Midtown Madness

It isn’t a game. Driving in Chicago is really like this.

Information:

  • Review Date: July 17, 2021
  • Release Date: April 30, 1999
  • Platform: PC
  • Publisher: Microsoft
  • Developer: Angel
  • Genre: Racing

Anecdotes: Ok, I have NEVER heard of Angel Studios before this year. This is the third game of theirs I have played, and I’ve had a blast with them. I think part of that is how they’re avoided the traditional platforms with these. This game was made strictly for Windows PC. The other two games (Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon R) were never released in North America.

Description: Race around or something; I don’t care. I went around the map on Cruise checking out the awesome sights on Chicago. This is great for me, as I can compare the sights to the real life Chicago without having to drop an hour to get there, deal with traffic, ride a train, or fear getting shot.

Positives: Angel included a Cruise mode, which really isn’t racing at all. It has no rules, just like real life Chicago. The game offers options of both time of day and weather. It makes for 16 visual options.

The depiction of Chicago was decent. Navy Pier, Soldier Field, the Field Museum, and various streets all show up. They did a nice job drawing sailboats in the lake. The map is decently accurate within the Loop, but further out, they took creative liberties to prevent players from leaving the area.

Negatives: Unfortunately, some images of Chicago were not right.

  • Buckingham Fountain is completely missing.
  • NO street has a stop sign at Lake Shore Drive.
  • Wrigley Field isn’t anywhere near the Loop and shouldn’t be on the map. Besides, there’s a much better baseball team on the other side of town.
  • Lake Shore Drive would be a death trap with a simple yellow line as a median.

Screenshots:

A stop sign on Jackson Street would never work at Lake Shore Drive. In real life, it’s a light with triple left turn lanes.
I once drove up here to go to Soldier Field. I saw a sign that said “$50 parking,” so I laughed, turned around, and went home.
They completely missed the mark on the Field Museum. It doesn’t look like this.
The harbor is missing, but the sailboats look good.
She might want to get out of the way.
They got the building and park right on Michigan Avenue, but Michigan has a median and the sun does not set over the lake in Chicago.
Looking across Grant Park, here’s a night shot in the rain.

My Progress: Cruising around the Loop

Final Opinion: I was entertained by just driving around looking at the sights. I didn’t even need to race.

Grade: B

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *