The way Wes Anderson nails understated hipness, the directors at Rockstar Games nail cool. Serving as a pop-counterculture staple alongside Six Feet Under and the latest Beck album, Midnight Club 3 can be added to the short list of must-plays for the urban gaming set.
The cool starts before pedal even finds metal. While the competition dumps you behind the wheel of a generic Honda Civic or a bunk VW Beetle, Midnight Club 3 will have you settled into a '64 Chevy Impala reminiscent of Boyz N The Hood, or a snarling '78 Monte Carlo that'll have you feeling tougher than Denzel Washington in Training Day.
Once the "go" sign is given, the chaos of racing begins. Forget closed courses; almost all of the races here are of the free-for-all variety, leading through massive urban sprawls—San Diego, Detroit, and Atlanta all represent. The goal is to get to a series of ordered checkpoints, but how you get there is your business. Along your chosen route, expect to topple dozens of streetlights, disintegrate the efforts of Arbor Day, and ruin the rides of law-abiding commuters. If you play long enough, you can even unlock special moves: Agro mode is a daydream for road-ragers, allowing you to plow through traffic without losing momentum.