Midtown Madness 3

"A Delightful Romp if not a truly insane one"

Midtown Madness 3

Description: 8/10
Midtown Madness 3 resembles the game Wreckless. Except about ten times better. It has all the features that you wished Wreckless would have. That is my opinion. Now for those of you that have not played Wreckless here is a brief description of Midtown Madness 3. MM3 is set in two famous locations Paris and Washington. Yeah your saying to yourself wow a whole lousy two cities. Yeah but what you have to understand is that these cities are incredibly massive and detailed. There are a variety of modes to choose from.

Cruise mode: This is your average drive around and explore and do nothing option. You can do this with or without a friend. This mode is really great for finding Hidden paint cans, but more on that in a moment.

Mission Mode: Also referred to as Story mode. Here you go through a horrible story mode. You have to do all sorts of things, such as delivering pizzas, tracking down wanted men, driving an armored truck, or driving fluffy to the dog show. The variety of things you have to do keeps the game fresh for awhile.

Checkpoint Mode: In this mode you have to Race about six opponents around the city. There are many different routes to choose from. What I found interesting about this mode is that it doesn’t matter what car you choose when picking, you are going to race equal opponents. For example The Bus or Garbage truck are very slow. Well if you pick one of those vehicles you won’t have to race let’s say a Corvette or mustang. Instead you race another bus (2 Types of buses in the game) or cement truck or 18 wheeler which would be equal in speed to the vehicle that you picked.

Blitz Mode: Which is almost like Checkpoint modes. Entirely different tracks, but instead of racing other opponents you race the clock.

Multiplayer Mode: Here you can play online via Xbox Live or the classic Split Screen. You have the option to play Checkpoint mode or Cruise Mode. I don’t know what modes are available for Xbox Live Sorry.

Gameplay:10/10
Midtown Madness 3 Has the classic arcade touchy controls that handle really well. Every Vehicle has it’s own feel to it. One thing I found interesting is that you actually slow down while going up hills. I know that sounds dumb but it gives the game real world physics that are awesome.

Sound:7/10
I am always hard on games that do not include the use of my own custom soundtracks. The way I see it If all your doing in a game is playing around or racing or doing something that doesn’t require you listening to a character talk you should include that option to listen to your ripped music. But the sound Affects in the game come together quite nicely in the game so I wasn’t too hard on the score.

Graphics: 9/10
I have no complaints about the Graphics. I love them I found that it fits the game quite nicely. Although there where something I didn’t really like. Such as the oncoming traffic don’t look as good as I think they should but that doesn’t bother me when I cruising around going about 200mph and all I can make out of oncoming traffic is what color it is.
Controls: 10/10 Like I said earlier. The game has some really awesome controls. The games arcady type controls handle really well with the game. No Complaints.

Rent or Buy? I would suggest in renting this game. You can beat this game and unlock all the vehicles in 2 to 5 days. Plus Some people will find that after you get all the cars and all the paint the game will get repetitive and boring.

My Two Cents! Hey where is the custom Soundtrack? A pitch black mode would be kinda cool. What about a mode where you can create your own check point races? What is the point of having a fire truck or bus or garbage truck if you can’t work the levers to operate let’s say the ladder or doors or maybe poor cement on your best friends 1969 Ford Mustang? I would also like to see more ramps and Hidden areas. Oh and Less Gay people would be nice with there stupid foreign accents. Although The two cities are huge I would like more cities pleas. Now is that to much to ask.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/22/03, Updated 07/22/03