MIDTOWN MADNESS 2
Developer: Angel Studios
Publisher: Microsoft
Game Type: Arcade Racing
Similar To: Midtown Madness, Driver

Date: 10/12/2000
By: Rice

    For those of you that don't remember, the original Midtown Madness review garnered an 'A' rating and was enshrined in my hall of fame here at Rice World because of its combination of racing fun and creative originality. And it wasn't just me, either. Numerous other publications gave it critical acclaim, and Midtown Madness became one of those rare classic games people never forget.

    Microsoft and Angel Studios would have been stark raving mad if they didn't make a sequel to reap the whirlwind. And that, they are not, because today I present to you my Midtown Madness 2 review. This sequel certainly has a lot to live up to, plus its going up against the sequel jinx; they hardly ever surpass the original... especially if the original itself became a classic. Do they have what it takes? In one word: yes.

I quivered with anticipation when I first saw this screen.

    Let me forewarn you now that if you were not a fan of the original, you will probably disagree with every word I type here, although I cannot imagine anyone not being enthralled with such a game. This fact tells you two things: 1. Midtown Madness 2 is an evolutionary game, rather than its revolutionary older sibling. 2. If you hate Midtown Madness, you're nothing but a bitter bastard that lock yourself in your dank, musty dungeon you call a room and curse the world for its maltreatment of you. No offense, of course. I meant that in the nicest possible way.

    With that out of the way, Angel Studios has created a title that surpasses the original... in baby steps. What you get is everything you've come to love in Midtown Madness, plus extra stuff. New cars include an Aston Martin, the Audi TT Coupe, two more varieties of VW Beetles, etc... while on the location front you get San Francisco and London. Say goodbye to Chicago, though. In a way, lots of reviewers are calling this an expansion pack and thus degrading the game. I personally think they did a lot more. Not only are there extra cars and extra cities, but I can tell a lot of under the hood adjustments were made.

Ah, the lovely hills of the City by the bay.

    First off, the graphics are improved. The first inclination was when I booted it up on my old Celeron 366 + TNT2 Ultra computer. I reset the Video settings to how I play Midtown Madness 1, and upon entering 2, I was choked by the lag. Only when I shut down most of the eye candy did the frame rate improve. Upon upgrading to the P3-700 I have now, I am able to play at 1024x768 smoothly with the details cranked way up, and I must say, I am impressed by the immersiveness it offers. The cars you drive are modeled as detailed as ever. City textures seem more intricate, and shadows / reflections are a lot more subtle thus realistic.

    The single player mode, in addition to the Blitz, Checkpoint and Circuit you grew familiar with in the first MM, also includes a Crash Course. This is the most challenging aspect of single player, and I recommend everyone to play it first because you learn a lot of basic moves such as cornering here. In London, you are a cabbie in training, while in SF, you're a stunt driver in training. Once you pass both of them, you should have no sweat beating the crap out of the computer in the Blitz, Checkpoint, and Circuit races. Crash Course is extremely fun, and I view it as one of the most innovative aspects of this game.

Nothing beats crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on a clear night in an Audi TT Coupe.

    The same formula for unlocking the cars are present. However, this time all the cars in the original MM are unlocked except the exotic Panoz GTR-1. In addition, you can unlock every car + paint job by just running the Amature division, while MM1 required you run the Professional division and earn points before the GTR-1 is allowed to you. I actually view that as a negative because that just shot all incentive for me to re-run everything as a pro. Happily armed with all the cars now, I have no reason to go back. Subtract a point there in the replay category.

    The cars itself are sweet. My favorites are the Aston Martin and Volkswagon's New Beetle RSi racing car. Their explosive acceleration and high pitched engine whine pump my blood full of adrenaline, especially when you're racing down the narrow alley ways in London at 130 miles per hour with three cops on your tail! The drawback to this is that throughout the entire game, you'll never use more than 5 cars or so, simply because the others, such as the once indisposable Mustang GT, just can't compare to the speed of the Aston Martin or the power of the Humvee.

What's that tall, phallic building in the distance called?

