Great fun! (Midtown Madness (PC))

Member Name: Stalin

Product:	Midtown Madness (PC)
Date:	23/09/00 (48 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Innovative

Disadvantages: Lacking longitivity

I don’t know about you, but I feel that there just isn’t enough freedom in today’s games. I mean even RPGs are becoming far too linear. So, when a game such as Midtown Madness arrives on my desk, it’s a breath of fresh air. "But wait" I hear you cry. "Isn’t Midtown a racing game? Isn’t that the very image of limitation?" Well, Microsoft have broken the mould with this little gem.

The game is set in the hustling, bustling city of Chicago. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really have a great deal of character. While there are plenty of recognizable landmarks, such as the Sears Tower and Wrigley Field, it lacks atmosphere. There are, however, distinct parts of the city that you can get to know well. There’s certainly plenty of space to play with.

There are four modes of play available: Checkpoint, Circuit, Cruise and Blitz. Checkpoint is probably the most enjoyable. It involves racing a number of opponents through various checkpoints scattered around the city. The beauty of this is that they don’t have to be hit in any particular order, meaning you can devise the fastest route yourself. You may wish to follow your opponents and knock them out of the race, or go your own way for flat out speed. There are plenty of shortcuts too, so make sure you know where they are. The options are endless, and you have to try different tactics to win on each race. You also need to avoid the traffic, which varies in different areas. Don’t forget the police, either! They are extremely aggressive, looking to bash your car into submission. This is the mode that will keep you coming back.

Circuit is more conventional. A route has been planned for you, and you simply follow it. This race makes you focus on racing rather than bashing others up, since if your car does get busted, you just get a five-second penalty rather than being out of it completely, and there’s no other traffic. Like
normal racers, here you need to work on ways of shaving precious seconds off your lap time.

In Blitz, you must get from start to finish within a certain time. There are no other checkpoints, so it’s just a matter of finding the best route. Choosing the route is the key. In early races, it’s fairly obvious, but as you continue it gets progressively more difficult. One major gripe about this style of play is that if you make a single mistake (especially on Pro) you must start all over again. On some of the longer Blitzes, this can be very frustrating.

Cruise is simply a free ride wherever you want to go, without the pressure of racing. This is great for finding fast routes for Blitzes, and testing out the various vehicles available to you.

So, there is certainly plenty of choice here, and something for everyone, no doubt. The tracks themselves are also rather innovative. Some are full of tight turns; others are full of straights for speed. Some require precision control, and in others you need to weave through traffic. There’s even one that sends you down the wrong side of the freeway! Your opponents change as well, and you have to adjust your strategy to account for this.
The overall ‘feel’ of the cars is very nice. Each has very very distinct handling that you really can see the difference in.

So, is this game really a change from a stale genre? Yes, it certainly is! I would heartily recommend this to pretty much anyone. One last note: On the cover it says "Chicago Edition". Does this mean there are more on the way? I hope so!

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