One of the three cities could have been taken out, some lighting effects could have been toned down, the unnecessary FMVs wouldn't be missed. Sacrifices could have been made to ensure the load times wouldn't be as crippling. Just because it mimics the console version well doesn't immediately make it of equal quality. The PSP version of MC3 is virtually identical to the console version in almost every way, except for the load times and slight graphical differences. Sure, the graphics are a little jagged every now and then, and the 'slip stream turbo' effect isn't as sharp, but it's not a huge difference by any means. Load times notwithstanding, Rockstar has actually fit everything from the console versions onto the PSP. Considering a lot of races don't even take that long, it's fair to say that you're waiting for the game to load more than you play it. If that wasn't enough, the pre-race load is even more awful, generally clocking in at almost a minute and a half. Twenty seconds would be a considerable load going into a race, the fact that it takes that long to scroll to the next vehicle is utterly unacceptable. Read that sentence again, and think about how long that is, especially considering that all you're trying to do is look at another car. The only problem is, it takes TWENTY SECONDS just to look at another car. Pretty much any racing game on the market has a Car Select screen, right? Well, so does Midnight Club 3.

Ridiculous doesn't seem like an appropriate enough term to describe the length of these load times. Midnight Club 3 for the PSP is one of the only games I've ever played that has had the entire gameplay experience ruined because of the usually small issue of load times. There's one problem, though and it's a huge one. The cities are just as big, there are just as many cars, and the extensive soundtrack is still intact.

It seems that very little has been left out from the games' console big brothers. With the PSP version of MC3, Rockstar has succeeded on some levels. For a detailed explanation of gameplay mechanics, modes, and other information about the general game layout, please refer to my original review ( Click for review). I'll be focusing on the differences between the two versions in this review. The cities were open-ended, there were tons of cars to choose from, and the gameplay rivaled the breakneck racing of Burnout 3 in terms of sheer fun factor. It proved itself to be an incredibly fun, fast-paced, and extremely customizable racing experience. Back in April, I had the pleasure of reviewing Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition for the Xbox.

Midnight club 3 dud