Review NaN of 23
, from United States
Price Paid:
$54.00
from Electronics Boutique Summary:
The third installment in the popular PC racing series, Midtown Madness 3 is the first developed by acclaimed Digital Illusions aka DICE for a console system. Instead of pushing the design in a new direction they've managed to keep the insane physics and gameplay everyone has come to love and beef up the presentation. If that weren't enough, DICE has included Live compatibility which pushes the excitement, enjoyment and annoyance factor to a whole other level.
Live
Career and free-roaming the massive cities get old quick and that's when it's time to jump on Live. Play solo or on teams against others and I promise by the time XBox is turned off the rush will take a few minutes to die down. That is if it’s possible to put down the controller. I can’t remember the last time I made the midnight to 6 A.M. hours feel like a 15 minute breeze.
Speaking of a rush, that's exactly what comes from playing either the "Capture the Gold" or "Hunter" modes. It doesn't matter if everyone is in a Garbage truck or Corvettes; there is no let down in intensity from the moment the flag drops. Due to the vast maps both Paris and D.C. provide it becomes extremely important to learn a fine balance between glancing at the different between first place and last. Imagine stretching this out an hour plus with no breaks! The sheer concentration required plus the non-stop driving is truly a rush like no other.
With this excitement can come great annoyance if others in the game decide to "camp out" in crevices to hide or new gold always spawns next to the same guy. It can also be frustrating looking for a noon or morning game because the time of day isn't listed when selecting a game to enter. I'll gladly eat these small nuances for the aforementioned rush.
Downloadable content has been promised for some unknown future date. We can only hope it will include additional cars and an entirely new city to cruise and master.
Suggestions
There are a few areas in Midtown Madness 3 that can be improved upon. First, the omission of a rear view mirror is mind boggling since they are common in most other racing games. Not having the basic ability to sneak a peek without hitting a button makes avoiding pursuing cars twice as difficult.
Split-screen play during two player mode or even sys-link is O.K. but where is this functionality in Live? Pump up the screen to 16 X 9 and allow two players online at the same time and I’m one extremely happy bad driver.
Lastly, this game desperately needs some more car options and some additional maps, even if they are smaller. Two map options feel extremely restrictive despite their size. Thankfully DICE has the opportunity to rectify both of these matters through Live content updates. Report this review >>
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