Midnight Club 3 DUB Edition Remix – XB – Review

The Midnight Club series is one of
Rockstar’s beloved franchises they hold close to their hearts. With every
installment Rockstar takes on step forward with the graphics, gameplay, and even
the audio department. With Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition, they delivered a
stellar title that pleased all the underground racing fans looking for their
quick fix after Need for Speed: Underground. Now, Rockstar is releasing Midnight
Club 3: DUB Edition Remix with new songs, cars and even a level dating back to
Midnight Club 2.

My expectations when I popped in
MC3: Remix was that it was just a brand new shining coat on an older title.
Initially I thought that Rockstar would just throw in a few cars, a couple
songs, and maybe a stage or two. What they provided for all the hardcore car
tuners was 24 new cars, over 20 new songs, and a classic stage from the past
reinvented. While I expected more levels to be introduced in the Remix, what is
currently on the plate isn’t bad at all.

There is very good news for all
those who originally played MC3. If you already own the original Midnight Club
3, you can pop that in and upload the save you want to start where you left off.
If you had finished MC3, well then, you’ll be somewhere around 75% complete with
the game. This still allows you to begin with all the new content rather than
going back to the beginning. The career mode is in-depth with selling and buying
new cars, upgrading current vehicles, and exploring vast cities. The cities are
packed with interesting things to do with finding new races, finding chop shops,
and other various objects to accomplish. Any cars you have bought in the
original will work in the Remix. As for the new cars – here’s a quick rundown of
the top cars licenses they have acquired.

Cadillac has included the infamous
1966 Coupe DeVille which is quite popular for several different musicians to
reference in their songs. The 1970 El Dorado has been added and the series is
one of the longest running personal luxury cars. One of Cadillac’s biggest
additions has to be the Cadillac XLR, which appeared at the 2003 Detroit Motor
Show that I attended. It’s one my favorites due to that I had the ability to sit
in myself.

Four cars have been provided by
Chevrolet. The 1963 Corvette, 1970 Chevelle, Chevy SSR, and the Chevy Cobalt SS
are the newest additions. The Corvette was a gimme since it is “America’s Car,”
while Chevy added in one of the later models of the Chevelle. The Chevy SSR is a
unique addition since it is a convertible pick-up truck (its predecessor was
actually the El Camino). The last car they supplied was the Chevy Cobalt SS. It
is Chevy’s answer to the Honda Civic and Ford Focus. All of Chevy’s additions
are to a certain extent influential on Americans today, so, I have no doubts
that racing fans will be fond of them.

Outside of those additions,
everything practically remains the same. Throwing away the fictional cars in
Midnight Club 2, Rockstar decided to go the route of licensed cars with Midnight
Club 3. There’s the Career mode like I mentioned, an Arcade mode,
Multiplayer/Networking, and a Race Editor mode. The cities you’ll be able to
race through are San Diego, Atlanta, and Detroit. Multiplayer is based around
eight-player matches over Xbox Live or System Link. Online, Tag matches, Capture
the Flag, Paint Mode and Track matches are available to compete in. The online
is comprehensive and is a sweet spot for all those fanatics of pink-slip races.

In the technical department, the visuals of MC3: Remix can be compared to Forza
Motorsport. They push the Xbox to the limit and are polished as I have ever seen
on the Xbox. The computer A.I. in the game will interact with the environment as
will other players. You won’t be the only one destroying the town!
Unfortunately, there are several slowdowns in the framerates when the action
tips to the top of the scale. The other downside of the graphics department is
that the environments aren’t as beautiful as the cars themselves. The audio is
still superb with the soundtrack rivaling Rockstar’s other baby, Grand Theft
Auto. If the soundtrack isn’t to your own liking, you can customize your own
soundtrack with the Xbox.

My overall impression of Midnight
Club 3: DUB Edition Remix is highly positive. It comes in at only $20 and is
worth the Greatest Hits price point. The cars are licensed and give you a reason
to show them off to your friends. Customization is on the simple side of things,
but, delivers several layers of options within the garages placed in the cities.
The online options are adequate enough for any player still playing Halo 2 that
needs a break.

Gameplay: 9.0
There’s nothing out of the ordinary with changes in the gameplay. The real
reason to purchase the Remix is for the new cars, songs and the Tokyo level.

Graphics: 8.6
It is still impressive to this day even when compared to first generation Xbox
360 games. If they had put more time on detailing the cities, this would have
received an even higher score.

Sound: 9.0
The soundtrack is one of the best around. You’ll, of course, be in your car or
on your bike for the most part – music is important for driving around! Rockstar
has provided a well-rounded soundtrack just like they have done in the past with
their other titles.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
If you are new to the Midnight Club series, it may take a little time to pick
up. The game will take about 20 of your hours away to finish this up with the
Tokyo mode added in.

Multiplayer: 8.5
This outperforms other underground racers like Need for Speed and Street Racing
Syndicate with online options. It comes close to being mentioned in the same
breath as Forza and Project Gotham Racing with online superiority.

Overall: 8.6
There are not too many options currently on the Xbox right now. The pipeline has
slowed down with new releases – Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix is the safest
purchase you’ll have this year on the Xbox.