Metropolis Street Racer
Let's talk more about racers! Leading up to the launch of the Sega Dreamcast console there were a number of games shown off to promote the upcoming new system. Crazy Taxi, Sonic Adventure, Chu Chu Rocket and one of the most exciting ones for me -Metropolis Street Racer.
MSR, from developer Bizarre Creations, was the basis of the Project Gotham Racing series that went on to feature 4 titles across a number of platforms. Little changed from the original concept, Metropolis Street Racer was an attempt at creating a car racing game that didn't simply rely on rewarding who came in first, but who completed the race with the most style.
Using a Kudos point system, the player gains points during a race for drifting, cutting close corners, drafting and so on. Depending on the race type selected, you could come in last place so far as your lap time goes, but still win simply for completing the circuit with the most points. Most race types combine this, so coming in 3rd place within the pack but doing so with the most style may actually place you first. Though it seems a little ambiguous, it's actually very fun and rewarding.
Metropolis Street Racer was, and still is a fairly unique racing title. Graphically it looked fantastic at the time and featured a slew of camera view options including some very close-to-the-ground super-wide angles that seemed added more for fun than any good reason, but looked amazing. It also featured a real-time day-night cycle based on the system clock and also based on the track location. So, playing during the day in a UK track may mean playing at night, or vise-versa. MSR also featured a similar radio system for the music as you'd find in Grand Theft Auto with a series of radio stations that feature anything from classical to rock and even a BBC1 megamix complete with DJs.
Metropolis Street Racer was one of my favorite racers on the Dreamcast. Which says a lot considering my copy was broken. For some reason, it was bugged so it wouldn't save your progress. I even exchanged it for a new copy and had the same issue. I've never been able to progress all that far for that simple reason. Though I did once leave my Dreamcast on for a week straight while playing this to see how far I could get. All this Dreamcast talk lately has really been making me want to hook mine up.
Maybe I'll do that tonight..
Let's talk more about racers! Leading up to the launch of the Sega Dreamcast console there were a number of games shown off to promote the upcoming new system. Crazy Taxi, Sonic Adventure, Chu Chu Rocket and one of the most exciting ones for me -Metropolis Street Racer. MSR, from developer Bizarre Creations, was the basis of the Project Gotham Racing series that went on to feature 4 titles across a number of platforms. Little changed from the original concept, Metropolis Street Racer was an attempt at creating a car racing game that didn't simply rely on rewarding who came in first, but who completed the race with the most style.
Using a Kudos point system, the player gains points during a race for drifting, cutting close corners, drafting and so on. Depending on the race type selected, you could come in last place so far as your lap time goes, but still win simply for completing the circuit with the most points. Most race types combine this, so coming in 3rd place within the pack but doing so with the most style may actually place you first. Though it seems a little ambiguous, it's actually very fun and rewarding. Metropolis Street Racer was, and still is a fairly unique racing title. Graphically it looked fantastic at the time and featured a slew of camera view options including some very close-to-the-ground super-wide angles that seemed added more for fun than any good reason, but looked amazing. It also featured a real-time day-night cycle based on the system clock and also based on the track location. So, playing during the day in a UK track may mean playing at night, or vise-versa. MSR also featured a similar radio system for the music as you'd find in Grand Theft Auto with a series of radio stations that feature anything from classical to rock and even a BBC1 megamix complete with DJs.Metropolis Street Racer was one of my favorite racers on the Dreamcast. Which says a lot considering my copy was broken. For some reason, it was bugged so it wouldn't save your progress. I even exchanged it for a new copy and had the same issue. I've never been able to progress all that far for that simple reason. Though I did once leave my Dreamcast on for a week straight while playing this to see how far I could get. All this Dreamcast talk lately has really been making me want to hook mine up.
Maybe I'll do that tonight..
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