Midtown Madness 3

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Great Diversion

There's little left to the imagination with the Midtown Madness series. Released in its first two incarnations on PC only, the games were already well-known for their original, free-roaming style of gameplay, their wide selection of real world automobiles and their revolutionary use of online play. This was one of the earliest games to allow players to leave the pre-set race tracks and obstacle courses to explore an entire virtual world on wheels, complete with working traffic systems, interesting jumps and stunts, and pedestrians. I'm surprised it took the series this long to make the transition from home computer to consoles, but the third chapter in the ongoing series was worth the wait. It's a vast improvement over chapters one and two in every area, and though it does have its faults, I'd consider it to be one of the Xbox's strongest original titles.

The storylines themselves are, honestly, very overwhelming and incredibly cheesy, but that slowly becomes part of their appeal. Every single character you interact with is a crazy, super-exaggerated parody of some sort of culture, be it French, American or anything in between, and the voice acting reflects that more than anything else. The unifying sense of humor between all the different stories is a bit too cartoony for my taste, but occasionally delivers a good laugh or two. If you're looking for a game with the realism, grit, grime and atmosphere of Grand Theft Auto, you better move along because this ain't it. If you've got your eye out for a squeaky clean, sometimes amusing, lighthearted adventure that won't lose you any sleep at night, this is your ticket.

The controls employ your standard racing setup, basking in the glow of the strengths of Microsoft's controller design. The triggers are your gas and reverse, respectively, and are pressure-sensitive which makes all the difference when you're trying to set the proper speed for taking a turn or lightly brake before pulling a fancy Hollywood U-turn. Both the left analog stick and the D-Pad can be used to steer, but you're out of your mind if you use the D-Pad. Unlike Sony's classic dual analog, Microsoft's S-Controller was born to handle racing titles, and my hands never cramped or suffered throughout my experiences behind the wheel of MM3 (which is something i most certainly CAN'T say about my marathon sessions with Gran Turismo 3.) Even the extra "click" functions of the Box's two analog sticks come into play here, and clicking the right stick will bring up a translucent full-screen map of the city and your location, overlaying the game screen itself which is still in motion. It really gives the feeling of keeping one eye on the road while you quickly check the map in your passenger seat, and often leads to similar results. I've driven headfirst into some nasty situations because of this map, and I love it that way. Very nicely done.

Though not particularly original, the graphics of MM3 are still quite a sight to behold, and deserve special mention without a doubt. There's a nice visual theme running between the cutscenes, (which are few and far between) the loading screens, the main menu and the in-game HUD, and the car / building models themselves are fan-freaking-tastic. There's no question in my mind they were setting out to flex the Box's muscles in a big way with this one (thus the inclusion of both 480p High Definition and Dolby Digital 5.1 support) and in this regard they were quite successful. While I won't go so far as to claim the vehicles or environments trump those seen in the previously mentioned Project Gotham 2 or Gran Turismo titles, they do give both a healthy bit of competition. The sheer visual interactivity of tiny elements of the scenery especially caught my attention.

Almost as an afterthought, the sound is also an impressive example of what the Box can do when it really sets its mind to it. The use of Dolby Surround is more effective than you'll give credit for at first, sending the sound of squeeling tires, angry horns, screaming pedestrians and scattering change from one side of the room to the other as you wildly spin the wheel. There's no doubt in my mind that this is an example of some of the best use of ambient noise in a video game, and it aids the entire package immensely. The in-game music is nothing worth remembering, no doubt, but never really gets in the way and is negated due to the inclusion of custom soundtracks. There's really no excuse for a racing game to ship on the box WITHOUT this feature, since even the greatest tunes can get old after an hour of solid racing, but it's noteworthy all the same.

All in all, this is a game I'm happy to have in my collection. It didn't force my jaw to the floor in utter disbelief when I first caught a glimpse of the visuals, it didn't blow me away with unique, revolutionary new gameplay methods or stun me with a totally original concept. Put plainly, it is what it is; a solid, straightforward adventure game mixed with a solid, straightforward driving game. The single player story mode isn't anything to write home about, but I can't think of a time at any point in the future where I'll grow tired of playing the online modes and trying to erase my old land speed records offline. This is a great example of a game that never takes itself too seriously and is meant as a diversion, a way to kill a couple hours with pure, unadulterated fun. It isn't perfect, but it's good enough. I'd recommend a purchase without a second thought if you're Live-Enabled yourself.

GREAT GAME, DUMB GAMERS

This game is the best Race Car game there is. You don't
have to like race car games to enjoy this. You don't even
have to race if you don't want to but you can. People, rate
(...)

Best Racing Game, Period

If you like racing games this is without a doubt a must have game. If you dont like racing games, still give mm3 a chance. It totally different from any racing game I have ever played. Instead of driving around a boring circle thousands of times, you get to drive through 2 very detaild cities. Paris and Washington DC. See main attractions like the eifel tower, the Louve, the white house, the capitol building the lincoln memorial and many others. Cruise on the streets following all traffic laws or wreck the whole city. Run from the police through soccer feilds and lawns. at the beginning you start out with trashy cars, but as you win races and complete jobs Like delevering pizzas the fastest, or getting a man in a limo to his wedding on time, you get awesome cars and other vehicles. Some of the things you can get are an 18 wheeler, a garbage truck, a cement mixer, a safe truck. Some of the cars are a volswagen beetle a chevy corvette a audi tt and dodge viper there are 2 awesome cars that I havent unlocked yet. The game has tons of replay value You can cruise the streets with a freind and look for new paint jobs for all your cars. If you have xbox live you can play people all over the world.

I paid fifty dollars for this game when it first came out, and it was well worth it. For twenty bucks, your ripping amazon.com off. GET THIS GAME NOW!!!!!!!!!

GRRRRRRRRRR ate

it is so fun! i love it. you get the coolets cars. 4 thumbs up!

get it!

It was fun

It is really cool being able to have lots of cars, and being able to drive them on the streets and in the subway.