Ported, scaled, reduced, sacrificed, compromised, adapted – these are all contextually negative terms associated with a games released across an array of platforms. Titles designed exclusively for the PSP are usually received far better than their compromised cousin-to-console counterparts. Ported software can either adapt and tailor itself to the system specs and control options inherent to the PSP, or suffer a careless conversion and conform to the traditional terrible-port stigma, Midnight Club: LA Remix benefits from a slightly different title and entirely different development studio than its 360/PS3 peers and, having just reviewed the 360 version, I was curious if said adjustments would help LA Remix break free from the adverse stigma of ports.
Rebuild, Not Rehash
The setting and context of LA Remix is nearly identical to its big brother. You’re the new guy in town and you need to combine your love for illegal street racing with your human desire to make new friends. Thankfully all the other hot looking cars in the area are wise to your game, thus providing you with a wealth of checkpoint theme races across Los Angeles and (exclusive to the PSP) Tokyo. The scale and size of the cities are drastically reduced from their console incarnations, labeling them as anything other than Generic Metropolis is a stretch, but there are a handful of recognizable landmarks scattered throughout.
While basic game open world game design remains the same as the console games, Rockstar London seems to have taken a different approach with LA Remix. Though the map was reduced to better suit the hardware, the game still handles it’s variety of race modes with finesse. Glorified checkpoint races, choose your own adventure routes, delivery missions (where you lose points for damaging the car), time trials, and series races are available at your leisure. Finishing in any position nets some experience points, with the greater amount obviously being toward lower numbers. Gaining experience levels you up, which grants you access to more powerful (and all real) cars and bikes, harder races, and different challenges. Cops though not as aggressive as one would expect, are still present to further complicate your fondness for illegal vehicular activity.
Perhaps the biggest change is in the difficulty level. The controller-throwing madness of the console version appears to have been drastically reduced to something more manageable. Race “missions” are still identified by a green (easy), yellow, (challenging), red (hard) measure, but the AI no longer seems to be a relentless bastard and the instant-catch-up rubberbanding isn’t as drastic. Yes, this makes the game considerably easier and much shorter, but a quicker play through helps conceal the inevitable feelings that, essentially, you’re doing the same thing over and over again.
Repetition isn’t necessarily a reproach, but it is a love it or hate it aspect inherent to most racing games. How do you keep the game fresh when the basic mechanics involve harder versions of the exact same thing? LA Remix addresses this problem with some tricky driving maneuvers to enhance the general insanity of high speed racing. Turbo boosts, gained from drafting your opponent for a few seconds, help level the playing field, as do the nitrous and two-wheel driving options. Of greater interest is the hilariously unrealistic but wildly entertaining abilities specific to some car models, including being able to engage in bullet time, having an invincible car, and being able to part traffic just as Moses purportedly parted the Red Sea.
A common ground shared between LA Remix and console Midnight Club iterations is the developer’s focus on creating a game that is, quite simply, fun to play. In both games the sense of speed is exhilarating, which is paramount to delivering a thrilling experience. LA Remix might not have the traffic, pedestrians, ground, or high resolution backdrops of its counterpart, but the quality of play, relative to what else is available on the hardware, is on the same level for both games.
Reengage
Multiplayer is another area with LA Remix really hits its stride, assuming you have some friends with copies of the game. Though its ad-hoc only, modes such as standard racing, capture the flag, tag, and the intriguing paint (which has you scrambling to cover checkpoints all over the city) offer a lot of promise in the way extended play. Additional abilities, like invisibility, disabling your opponent’s brakes, and messing with their view are available and help add to the party like atmosphere of multiplayer.
Control is one facet of the PSP hardware that developers, nearly four head scratching years later, still haven’t seemed to crack. Thankfully, Rockstar London has found a way to avoid the traditional pitfalls associated with the loss of an analogue stick and some shoulder buttons. The analogue nub conducts the vehicles smoothly, giving you just enough control to react with split second precision necessary for avoiding a seemingly endless amount of obstacles. The handbrake, perhaps your most useful tool other than the gas, is mapped awkwardly in just about any configuration, but it’s a minor complaint. The absence of the right stick, which allowed you to check your left, right, and rear, has been addressed with the addition a line indicator of where someone behind you is located.
LA Remix looks awesome. The architecture generates a feeling of sameness and the pop in occasionally rears its ugly head, but the car models look amazing and, most importantly, the frame rate is locked in place. Arcade style racers thrive on speed, and Rockstar London never forgot that when they created LA Remix. I couldn’t be 100% sure if the entire soundtrack from the console version carried over, but I still heard tunes from Nine Inch Nails, Gliss, Bloc Party, and a wealth of other solid tracks over the course of the game. The music occasionally gets buried under the constant jabbering of your friends, but the selection is still impressive.
