I have played the demo of Midtown Madness and it is a lot of fun. How does
it compare to Driver and some of the newer arcadish games? How about online
play? Which has better online support?
I have no idea, unfortunately.
--
Wolfgang Preiss \ E-mail copies of replies to this posting are welcome.
>>I have played the demo of Midtown Madness and it is a lot of fun. How does
>>it compare to Driver and some of the newer arcadish games?
>If you like the way the cars drive in the MM demo, go for the complete
>game. The graphics in the full version are even better, the gameplay
>is nice, the modelling of Chicago is impressive. I'm having much more
>fun with the Driver demo than with MM, but that's due to the (IMO)
>somewhat boring physics model of MM. But if you like the way the cars
>handle in the demo, you can't go wrong with the full version.
>>How about online
>>play? Which has better online support?
>I have no idea, unfortunately.
So is Driver out in stores now or what?
--mK
I just received the Driver released version in the mail today, along
with the impressively groovy t-shirt that GT was giving out if you
ordered from their site.
Anyway, the physics seem a little different in the released version.
At least with the first car you have, it seems like you *have to* use
the e-brake to get around corners. Not that it's bad, but it just
seems like I should be able to enter a powerslide just by turning
sharp and smoking the back wheels.
Maybe you can and I just haven't found the touch yet.
I'll tell ya tho-- survival mode is a hoot! I can't count the times
I've been launched into the air by a 120-mph cop car...
--mK
Initial impressions of Midtown were of the incredible detail on the Chicago
landscape (my box says "Chicago edition" - presumably other cities will be
added a la Flight Simulator). The graphics are so much more detailed than
PSX Driver, and the cars you get to drive are very realistic copies of the
real thing (perhaps better than the PC version of Driver). After a while of
playing it though a few niggles crept in...
1. It's impossible to beat the computer cars (on keyboard at least, as my
old (but I like it!) CH Mach 1 joystick won't hold calibration for more than
about 5 minutes) in the races when it comes to cornering with "physics
realism". The cars just understeer to ***y whether FWD, RWD or whatever,
accompanied by much tyresmoke. You can turn the physics realism down, I
suppose....Whereas in Driver you can tap the handbrake and slide round the
corner, in Midtown you either get no response or instant mayhem which has
you spinning round for ages....
2. The normal traffic cars are ugly and crudely detailed. Driver is way up
on MM in this respect. Also, if you hit a traffic car in Driver, it gets
damaged - not so in Midtown Madness! Abuse from the other drivers is a nice
touch though.
3. No "wheelspin" mode in Midtown. Also no real body lean on corners.
Driver's really got it***ed in this department.
4. Driver beats MM for game variety hands down.
5. However, Midtown does have better freeways and drawbridges. Plus, if you
get hold of the Midtown Tweaker program which is doing the rounds on the
Net, you can tweak the cars to your hearts content - my current favourite
steed is a 2000hp (yes, not very realistic!) '65 Mustang. This only seems to
work for certain cars though - I can't get the '99 Mustang to do anything at
all.
On balance, Driver is the better game, although I'm still awed by Midtown's
attention to detail.