Midtown Madness 2

"Racing Fun for the Family"

I have always liked car games and bought this game off the shelf for 15 bucks (it had been out for a few years at that point). Midtown Madness 2 is a family car racing game that provides the player with multiple vehicles to race with from Volkswagens to city buses. However, there are certain high end vehicles that are locked until you complete particular parts of the game. There are several kinds of races that you can play arcade style or choose to become either a London taxi cab driver or a stunt driver in San Francisco in specialized missions. As said, when you complete those you unlock specialized vehicles. There are two cities to select from to race in as suggested earlier (London or San Francisco).

When I started the game, the first thing I noticed was the long wait to verify the CD. I suppose this is Microsoft's way of handling copy protection, but I found it quite annoying to wait for it every time I started the game. Once the game loads, the menu is easy to navigate and select from. You can play as a novice or a pro. The difference between them is mainly the game decreasing the time you have to play timed games when you play in pro mode and even then it's not difficult.

My favorite ways to play the game are the two specialized tracks (taxi driver and stunt driver) or cruise mode. First the cruise mode just lets you take a vehicle and drive freely in either city. You can adjust the amount of traffic and pedestrians and even cop cars. The environment is done very accurately. Traffic signals work appropriately (though they are very quick cycles) and the traffic pays attention. There are road signs and realistic looking roads and buildings. All in all, it's a fun way to introduce yourself to the game and play styles. The Golden Gate Bridge is very cool and the water is fairly realistic. Some of the annoying things about the cop cars are that they aren't intelligent at all. If they see you coming, they will automatically attempt to chase you down. They are fun to begin with but after you get used to the game, they become quite irritating and I tend to turn them off.

The two tracks (taxi or stunt driver) takes you through a series of specialized maneuvers or race techniques. For instance, the taxi driver set has you follow a car without losing it, jump bridges, and attempt to drive from point to point in a certain allotted time. There are three midterm exams which combine all that you have practiced to that point, and then one final exam which encompasses everything. I have had the game for a year and still have not completed the final. It is very difficult. The stunt driver is similar though it has races more closely related to stunt driving (jumps, skids, and fast maneuvers). It is a fun series to play though again, the final exam is very difficult and I haven't completed that one either. There are other types of game play such as races and checkpoints. The more you complete of those, the more cars become unlocked such as the Audi TT or the Jaguar.

The replay value I would rate as medium. Out of the box, I don't believe that even the cruise mode suffices as making this game very re-playable. I tend to get bored with it too easily once you have completed most of races since there's only so much you can do within the game.

What increases the replay value is the online play and the Internet community. Users have used tools to create cars for the game and it makes it much more enjoyable when you can play that specific car. In addition, users have come up with mods to the game or completely new maps. All of this is downloaded off the Internet from many fan sites.

The sounds of the game are pretty good. It does have different sounds based on the vehicle you drive and there are appropriate screams from the pedestrians as you almost run over them. It never happens as they dive out of the way in time. Damage is seen on your car as you crash into things though the novelty wears off quick. I would suggest having a high end card because the graphics are fantastic in high end mode. The details are much more noticeable and the colors are dynamic in the different modes (night, day, rain, shine).

Overall, an excellent buy for your money. If it's flexibility and freestyle you prefer or more grown up type action in a car game, then Driver or Grand Theft Auto is your game. But if you're looking for family friendliness and arcade style game play, then I highly recommend MM2. My 4 year old son loves it and so do I.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/05/04