| | Los Angelenos
Midnight Club II, from Rockstar Games, puts you in the driver's seat in a series of ever-more-difficult races—in a furious single-player Career mode or against other gamers on Xbox Live. If you're going to set the online world on fire with your burning rubber, you'll need to excel in the single-player game, which lets you unlock new cars as well as learn the city layout like the back of your hand. One of the single-player game's coolest features is the fact that, within each of the game's three cities (Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo), you get to cruise around looking for another racer, call one out, and throw down on the streets right then and there.
It's important to know who you're ready to race, however. Early on, some opponents will simply be beyond your starter car's abilities, and you might find yourself running the same race over and over with no real hope of winning. To help point you toward the right racing opponents, we've put together a closer look at the members of Midnight Club L.A. (where you will face your first challenges) and the races they'll lead you into.
When the green flag drops ...
Moses
The closest thing you've got to a friend in the Club (until you meet Gina), Moses is a big jolly guy who will talk trash with the best of them—but he'll also take time out from calling you names to show you the ropes.
The first race is a trial run. You'll stay on one road the whole way; just keep the gas down, avoid traffic, and you should be fine. The second race forces you to jump streets in mid-race, which is a good skill to learn for later races. Beat Moses twice, and you'll win his car. Moses, meanwhile, will pop in to dispense advice and more jibes as the game goes on. He's not much of a mentor, but he's better than nothing.
Steven
To my surprise, this isn't the old Dell spokesman, but in his own way, he's just as obnoxious. Your first race against Steven is a great place to find jumps and shortcuts in town. The second introduces the concept of the free-for-all race, where checkpoint markers can be hit in any order. 
Choking on civilian exhaust.
Maria
This little tart's got quite a mouth on her, but she's all hot air. She can be tricky to take early, though, when you've still got a fairly unimpressive ride. The first race is a blast of speeding and traffic-weaving that will take you out on the freeway (watch for that last turn—it can sneak up on you). The second race is full of sharp corners and shortcuts, so watch your speed and go for handling when choosing a car.
Hector
Maria's older bother is a racer as well and will lead you on a chase from the cops in his first race. The second race introduces you to rain-slicked streets and the handling thereof, while the third race gives you access to slipstream turbo, wherein you build up your meter by riding in another car's tailwind. 
The biggest, but slowest, of slipstreams.
Angel
He's anything but—a snot-nosed punk, who calls his daddy for help when things aren't going his way. The first race is a tricky high-speed challenge, where once again, the checkpoints can come in any order. The second is a fairly short drag race, but in the car you're likely to be driving, that's tougher than it sounds. The last Angel race hits you with vision-obscuring fog and a long winding track. Look for shortcuts.
Gina
Gina is noteworthy for two reasons: one, she actually tries to give you a little encouragement, and two, she introduces you to motorcycles. The first race is pretty straightforward and earns you the right to race against motorcycles in race two. When you beat the bikes, you'll win one, just in time for race three, which lets you take your new crotchrocket out for a test cruise.
Dice
The best racer in L.A. (until he met you, of course), Dice will be the toughest challenge in this part of the game—he's got speed and more than enough skill to put you away repeatedly. For both races, you must take advantage of shortcuts, slipstream turbo, and everything else you've learned; Dice's race tracks are insanely twisted (literally). But, if you top him in the second race, you get his car, and you're ready to jet off to gay Paree. By Ben Barker |
