Midtown Madness 3

"Tip to developers: Don't have cops chase you if NOTHING HAPPENS WHEN THEY PULL YOU OVER."

Midtown Madness 2 was a pretty good game in its own right. I played it on PC, and had a fun time just driving around. Multiplayer was the best part of it though. MM2 is an old game by today's standards - it was released in 2000. So why would a relatively new game like MM3 play exactly like MM2?

When I first got this game, I gave it a test I give all "free-roam" racing games, called the "cruise test". This involves driving around as a "normal" driver, not exceeding the speed limit (if not "posted", streets were 30mph, highways 50mph, and freeways 60mph), not running red lights, etc. This usually fleshes out problems unrelated to normal driving, such as AI problems, that would not be noticed at high speeds.

MM3 failed miserably.

Granted, in almost any "racing" game it is difficult to stay at a speed such as 30mph - the speedometer is large to accommodate larger speeds. But MM3 had a number of problems unrelated to speed.

The first problem I found was with the AI. Cars would honk for me to move at red lights and pedestrians would run away from me when i was simply driving in a lane at less than 10mph. The former might be excusable for a racing game but not the latter. I wasn't doing donuts on the sidewalk, I was simply accelerating.

Second, and arguably the most gameplay-affecting, was the police. The police chase you when you do pretty much anything. Once they start, they yell "Pull over!" and frequently exclaim "This is the police!" - as if players wouldn't know who the guy with the police car, the loud, mechanically distorted voice, and the unrelenting goal of smashing your car trying to smash your car was.

But the worst problem? I decided to be a good little racer and pull over for them. They continued, backing up their cars and smashing into me, apparently trying to "follow" a driver that they thought was still moving. They occasionally stopped "around my car", as they should. But the meat of the bug is this - they DON'T DO ANYTHING ONCE YOU PULL OVER. They don't hop out and arrest you, "Need for Speed"-style, nor do you get some sort of time deduction, They just sit there.

It is possible, however, to damage them to the point where they stop moving and just sit there. Unfortunately, their vehicle's lights never stop flashing, the siren still sounds, and they are still shown on the map as police. When you drive away for about 30 seconds, they "respawn". No "you destroyed all the cop cars" message or anything.

That's enough for my main complaint. All I can really say for MM3's gameplay is that it's exactly like MM2's, for the most part. It's almost as if they were able to simply run the MM2 code through a translator, pop it on an xbox, make two unique levels, some new cars, and a new storyline, and sell it as MM3. This is disappointing for an otherwise creative series of games.

Graphics are also sub-par for an xbox game. Especially one this simple.

Sound is annoying at best.

There is nothing here that would encourage a purchase. Other people have mentioned the good multiplayer - I haven't played it. I still do not feel a game this lacking should be purchased for anything over 5 bucks, even with a decent multiplayer.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 07/13/06