Cysquatch
08-25-07, 11:17 AM
http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2007/08/25/ars-at-pax-our-first-look-at-next-generation-midnight-club-impresses
PAX: our first look at next-generation Midnight Club impresses
By Ben Kuchera | Published: August 25, 2007 - 09:51AM CT
"These cars are 100,000 polygons," I'm told at Rockstar's booth. "That's not how many polys you'll see in Maya, that is the actual, in-game count." The man helming the controller dutifully pans around the car to show it off. It is impressive looking, down to the detailed interior. We then put the camera inside the car. Welcome to Midnight Club: Los Angeles and,yes, there is a cockpit view. "This is my favorite way to play," the Rockstar rep tells me, beaming ear to ear.
There is a lot to like about the game, even at this early stage. It was clear that there were a few glitches and unfinished textures, but what was there looked great, and it zipped along at a very solid framerate. "We've had police before, but this time it's dynamic, not scripted," they tell me. You can bring up the standard map from the old Midnight Club games, but now you can zoom all the way out and look down on the city. The new 3D map is solid, and it's even better when you zoom to a race and the camera gives you a helicopter's eye view of the city as you pan to the starting point. "You can also drive there if you want," they say, but I can tell this is something they wanted to show off. Apparently, if you don't go into the garage, you can play the entire game without seeing a single loading screen. Impressive.
The racing itself stresses the illegal street-racing aspect of the Midnight Club series and, when you scream around a corner, the camera slides to one side as if its trying to keep up. Hit the nitrous, and the camera moves to the side of the car and focuses on the driver. This may sound annoying in print, but in action it still gives you a near-perfect view while giving the game a much more cinematic feel. You can also turn this feature off if you like, locking the camera behind the car.
I'm promised a solid framerate on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version of the game. I'm looking at you, EA. I've never been a big fan of the Midnight Club games, although I'm told that Dub Edition moved an amazing 5 million+ copies, but from what I've seen of Midnight Club: Los Angeles, this game is going to be quite the next-generation racer. I'm very impressed.
PAX: our first look at next-generation Midnight Club impresses
By Ben Kuchera | Published: August 25, 2007 - 09:51AM CT
"These cars are 100,000 polygons," I'm told at Rockstar's booth. "That's not how many polys you'll see in Maya, that is the actual, in-game count." The man helming the controller dutifully pans around the car to show it off. It is impressive looking, down to the detailed interior. We then put the camera inside the car. Welcome to Midnight Club: Los Angeles and,yes, there is a cockpit view. "This is my favorite way to play," the Rockstar rep tells me, beaming ear to ear.
There is a lot to like about the game, even at this early stage. It was clear that there were a few glitches and unfinished textures, but what was there looked great, and it zipped along at a very solid framerate. "We've had police before, but this time it's dynamic, not scripted," they tell me. You can bring up the standard map from the old Midnight Club games, but now you can zoom all the way out and look down on the city. The new 3D map is solid, and it's even better when you zoom to a race and the camera gives you a helicopter's eye view of the city as you pan to the starting point. "You can also drive there if you want," they say, but I can tell this is something they wanted to show off. Apparently, if you don't go into the garage, you can play the entire game without seeing a single loading screen. Impressive.
The racing itself stresses the illegal street-racing aspect of the Midnight Club series and, when you scream around a corner, the camera slides to one side as if its trying to keep up. Hit the nitrous, and the camera moves to the side of the car and focuses on the driver. This may sound annoying in print, but in action it still gives you a near-perfect view while giving the game a much more cinematic feel. You can also turn this feature off if you like, locking the camera behind the car.
I'm promised a solid framerate on both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version of the game. I'm looking at you, EA. I've never been a big fan of the Midnight Club games, although I'm told that Dub Edition moved an amazing 5 million+ copies, but from what I've seen of Midnight Club: Los Angeles, this game is going to be quite the next-generation racer. I'm very impressed.