '68 Corvette Stingray or the 1998 Toyota Supra, must be won through races.

An arcade racer through and through, "Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition" is not a realistic driving game, nor does it try to be. What the game thrives on is the cartoonish nature of the racing, filled with slow-motion crashes, big jumps in the middle of city streets and cars with special abilities. Yes, you read that right. Cars with special abilities.

The good/bad: One thing that racing-game vets will notice is that there's a realistic difficulty level in this game. For instance, if you have a big enough lead in the first-place position and keep it steady, there won't be any magical catching up by your opponents.

Another great feature is the cruise mode. Not only is it the best way to find each city's hidden nooks and crannies that are important shortcuts during races, but you'll be able to drive any unlocked car and cause any amount of destruction to your vehicle and the surrounding environment.

Tips: Win all 13 tuner race tournaments to unlock the Nissan Skyline, a special built-for-racetrack model that is not street legal in Hawai'i.

My take: Motorcycles racing Hummers, a mode with possibly endless destruction and cars with superpowers ... that's what Rockstar brings to the table with this excellent, near-perfect racing game.

Jeremy Castillo is a student at Windward Community College.