METROPOLIS STREET RACER
Review!

Game Info:

Developer: Publisher: Release: Genre: Cost: Players: Age Rating: Peripherals:
Bizarre Creations SEGA Out Now! Racing £39.99 1-2 3+ VMS, Race Controller, VGA Box, Vibration Pack.

The GOD of all racing games!

Enter a new age of driving, a new form of thinking and feeling, and totally immerse youself in the most advanced driving game ever created. Your "Kudos" is the only path to success, since this is a unique test of skill, style and precision, which spans the streets of London, Tokyo and San Francisco. Be astounded by the realism, push your limits round 250+ different circuits, in hundreds of challenging events.
Indulge up to 8 people in a unique multiplayer experience, and featuring for the ultimate Internet Kudos Challenge. From established racing game developers, Bizarre Creations, and featuring music from the renowned Richard Jaques, this game will change the way you think about driving forever.

It's not about how fast you drive... It's about how you drive fast.

Just before I start the review proper I have to say this is gonna be like no other racing game you've played before cos you have to drive with style and skill as well as you can drive fast because there is more to this than just coming 1st. You have to pull off impressive handbrake turns and try your best not to crash or hit other cars. And it's not a case of choose car, choose track, you have to earn your car before racing. You have been warned... this will change the way you think of driving forever.
Like my new car? I drove around Trafalgar Square at 11pm last night at 80mph in it!
When you first look at MSR you can't help but say "Wow!" cos this looks amazing! Especially when you drive during the night! The 3 cities, London, Tokyo and San Francisco look totally realistic! So realistic, in fact, that after racing around them you would know your way around them if you were to ever go there. How did Bizarre get them so realistic? Well, they took something like 30,000 photographs of the cities! Now that's what you call commitment! The graphics are very detailed right down to gravel chips in St. James' Park being thrown up by your car when driving over them! The cars are also very detailed with over 50 licenced cars in the game from 16 different car manufacturers all meticulously detailed to the smalest detail. There is also lovely lighting effects in the game with them looking at their best at night and this is not just like a random night track now and again this is real time! So if it's midday here in Britain it would be 9pm in Tokyo and 4am in San Francisco! The cars beautifully reflect street lights and sunlight like real life, also when driving at night the cars themselves have amazing lighting from their headlights and brake lights! There is also random weather effects ranging from Clear to a Downpour and also hazardous foggy wheather. When it's raining heavily you can hear thunder in the background and the car's brake lights reflect off of the raindrops! There is a tiny bit of slowdown when this is all happening at the same time but it is forgivable because you keep going instead of Sega Rally's having to get every frame in there during slowdown. This game is really amazing looking!

This is my favourite radio station!
The music for the game is quite cool ranging from Will Smith style tracks to Jazz and from Rock to Country and Western! Some of these songs and tunes wouldn't go amiss in the charts. Some of the songs bring back memories of some of the Sonic R songs (mainly becuase they were written by Richard Jaques). Since you're listening to these on the radio you also have adverts like the funny diet Tango ones, competitions (not real ones obviously) and even news and weather! They are quite good and they sound genuine too. You can toot the car horn by pressing left or right on the D-pad which sounds different with different cars. There are sounds for gravel and crashes which sound good too. The sound level for the car changes depending on which view you're using, so using the far camera view the car will sound a lot quieter than using, say, the in-car view. Also when you race in the rain using the in-car view you can hear the rain patering on the roof of the car and you can hear the windscreen wipers!

It handles like a dream.

The gameplay for the game is very much like other racing game where you use R trigger to accellerate and L trigger to brake, and like Sega Rally 2 there is also a handbrake which, unlike Sega Rally 2, works to glorious effect. The handbrake is easy to be used by a simple tap of the A buton. Some of you may be disappointed to hear that steering the car is used by the analogue stick but, I was also disappointed by that but found that it works really, really well. The D-pad is used to change the view and toot the car horn, Y is used to look behind you and X is used to reverse. There is also B to shift up gears when using manual transmision. The gameplay for this game is unique though with "Kudos" being earned for stylish and skillful driving (like silky handbrake turns) which is rather cool and rewarding with new cars and chapters being unlocked for a certain amount of Kudos. You have a garage which can hold 3 cars, each with different CPF's (Car Performance Factors which means a car with a high CPF gives a better performance than a low CPF car) at first but you can have up to 6 later on. You'll love the way this game handles.

Just how big is this game?

To say the least "very" to get a bit closer "extremely" that is the sort of scale this game is on. 250 tracks which is probably the most a game has ever had all with various weather conditions, set over 3 huge Metropolis' which have 3 different districts means this is the biggest, most diverse and most ambitious racing game ever. This will last you a long time and it's yet another Sega "beat the high score" game even after you've completed it! You'll want to play this through to the very end unlock every secret, every car and every track until you are undistputed champion of the world! There is also internet options where you can download other peoples ghost cars and participate in the Vauxhall VX220 and Opel Speedster Speed Challenge! The multiplayer is one of the best on Dreamcast with up to 8 people taking part in a mini-tournament with winner stays on which can go on to 32 rounds!

The Game Overall!
The BEST racing game on the Dreamcast and lets us DC owners point and laugh at those Gran Tourismo owning fools. Hardcore gamers and casual gamers will both love this. Buy it! Buy it! Buy it! Buy it! Buy it! This is the BEST racing game on Dreamcast and a strong contender for game of the year!


The Mark!
Graphics 97%
Sound 96%
Playability 96%
Lastability 98%
Overall 98%

Barry the SuperScot

Screenshots coutesy of Dreamcast Europe, Gameplay and Bizarre Creations.

This page has had visits.