Midnight Club Los Angeles: South Central
12 March sees the arrival of yet another mother-load premium update from Rockstar, on a slightly lesser scale to that of GTAIV: The Lost and Damned.
If Rockstar’s Midnight Club Los Angeles were to carry a bumper sticker, it would probably say “My other game is Grand Theft Auto IV”. But as the original open-world street racer, Midnight Club knows no equal. Its depiction of Los Angeles is on par with the NYC pastiche of GTAIV Liberty City. Not only is it vast, what you see is pretty much photo-realistic. Marques that include Mitsubishi, Ducati, Audi, and Lamborghini are here among 46 licensed vehicles. And you can rough ’em up!
Fans aren’t exactly asking for more, because what exists is already more than sufficient. Nonetheless Rockstar is bringing a South Central premium-upgrade and map expansion, adding areas such as Crenshaw and Compton to the grid. There may not be a story mode to compete with the ground-breaking Lost and Damned DLC for GTAIV, but South Central adds an extra third of LA with Baldwin, Exposition and Huntingdon completing the picture. All of the above is free of charge from 12 March. Just download from PSN or Xbox LIVE Game Marketplace… you’ll need the original MCLA to begin with of course, it’s not that generous!
Meanwhile 800 Microsoft points (£7.99 on PSN) delivers the main event beginning 12 March, comprising nine new vehicles, 26 new races, 12 new battle maps, 10 new Delivery Missions, over 100 new Red Light races; new rims, new body kits, vinyl pre-sets and hydraulics / airbags unlocked for all vehicles… phew!
During our hands-on session earlier this week we raced Crenshaw Boulevard in a ’64 Chevy Impala, and trundled the LA canal system in a Range Rover Sport. Freeways were jam packed, but with ‘under construction’ sections serving as ridiculous ramps from which to launch spectacular jumps, spinning our Mercedes Benz CLK 63 AMG before landing (or hitting a lamp post head on!).
Pedestrians scattered as we took shortcuts across basketball courts and tore up the sidewalks approaching Crenshaw Plaza. Shortcuts were so tight during our ‘South Central Tour’ that we missed half the turns despite plenty of warning from the flares. You might have an idea of the general direction, but races cover unknown territory in South Central littered with obstacles to throw you off course.
The new vehicles and modifications help level the playing field online, where elite players have earned stacks of cash on their pristine motors. Which means it’s all to play for again; the thrill of the chase is well and truly back on!
In case you only want to know one thing: Midnight Club LA South Central is released 12 March and costs 800 Microsoft points (Xbox 360) or £7.99 (PlayStation 3) from their respective online services Xbox LIVE and PSN.
