Midtown Madness (Jewel Case)

by Microsoft

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000069ATN
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: July 5, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,698 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

An over-the-top racing game that combines the challenge of competitive racing with the freedom of unrestrained exploration and the thrill of the chase for the ultimate city driving experience. Set on the streets of downtown Chicago, Midtown Madness includes dozens of shortcuts, neighborhoods, hundreds of interactive objects (from working bridges to parking meters) and more than 80 city landmarks such as Wrigley Field, Meigs Field Airport and the Sears Tower. The game features 10 unique vehicles -- from new and classic Ford Mustangs to police cruisers to the 18-wheeler semi-truck -- each of which handle the terrain differently, adding to the challenge. Additionally, Midtown Madness's five different types of racing scenarios -- from strategic "checkpoint racing" to free-form "circuit racing" -- challenge gamers to use the city streets to outwit their opponents, not just out-drive them. And for online gamers, Midtown Madness offers the thrill of multi-player cops and robbers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure fun..., December 11, 2002

By 

Thomas Glebe (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Midtown Madness (Jewel Case) (CD-ROM)

After downloading and playing the demo for this game, I just had to have more. The demo is great but limited in many ways, but it really gives you a good idea of what the game is all about, so go find the demo if you're thinking about buying, download it, and give it a try. I'm sure you'll be back here soon, throwing this immediately into your cart.

With a half decent computer and a 3d card, the graphics in this will amaze you. Though not quite up to "Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit," my other main driving pleasure PC game, the ones in Midtown Madness are nothing to sneeze at. Like NFS, you can toggle all sorts of effects here, and change the time of day, the weather, the possibilities seem endless. Also like NFS, one can simply use this as a fun driving simulation, especially in the "cruise" aspect of the game. With a good pair of headphones and a gamepad, one can literally just "drive around" like in NFS and enjoy the scenery.

But the real fun here, is in something NFS lacks to a great extent, though in both games one can have "fun" evading the fuzz. The real fun of Midtown Madness is, well, in the MADNESS of driving like a MADMAN (or woman), crashing into everything and anything that moves, from other vehicles to telephone poles, to garbage cans, to whatever else happens to be onscreen, including wary pedestrians. This is a great stress-relieving game but I wouldn't get behind the wheels of a real car after playing it. Give yourself an hour or two for the "effect" to wear off, ha.

Throughout it all, the "violence" here is toned way down. Your car and others will show damage, but you can't really "harm" anyone and there is no blood and gore here at all. Pedestrians will run, they will hide, but they will not bleed or die, and that's cool. If you're in any way looking for THAT type of crazy driving experience, look elsewhere.

But if you're looking for an arcade type racer/simulation with great graphics where one can cruise around Chicago or speed around causing utter (but harmless) chaos, this is the game for you. I have found much fun in both driving like a wacko on speed and just cruising around in more mellow moods, admiring the scenery. You can also try my favorite "mode" in this, which is to toggle off ALL other cars, switch to night-time, and drive around a huge ghost town!

The best thing about the game is that one can make it into whatever they're in the "mood" for, whether it's just taking a drive, or wrecking everything in sight at breathtaking speed. I would love to see this same concept applied to Los Angeles! But Chicago's big enough, and there's plenty of terrority to explore (and crash into) here to please anyone.

If your computer can't quite handle Midtown Madness II or some of the other state-of-the-art driving titles for the PC out there, give this one a try. You won't be disappointed. Fun is the name of the game here, and this game delivers and then some.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Midtown Madness, August 8, 2002

By 

MR KEVIN F GASKELL (Bayswater, WA Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Midtown Madness (Jewel Case) (CD-ROM)

Excellent game, good graphics and a high sense of realism. It's a pity Microsoft no longer sells it. The new one, MTM 2 has much higher system specs and requires a hefty video card to run whereas this one delivers the goods on machines that aren't monsters. My first impression of it when I first tried it out was "how come this game's graphics look so good on equipment that normally doesn't deliver the goods for similar games." As a "car game" it has got to be one of the best.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Action Packed Racing Title, October 13, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Midtown Madness (Jewel Case) (CD-ROM)

Midtown Madness,the original driving game.This game was fairly well. It provides us with all of the best stuff.It includes 10 different vehicles such as the Ford Mustang GT,Ponaz Roadster,City Bus,Semi Truck,and more.This game has set up a chicago edition for us to speed around in.Although it does not provide us with any real driving missions.The graphics are awesome,and the level of detail is impressive.And the cops won't give up,so put the pedal to the floor and have a nice time.Your vehicle will get banged up every time you take a drive,trust me.If you are looking for this game here are some suggested stores:Best Buys,Walmart,malls,Toys R Us, K.B. Toys.I would recommend people to be at leats 8 years old to play this game. well,Happy Motoring!