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Review

Metropolis Street Racer

Developer Bizarre Creations
Publisher Sega
Genre Driving
Players 1-2
Rumble Yes
Extras Online functions

It has been a long time coming…no…Andy doesn’t have a girlfriend but MSR is finally here! After waiting an extra year, we were promised a game to be even better than what was predicted. Also, I have a shocking truth to tell, I never liked Gran Turismo, to be honest, I never liked driving games! I tried my hardest, but I found them boring and tedious. However, I decided to take a look at this game, and see what all the fuss was about. So if this game could convert me to a driving fanatic, then its proof that its one fine game! So the question is, was I converted?

Firstly, MSR is unlike any driving game you have played before. Even the short intro tells of how “It will change the way you think about driving”, because simply it does! You see, the main thread of the game is based around a word called “Kudos”, or in cockney terms…RESPECT! You see, MSR is about the way you drive, and not the speed you drive at? Confused? Good, because so was I. If you manage to drive properly, without scraping a barrier, sliding round corners and coming first, then you are going to get big “Kudos”, and “Kudos” is the only way to progress through the game

This however, is where the genius part of the game comes in. The game is based on ‘Real Time’, simply by entering the time it happens to be where you are and saving it to your VMU! All in all, there are three cities that split up into 3 sections, which then again split up into their several circuits. Overall, there are 250 circuits! Tokyo, London and San Francisco are the three cities you are allowed to bomb it around in, but obviously because this is real time, it will be early morning in San Francisco when it’s afternoon in London, so a light mist will cover the area making driving that little bit harder! Or if you are playing at the early hours of the morning (which you will be) London circuits will be pitch black, so you will actually put off driving the course until the next morning until you can see better! It’s very clever stuff.

Now more on the actual “Kudos” system. There are all sorts of challenges for you to do. For instance, there is a ‘one-on-one’ challenge. However, do you dare yourself to give the other driver a head start? The more you give him the more you may gain of “Kudos”, but only if you beat him! If you lose expect to lose “kudos”. It’s this sort of pressure and excitement that makes racing so frantic and exciting. Joy turns to panic when you see a Toyota Celica frantically coming from behind you on the last corner, so you have to decide, settle for second and not gain as many “Kudos” or push the car into a barrier, but then you will lose ”Kudos” for style! Either way your going to lose, but how many do you want to lose? It may all seem complicated but when in practice it is so easy to understand, and Bizarre creations really have changed the way you look at driving games.

Graphically, this game is easily on a par with the likes of “Shenmue” and “Soul Calibur”. It all runs smoothly and every city has been accurately modeled to its real life counter part. If you know London well enough, you will even see your favorite café on a corner! It is simply jaw dropping stuff. The weather effects are brilliant too, because they aren’t over the top like some games. If it’s sunny then simple shadows will appear, none of that over the top sun glare that we get in Gran Turismo! If it’s raining then it will look realistic and your car will glide about the track. You try bomb it around London in an MR2 while a downpour occurs! It’s brilliant fun fighting the car! Speaking of cars…every singe make of car has been accurately modeled right down to the badge! My Dad owns the MR2 Roadster, and I can safely say that the game has modeled it perfectly! There is so much more to say about the graphics but we must move on

Sound wise…well, what can I say about the sound to give it justice? It is awe-inspiring, every grunt of the engine as your wheel skids and brushes the curb is crystal clear, you can hear the revs rocketing sky high, but then you brake and you battle to control your car as it screeches around a corner. And that’s just the sound effects! Every city has 3 radio stations that suit the particular culture of the country. If it’s in London, then you get a cockney DJ (including the Tango adverts!) and with Tokyo you get its corny music! However, if you get frustrated with that, then program your own favorite tunes with the CD player! Brilliant! Again, I could go on loads more about the sound but not enough time!  

The Physics of the car movements are perfect. They have slightly exaggerated the power slide to give it that extra ‘arcade feel’ yet they haven’t over done it to the extent that it feels like you got wheels of ice. Thankfully, the analogue stick works perfectly with the game, which was my first worry. It is easy to pick up and play, but the actual control will vary with each car! If you compare the Mazda MX 5 and the TT Roadster you will see a very different style of driving within yourself. I suggest taking the car you want for a test drive before you try and challenge for it! If the car you choose is a flop and you trade it in, then you lose “Kudos”!

So I come to my faults of the game. To be honest, there aren’t any! Maybe the game is a bit too much for weaklings among us, as it will take an age to complete, also sometimes the Japanese DJ will get up your nose. But if I was to mark a game down for that then really there is something wrong with me. So I go back to my first question…has this game converted me to a driving game fanatic? Too bloody right it has! I crave to do more tracks in my new car! It was certainly worth the wait, and to be honest, GT3 on PS2 might look better, but if it’s gameplay, thrills and panic that you are after, then MSR on the Dreamcast is the ideal choice.

 

Graphics

10

 Simply gob-smacking. How they crafted every corner to be identical to the cities and how they managed to make the game look and feel so realistic is beyond me. A visual feast for your dad to look at!
Sound 9 The effects are astounding, not often in a game are they better than the music. Every grunt has a tone and pitch, and you can hear that Renaults right up your arse! Brilliant.
Gameplay 10 Absolutely fantastic. I ran out of room to even mention the 2 player mode! It’s a riot, and the pace your heart goes at is frantic. You might as well take drugs if you don’t play this!
Lifespan 9

This will last you a decade, the reason it never got a perfect score is that there are some wimps who won’t handle the sheer size of it all and never go back to it! Most of us though will slowly digest its beauty.

Overall

“Not in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be giving another score out like this, but MSR deserves it for the way it’s mixed excitement, anxiety and fun all in one.  Buy ten copies!”

 

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Reviewer:

Craig

 

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