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Midtown
Madness ©
Microsoft
Driving
games have always been some of my favorite video games, so I was
pre-disposed to have fun when I started this game up. Usually a given
driving game is either geared toward fun, or toward simulation. As
should come as no surprise from the name, Midtown Madness is
primarily geared toward the former ideal; however, it does contain a
few elements of the latter as well.
The
main thrust of the game is a hell-bent dive through city streets,
testing a set of abilities half comprised of racing reactions and
half of survival skills. After a while, you get to know the ins and
outs of the streets, and you can start making your own routes to the
finish; anything goes, as long as you pass the checkpoints...and
sometimes its not even that, depending on the race type.
The
game also provides a "cruise mode" wherein you can drive
randomly about the city, without the constantly ticking timer at the
top. Some of the best mayhem in the game is to be had in this mode,
as your fellow motorists, the police, and pedestrians (if selected in
the Options menu) are all equally at your mercy as you cavort
pell-mell in a nearly indestructible vehicle. My only gripe about
this mode was that I couldn't find anywhere to catch air. After
you've flipped cars long enough, it's the next logical step. Oh well,
it's a practice mode, can't complain too much.
As
with any decent driving game, don't expect to get the most out of
this game if you don't have a steering wheel. Joysticks are almost as
good -- and they're far better than the mouse or keyboard -- but it's
not the same. You'll have a hard time for quite a while with some of
the sharp high-speed turns if you're trying to corner with a
keyboard. The graphics themselves were good; about par for the course
of what we've come to expect from 3D-rendered scenery these days. The
audio (mostly sounds of crunching metal) was satisfying for the most
part. Nothing exploded while I was playing, which was a little
disappointing. There's an announcer who eggs you on during the races
(or sometimes chides you if you come in last), and his cliche' New
York accent (although the person may well actually be from New York)
can sometimes get a little repetitive.
Midtown
Madness probably won't go down in history like Pole Position,
Cruisin' USA or Daytona, but all in all, this is a good game; the
city in which it's set is large enough to be interesting, the crashes
are satisfying, the racing is exciting. Just don't integrate it into
Windows2000, ok Microsoft? |
GAME
TYPE
Driving
REQUIREMENTS
{System
reqs.}
PRICE
$39.99
REVIEWER
J.D.
INFORMATION
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Published |
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Demo? |
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Release
date |
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78% |
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Quick
Summary:
Not
the best, but just a good solid racing/drving game |
SCREENSHOTS
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