    Although I have never visited London, and I have only sketchy memories of San Francisco, the developers at Angel Studios has made me feel like I'm a native of both thanks to their attention to details. Even the cross walks are painted in accordance to reality. I know many of you make Bezerkeley your home, so you can vouch for the accuracy of San Francisco. What I do miss, though, are the sports stadiums. Chicago offered Wrigley Field and Soldier Field... so where the hell is SF's Pac Bell Park? Regardless, you still have Fisherman's Wharf, the Golden Gate bridge, London Bridge, and Buckingham Palace, so this complaint is relatively minor.

    A few other gameplay notes: Angel Studios seems to have eliminated a "Physics Realism" slider bar that was previously available in MM. If you had the realism set at high, you'll spin out more, and it takes more skill to power slide (yes, that means using the handbrakes, people). With it down to low, you can run over buses with a Beetle, climb on walls temporarily, and flip over a dozen times if you chose so. In MM2, the realism has hard-coded to somewhere in the low region, which at first annoyed me because I got used to full physics realism. However, after a while I got used it, and had a blast anyway. I take a certain perverse joy in tipping over double-decker buses and hearing people inside screaming.

London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down...

    The triathalon pedestrians are back as well! Regular people that populate the streets of both cities all have inhuman dexterity when it comes to avoiding cars. Speed straight at them and they'll dive away faster than a leopard. Try spinning around and they'll just keep on diving. Eventually, when you get lucky and manage to make contact, they just make like a ghost and go right through your car as if they have zero substance. You can tell Microsoft doesn't need any more law suits. =)

    Single player races have become a lot easier. It's either because they made it that way, or I've just become the Mario Andretti of MM2. I seriously doubt the latter though, especially if you've seen me drive. The Crash Course took by far the most time, and once I unlocked the Aston Martin, I flew through the rest of the game. Fortunately, multiplayer is back, and that means the return of Cops & Robbers! It's basically a capture the flag version for a driving game, where you pick up the gold, and return it to your base. Such a simple concept is awesome fun though. I can't wait to play it at the next LAN party.

    Finally, damage modeling has become more detailed. As you progress through your crashes, you'll see disfigurement at the location of where you slammed into the object. For example, sliding the back of my Beetle RSi into a wall resulted in my spoiler falling off! Also, at the bottom right under the speedometer there's a guage which measures the overall damage done, and when it turns red, your poor vehicle will start coughing out black smoke.

What building is this in London? Looks expensive... is it Buckingham Palace?

    What makes Midtown Madness 2 an overall winner is Angel Studio's attention to details details details. A quick 20 minute romp through the game won't even give you half a sense of what is packed in this title. After a week of heavy playing, I gradually came to appreciate the little things they did, such as how some cars have front wheel drive, some have rear wheel drive, and others have AWD. It really makes a difference, especially when cops try to fish-tail you. Front wheel drive vehicles (notably the oft-mentioned Aston Martin) are a lot more stable on the road. Other stuff like a variety of crash sounds (i.e. slamming into a telephone booth sounds different from slamming into a lamp post) and how traffic lights correspond to each other accurately only enhances the realism and absorbment MM2 offers.

    Microsoft and Angel Studios have definitely put in quality work into this title. Given, it's nothing revolutionary to the gaming community like its predecessor was, but it still offers up that chock load of fun all gamers look for when they boot up a game. You see, writing a game review doesn't mean I have to be cold, calculating, and strictly objective in all aspects. I'm a gamer first, reviewer second. That means I am looking for some fun, and if I get it, the game gets a good grade. I don't worry about the nitpicks as long as they don't detract from the experience, because they all come in perspective anyway. Midtown Madness 2 is a winner, ladies and gentleman. Don't let anyone else tell you it ain't just because they have to deduct points for the technical.

London's purty. I gotta visit one day... in a classic chrome Ford Mustang Fastback!

Final Grade: A-
-- Adds on to the original in every way. Unfortunately, it lacks the "wow!" effect because we've been there, done that.

The Scale is as follows:
A+: Cream of the crop. Revolutionary in every way. Game of the year.
A: Very top notch. I had a great experience. Must make my top 10 list to qualify as an A.
A-: Not too shabby. Entertaining and overall good. 90% of the population will enjoy it.
B+ to B-: Still above average. Recommend for people that enjoy the particular genre.
C+ to C-: Average stuff... weak recommendation on my part. Make your own decision.
D+ and below: Crap. Don't go for it, unless it's for a special occasion or something.