Though its origins are disputed, the racing game genre can definitely trace its roots all the way back to the early 1970s, meaning that racing games have been in existence just as long as the video game medium as a whole. Over the last five decades, the racing game genre has naturally evolved quite a bit, going from top-down racers to rudimentary Mode 7 titles to some of the most graphically-impressive, realistic games on the market. But as the racing genre has continued to evolve, it's started to lose its variety, and that's where a Midnight Club reboot could come into play.
Debuting in the year 2000, Midnight Club is a series of racing games developed by Rockstar San Diego, the same studio behind the Red Dead Redemption series. But unlike Red Dead, Midnight Club trades realistic physics systems for pure high-octane arcade action, an approach that isn't often seen in the modern-day racing genre. It may need some work, but a Midnight Club reboot could be exactly what the racing game genre needs right now.
A Midnight Club Reboot Could Rejuvenate the Modern Racing Game Genre
To many racing game fans, the genre really hit its peak in the early-mid 2000s. Though, as mentioned up top, racing games had been prevalent since the advent of gaming, the genre really started to find its footing with the PS1-era of consoles. Titles like Ridge Racer and Gran Turismo brought the racing genre into the modern age, with tight and intuitive controls, impressive graphics, and a handful of complex optional systems that finally resembled a racing simulator. With games like these laying the groundwork, the next console generation was finally able to deliver the best of what the racing genre had to offer.
The PlayStation 2 and original Xbox saw an abundance of racing games hit the system, many of which have gone on to be considered some of the greatest racing games ever made. Xbox had its Project Gotham Racing series, and saw the debut of the long-running Forza Motorsport series, while the PlayStation 2 had Gran Turismo. Both consoles shared a vast array of other beloved titles, ranging from Need For Speed to Burnout to the main subject itself, Midnight Club.
All of this is to say the racing game market in the early-mid 2000s was incredibly varied. Fans had their pick of realistic simulators, arcade racers, destruction derbies, and everything in between. The current racing market isn't quite as varied. As technology continues to become more and more impressive, most racing game devs seemingly only want to create the most realistic simulators possible, with both Gran Turismo 7 and the upcoming Forza Motorsport spending a great deal of their marketing discussing technical features like lighting shaders, weather effects, reflections, and audio design. And while these games are incredibly impressive, they're not for everyone, but the Midnight Club series is.
The Midnight Club series cared only about putting the high-octane action of street racing directly in the player's hands, so while its graphics may not be the most impressive out there, its gameplay is sure to satisfy. Midnight Club sees players work their way up from just an average street racer with a souped-up hatchback to a racing champion, slowly progressing through a series of pink slip races, and participating in a range of acrade-y side activities like Capture the Flag. The Midnight Club series only really consists of three entries, with a number of ports and enhanced editions coming between each one, and it'd be great to see those three games get combined in a fully-fledged modern-day remake. Though these games may need a new lick of paint, their gameplay is pretty spot on, and it could be exactly the type of game the genre needs to undergo a refresh.