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Product:
Midtown Madness The Features and The Basics Microsoft hit us with yet another racing game, this time in the form of Midtown Madness. Combining racing, urban navigation and a large scale map to fully explore. As the player you main aim is to get to the end of the course before your opponents, this means driving through roads, shortcuts, neighborhoods and even smashing through some buildings. Here are run down of the games features: Adrenaline-Pumping
Gameplay - Midtown Madness is
the first vehicular racing game to render a "virtual Chicago,"
including over a 100km of roads, city landmarks, pedestrians, changing
weather conditions, a 'live' police system, dozens of shortcuts and
hundreds of interactive objects (from working bridges to parking
meters). Five types of racing scenarios, including Explore/roam,
Waypoint, Blitz, Circuit and Online Cops & Robbers provide hours of
gameplay.
Wide Assortment of
Cars - Race in a cool
collection of 9+ licensed vehicles - from exotic race cars to
semi-trucks - each with incredibly accurate physics, damage modeling and
unique strengths for navigating city streets.
Wide Open Racing
- Midtown Madness features exciting racing scenarios with no fixed
tracks to restrict you. Create your own best course with virtually
unlimited shortcuts and routes through the city.
Multiplayer
Capability - Challenge up to 8
opponents online via the MSN Gaming Zone (msn.zone.com) or race on your
own against an intelligent AI in single play. Installation and
In-Game Options Installation is simple -
as it should be for a Microsoft title on Windows 98. Auto play begins
and you decide where you would like the game to install and that is
pretty much it. Once loaded you are
greeted with a few options: Quick
Race - Choose Quick Race to bypass most Setup
steps and get right into the driver’s seat. Just pick a vehicle and
go! Single
Player - You have lots of options for all
kinds of racing, including just cruising around the city! Multiplayer
- When you’re in Multiplayer mode you can compete against your friends
in Checkpoint Races, Blitz Races, and Circuit Races. And in Multiplayer
Cruise mode, you can explore the city with your friends. These
Multiplayer games are nearly identical to their Single Player
counterparts. Race
Records - Just what it says. You’ve got lots of
choices in both Single Player and Multiplayer games. In Single Player
mode, you can choose between Checkpoint Races, Blitz Races, Circuit
Races, and the Cruise mode. You can also set the difficulty level and
create or load vehicle drivers complete with profiles. In Multiplayer,
you can play lots of different types of games with other people. Gameplay Midtown
Madness is all about getting to the end of each course by any means
necessary and before you opponent. With each race you are able to select
a different type of vehicle that will suit the environment around you,
for example, if you want to have a vehicle which is likely to stay in
one piece throughout the whole level then choose a bus, but be warned
that it is damn slow. To begin
with there is a choice of two courses (There is only one map). Once you
complete a course by finishing in a certain position (Usually the top
three) then more courses and more vehicles are unlocked for you.
Although I don't think this is the best decision for a racing game, it
does help give you an added incentive to complete courses. Racing in
Midtown Madness is easy to get the hang of thanks to the first couple of
courses really being training runs before the action really heats up
later on. While racing around the city you come up against a number of
city environments that try to slow you down, they include traffic: the
cars actual follow the road laws by stopping at traffic lights and
driving down the correct lanes. Police who
chase after you at every opportunity you give them, once they catch up
with you they will do everything they can to smash you off of the road
and then arrest you. In the event that you smash into any of the
oncoming traffic then damage starts to show up on your vehicle, if you
crash into enough cars then your vehicle will turn into a steaming wreak
and your game will end. The game
is fast paced and fun throughout, you don't have to take specific paths
to complete courses, it's pretty much a free for all. Multiplayer I've
managed to play a few games of Midtown Madness over the internet, mainly
via the Internet Gaming Zone. The first thing I noticed was that there
is no other traffic in the multiplayer mode. Admittedly it could cause a
little lag, but I'm sure an option to switch it on wouldn't have gone
amiss. Cops & Robbers is fun, but not as good as old fashion racing. Graphics & Sound How It
Grades Midtown Madness doesn't
have the most eye shattering graphics, lighting or special effects, but
it does do the job it was brought in to do - show off the lock and feel
of a real life city. Midtown Madness helps bring the city of Chicago to
life on your PC, citizens, vehicles and buildings are all well designed
and the differences in vehicle designs are clearly visible. While the sound effects
are pretty good throughout the games levels with smashes and horns all
over the place, the commentator does get a little repetitive as always
in these types of game. I was left a little disappointed with the CD
streamed music, I just felt that it didn't go well enough with the game,
which is a little strange as most Microsoft racing games have perfect
music to go with the gameplay. Final Comments Midtown Madness just about
has the perfect balance between realism and fun. There are a few minor
quibbles due to the fact that you have to complete certain races before
you can unlock other vehicles and courses but all in all another
excellent racers from Microsoft...Roll on Monster Truck Madness 3. |
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