Perfect to every tree! (Metropolis Street Racer (DC))

Member Name: Jackal123

Product:	Metropolis Street Racer (DC)
Date:	14/10/01 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: sooooo realistic

Disadvantages: diabolical music!

Metropolis Street Racer is probably the best racing game that I have ever played on. It is the most addictive game I have ever played on.

Like most other sim-based racers, MSR places an emphasis on real-world cars and realistic driving physics. The graphics are simply superb and contribute to a major part of the quality of the game. You drive around London, Tokyo and San Francisco with each city having three distinctly different areas for its’ tracks. For example driving around Westminster you can see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament and other landmarks. The Bizarre Creations team have recreated the 3 cities, each with around 80 + street circuits to the tiniest details. The cities have been created accurately to every minute detail (hence the name “Perfect to every tree!” This makes the game so much more fun to play on, as you are roaming around in an area you know a lot about and just imagine it in real life.





The main mode in Metropolis Street Racer is the aptly named street-racing mode. Kudos (points) are awarded at the end of each race based on your driving skill and style. Being quick to the finish accumulates skill points, and style points are awarded for sliding around corners using the hand brake. Following each race, points are calculated and deductions are made for any collisions with walls or cars. As you accumulate kudos, new races are opened for play. On some special events gaining sufficient kudos will reveal cheats, extra cars or bonus tracks. Each of the game's 25 chapters features ten races that take place on 200 different track variations. These events are split into categories such as hot laps where you have to try to complete a lap within a set time, timed events where you have to complete a certain number of laps within a time, challenges where you have to drive to a set criteria and of course actual races. Initially, you race alone against the clock, but as the chapters wear
on, you eventually compete in one-on-one races and a full-blown championship circuit. One thing to bear in mind is if you crash during the events you will lose Kudos and this can be so much a penalty for the rougher drivers that you actually "gain" negative kudos!

Before you can actually start your street-racing career you need some wheels. This is done by completing a lap within a set time limit. First time you try this it is not easy at all, but you can get away with colliding with walls etc. so that makes is more manageable. I found this part of the game extremely difficult at first but it soon became much simpler.

Metropolis Street Racer includes 40 licensed vehicles to unlock from manufacturers like Audi, Mercedes, Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Alfa Romeo. All the cars are based on real models, although their performances a re slightly questionable. At the start you can choose from the Fiat Barchetta, MGF or Mazda MX5. I most preferred the MGF but there are many important points to consider when making decisions on which to drive. The Barchetta would be better for beginners as it is much easier to drive, the MGF does tend to over steer if you are too ambitious with the accelerator!

The allure of the Gran Turismo series is the ability to adjust car settings to squeeze out that extra bit of speed. In MSR, what you see is what you get. Even so, those who are diligent will find plenty of motivation to unlock the faster, sleeker cars.


In addition to the street racing mode, MSR also includes quick race, time attack, and multiplayer modes. The quick-race mode lets you jump right into the action on any of the opened tracks. The time of day, race length, and weather conditions may be adjusted, and up to five computer-controlled cars can be added to the race. The time-attack mode lets you practice any opened track in an attempt to cut into your best time. The multiplayer mode, while just for two players, is quite good fun. S
ingle races, quick races, a series of races, and a championship mode are all available for multiple players.

One of my favourite parts of the game is the sound effects and the variety of music available. You listen to what seems to be real radio stations complete with adverts and the music is either good or funny. The music is usually diabolical but can be funny at times!


The game also has different weather effects, this is a good feature as driving in a downpour is much harder than the dry and the car you use which normally wins in the dry can become unusable when wet. This forces you to re-think your strategy and affects our choice of car depending on the weather.

Overall MSR is a superb game, and probably the best racing game I have ever played on. It is just so realistic and so addictive that you have to love it! When I played the game it was almost addictive as Dooyoo, but not quite that entertaining! If you haven’t tried it yet…what are you waiting for? You won’t regret it!

Cheers

Jackal123

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