Midtown Madness 3 Preview

The latest build of Midtown Madness 3 was on display at the recent X’02 event. Currently in development at DICE, who were previously responsible for the excellent Xbox racer Rallisport Challenge, Midtown Madness 3 looks to carry on the same fun fuelled formula that propelled its predecessors to success on the PC. <br /> <br /> Midtown Madness made a name for itself on the PC by allowing players to take control of realistic cars and take them off the racetrack, pitting them in a free-roaming environment complete with civilians and rush hour traffic. The emphasis was placed on fun rather then hardcore racing action, and judging by the look of things DICE have thankfully stuck to the same formula. <br /> <br /> We had the opportunity to take control of a Hummer in the roads of Paris, despite being at an early stage DICE have already got a fun driving engine in place without any real niggles, although at this stage there’s nothing wholly remarkable about it. The handling is geared towards the arcade end of the spectrum, playing like a sophisticated Crazy Taxi with it’s wheels firmly rooted to the ground. <br /> <br /> The streets of Paris were faithfully replicated; having lost myself during a race I eventually found the Louvre and managed to get back on track. There’s an impressive graphics engine on display that seems to bear no strain when handling the massive amount of pedestrians and civilian traffic, the real-time reflections looked impressive on the vehicles, whilst the lighting effects help to blur the lines of reality and fantasy. <br /> <br /> The main mode in single player is the career mode that pitches over 50 different missions across 14 careers, including a limousine driver, pizza deliverer, taxi driver, secret agent and police officer. <br /> <br /> However it’s the Xbox Live! support and multiplayer modes that will provide the main appeal of the game. The standard race modes will be joined by the likes of CTF, tag and an intriguing Cops ‘n’ Robbers styled mode. All of these options combined with the headset communicator should mark Midtown Madness 3 above the crowd, but only just. <br />