Gaming Target - Xbox: Midtown Madness 3

Written by Gavin Wright on March 07, 2003

First Impressions: Knowing me, I'll go mad trying to run over those pesky pedestrians. That's what ruined Crazy Taxi for me.

The Midtown Madness series has always been about one thing Ц having fun. It's not the greatest racing simulation out there (though it certainly doesn't try to be), nor has it brought about any significant advances in physics or control. What it does offer is a release from everyday life; a chance to hop into one of dozens of licensed vehicles and let loose on pedestrians, storefronts, and anything else that gets in your way, all without the hindrance of real-life consequences. It's quite similar to the enjoyment derived from playing Grand Theft Auto, only that the cities you're racing in are real and the intensity has been cranked up to near-intolerable levels. The upcoming Xbox-exclusive sequel, Midtown Madness 3, gears up to bring Xbox owners more of the same insane driving action the series is known for, while throwing in two entirely new cities to tear up and race through.

Madness is purely an arcade racer. The game doesn't force you to fiddle with gear ratios, part upgrades, or any of the like -- you simply pick a car and go. So if your favorite racers are those that offer near-infinite levels of customization, perhaps this game isn't up your alley.

The new cities (Paris and Washington, D.C.) have been modeled to loosely resemble their real-life counterparts as far down as individual streets and landmarks. DICE hasn't taken things quite as far as the developers of The Getaway in terms of creating exact replications of the cities, though they've still managed to capture their general look and feel fairly accurately. However, certain things have been changed to make the cities more Сvideogame-friendly', as well as to facilitate the significantly higher speeds you'll no doubt be traveling at. The cities have been built nearly to scale, and are both no less than twice the size of the cities from MM2.

Somewhat new to the Midtown Madness series is Story mode, in which you'll work your way through 54 unique challenges spanning 14 different career paths. Among these, you can play as a secret agent, a car salesman, or a police officer, with about four different challenges per career. By completing each line of work, you'll unlock the vehicle that's driven in it for use in multiplayer. So instead of keeping the two modes entirely separate from one another, you're given a nice little incentive to play through the single-player game that transfers over into the other modes.

On top of the Story mode, the game offers three other single-player modes Ц Cruise, Blitz, and Checkpoint mode. Cruise mode gives players free reign over the entire city, taking away the time limit and thereby granting you the opportunity to get acquainted with the streets and search out hidden areas and power-ups. Blitz is a no-holds-barred race to the finish line, permitting you to take whichever route you wish in order to come out ahead of the pack. Checkpoint mode mixes things up by scattering multiple checkpoints throughout the city, which must all be driven through in order to win the race. The core of the game has been changed very little in this latest iteration, so fans of the series should feel right at home with MM3.

But the most exciting prospect of Midtown Madness 3 is surely its Xbox Live support. In fact, DICE has spared no expense in taking the game online. They've thrown in four online-only modes Ц Tag, Hunter, Capture the Gold, and Stayaway, in addition to the promise of new downloadable content set to be available shortly after the game's release. As was the case with the past games in the series, expect MM's online capabilities to give the game its real staying power.

The game includes more than thirty automobiles, twenty or so of which are actual licensed vehicles. The list of licensed vehicles spans an impressive array of auto manufacturers, including cars like the Lotus Espirit, BMW Mini Cooper, and even the new Hummer H2. Non-licensed vehicles include a city bus, diesel truck, and police car. And since races can be restricted by class, picking one of the slower cars (like the bus or the truck) won't necessarily spell defeat.