Midtown Madness 3 (XBOX)

MM3 is the type of game, that us gamers can't wait to arrive. It has everything: online play/multiplayer, great graphics, a decent single player game, and it is just pure fun.

Playing by yourself can take a little time, I myself completed the single player/undercover mode in about a week, in both cities. Don't let this put you off, it is a challenge, but luckily I had a fair bit of free time on my hands when I bought this. Undercover Mode sees you working as an detective in Washington and as an undercover officer in Paris; these are basically missions, ie checkpoint races, chases, things like that. There are 54 of these in all, meaning 27 in each city. The other single player option is, the, well, Single Player mode. This is where you can either; Cruise (Just drive around the city, do what you like, look for hiding spots, collect Paint Jobs, ect), Blitz races (where you have to finish the checkpoint circuit before time runs out) and actual Checkpoint Races (this is where you are racing for checkpoints against opponants). Each one is extreamly well done, and there is a good variety in the races. With me, this lasted me just over a week, but, again, this could be different with you.

Multiplayer. This game is more than capable to become a deffination of this word. The multiplayer is fantastic. You first have the option to play on Xbox Live, Split Screen or on a System Link. On split screen, you only have the option to choose a checkpoint race or to cruise. This is quite fun, but once you have done them all, well, you have done them all. Xbox Live is where this title really comes in to it's own. There are a lot more game options then you can have with split screen, along with the ones you can get. Hunter is where there are a group of you driving in normal cars of your choise, and someone is in a police car. This person will need to touch one of the others for them to become a hunter. Once you have been touched, you have to do the same for everyone else, and in the end, there are a load of hunters/police trying to catch one other person. Capture the Gold, this is where you/your team, will need to get to the gold (spawned randomly on the map) by driving through it, and driving back to base to score a point. Tag, this works as normal tag, there is a time limit, and if you are tagged, and can't touch anyone else before time runs out, then you are out of the game. Stayaway, this is just reverse tag, you get the "rabbit" when you touch the person with the rabbit, then you have to try and not get touched, untill the timer runs out, then you have won. This can also be done in teamplay. I cannot stress enough how much fun this game is on multiplayer, you can honestly play it for hours on end. There are a good selection of voice masks too, if you are in to that kind of thing...

The gameplay is very comfortable. The two triggers are accelerate and brake, with the left analogue used for steering. The remaining buttons and analogue is used for lights, the horn, looking to your side ect.

The cars look stunning on this game, the graphics are exceptionally well done. The vast spans of each city are vividally detailed, as are the cars. Lighting effects, everything, it is all far better then most games of this type.

Midtown Madness 3 is an action-packed, fun-filled game, that'll be playable till the next game comes out. If you buy this, I seriously recommend you get Xbox Live (if you haven't already) because it is simply the best game available to play on Live now, so buckle up.

The play is very much based on the title, at times it can feel like pinball, as you smash your near invulnerable car through traffic, streetlamps and anything else that gets in your way.

And then there is the multiplayer, be it on a splitscreen, a system link or on xbox live, this is the best way to enjoy the cities. If you think it's insane on single player, just wait until you have humans to compete with.

I have two main problems new version though. Firstly, it has lost the ability to alter the physics realism, and left it set on the most unrealistic, leading to unlikely collisions. The second is that to get new colours for your cars you need to collect powerups around the cities. This does give some meaning to the cruise mode but you must collect the correct powerups for the car you are driving from amidst all the others, which means for those of us without a taxi drivers memory you need to explore the entire cities with each new car you get. Boring.

An extra random point for previous users, all the windows are now breakable, so colliding into buildings generally brings the pleasant sound of glass shattering.

Overall, it's an extremely good addition to any xbox games collection and well worth the money for the countless hours spent in driving mayhem.