Metropolis Street Racer

"The most unique racing game available for DC"

The long awaited anticipated racing game has caught my attention. Having played through vast hours of Acclaim's beauty ''Vanishing Point'' while having
my hands on my first DC, I would have expected MSR to be a bizzare, more realistic and stimulating racer. I was satisfied, but not enough though....
Metropolis Street Racer would be your average hardcore racer, with a refreshing pump into it. As not with most racing games out there, MSR incorporates a strange but unique system called the ''kudos''. Kudos are more like points you earn while trying out the different 25 intense chapters in the game. YOU WILL earn kudos by the way you drive, not simply by beating others or taking 1st place. Let's put it this
way, it's not how fast you drive, it's about how you drive fast. You could also dish up a couple kudos points by doing some wicked 180 degree turns and fancy swings here and there, but dig this.. the real bummer is that you'll actually LOSE these kudos by doing outrageous
things, such as bumping into other cars, and hitting or sliding across the edges. In general, this system makes the game very difficult, I believe even more than the upsetting & painful unlocking system featured in one of my favorite racer ''Vanishing Point''. (Which I thought was wickedly difficult).

==== - B R E A K - D O W N - ====
Graphics - 8.0 out of 10
A good term to use here for the graphics is ''pretty amazing'', although I wouldn't believe it much expanded my likes of racing graphics, MSR makes a real good
use of detail and the terrific sense of actually driving out there in the real world. All of the courses are of top notch complexity located throughout 3 large parts
of the world - London, San Francisco and Tokyo. The only real highlight here is the Tokyo and San Francisco areas, London seems as if the designers
didn't really pay as much attention and detail to it as the other 2 land marks. Pity. Cause I would really like to see London for myself someday.

Sound - 8.0 out of 10
Everything from your basic VROOM VROOM to your skid sounds are available in MSR (as with all other racing titles), the sound isn't much of a highlight though, but is good enough for a game like MSR. Also the really unmatched idea of implementing a complete life-like radio into each of your car makes driving even more a thrill (than it already). Although the songs aren't really considered top notch today, it gives the game a higher play value considering you'll be able to leave it on while you race.

Gameplay - 8.0 out of 10
MSR features vast amount of tracks located and unlocked in ''Chapters'' of the title, giving it a different idea and unique feel to other regular racing titles. There is lots of different modes to choose from, and
Street Racing being the main point in the game. However though, racing becomes a bit tedious and boring after awhile when you realize that most of the tracks you race on are just identical to the other.
Given that though, MSR still has a large replayability through this mode. (As well as others)

Controls - 7.0 out of 10
I really never appreciated the controller of the Dreamcast and for this reason
being I never really liked racing with the quirky analog system. Your basic accelerate, shift gear, brakes are all available on this game, but NOT fully customizable unlike other titles (Such as Vanishing Point). You'll have to stick with rather icky controls that are pre-customized, and sometimes that just isn't enough. However, once you finally gain the feel of it after several tries, you'll be fine.

Story - ? out of 10
Absolutely no story here whatsoever just the fact that you are street racing with other so-called ''street racers''. But does a racing game really need a story? I figure not.

Replayability - 8.0 out of 10
MSR gives you tremendous time off your hands by handing you tons of tracks located on Chapters inside the game. And with the kudo system
incorporated into the game, you'll be playing this for quite awhile.

OVERALL - 8 out of 10 (Average)
Highly recommended racing game for Dreamcast :)

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/13/03, Updated 02/13/03