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Midtown Madness 2 (PC) Hands-on Preview


Screens(8)
The original Midtown Madness (MM) was a pretty unique item as racing games go. Presenting a passable rendition of Chicago, it allowed the player to explore at leisure, instigate police chases, and participate in structured events--a combination not commonly found in the genre. We recently got our hands on the follow-up to MM, predictably titled Midtown Madness 2 (MM2)--here's some initial observations on the Beta build.

The first thing that will jump out at anyone familiar with the original is the inclusion of two cities in MM2, London and San Francisco. Like Chicago in MM, both are pretty well represented, with famous landmarks and the like. London has the famous bridges, Big Ben, and other identifiable features. San Fran is appropriately hilly, and streetcars are present, often to my chagrin--they don't give much when you collide with them. Graphically, the presentation is very similar to the original--nicely rendered but not trend-setting. The weather effects and cars are done pretty well, and are probably the best part of the package.

Speaking of cars, the models from MM are all here, plus ten new ones. Among the additions are a London taxi, double-decker bus, Mini Cooper, and a Light Attack Vehicle bearing a striking resemblance to a military HMMWV. Each car has distinct advantages and disadvantages, and feel like they should--the bus is slow and top-heavy, the Panoz Roadster is light and responsive, and so on. MM2 isn't a showcase of accurate driving physics, by any means, but it's accurate enough to feel like driving a real car. The damage model seems to be improved, at least graphically, with detachable parts and more realistic looking dents. It still takes a heck of an impact to immobilize you, but it is a step in the right direction.

There are several game modes in MM2, most of which carry over from the original. These consist of Cruise, Checkpoint, Blitz, and Circuit, but it's the addition of the Crash Course mode that really sets MM2 apart from its predecessor. Set up as either taxi driver training in London or stunt driver training in San Francisco, the player is presented with a series of scenarios he must pass to go on to the next. Sure, this has been done before, but the stages are very well done, and fit the subject at hand so well, that it feels like a truly fresh experience.

A lot of work is left to be done in MM2 before it will be ready for release--the commentary isn't done, some of the vehicles don't behave properly, and there are several graphical and clipping issues to be dealt with--but from my experience, it builds on and improves the original MM perfectly. Controller setup is a breeze, I had very few lockups or crashes, and frame rates were very good at 1024x768 on my Celeron/Voodoo 3 combo. It looks like a very solid base has been built, and when the fine tuning is done we'll likely have another top-notch free-for-all racer on the shelves.

By: Scott Moore 8/21/00



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