Midtown Madness (series)
Encyclopedia
Midtown Madness is a series of racing game
s set in famous cities around the world, published by Microsoft Game Studios
. Unlike many other racing games created during the series' initial release, Midtown Madness games pioneered the use of open world
city environments instead of predefined circuit tracks. There have been three games released in the series:
Midtown Madness and Midtown Madness 2 were developed
by Angel Studios (now Rockstar San Diego
) for Microsoft Windows
. Their later released Midnight Club
games are similar to Midtown Madness but with an emphasis on the import racing scene
.
Midtown Madness 3 was developed by Digital Illusions CE
(of Battlefield 1942
fame) and released only for the Xbox.
Racing game
A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...
s set in famous cities around the world, published by Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Games for Windows and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the release of the Xbox, before...
. Unlike many other racing games created during the series' initial release, Midtown Madness games pioneered the use of open world
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
city environments instead of predefined circuit tracks. There have been three games released in the series:
- Midtown MadnessMidtown MadnessMidtown Madness is a racing game developed for Windows by Angel Studios and published by Microsoft. A demo version was released via download on February 1, 1999, and the entire game was released on February 27, 1999. A sequel, Midtown Madness 2, was released in April 2000, and the final addition to...
, released in February 19991999 in video gaming-Events:*British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosts the 2nd annual BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards*March – Game Over republished as “Game Over: Press Start to Continue”...
for WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and set in Chicago.
- Midtown Madness 2Midtown Madness 2Midtown Madness 2 is a free roam racing/arcade sequel to Midtown Madness, part of the Midtown Madness series, developed by Angel Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios, which features a range of vehicles which can be driven around London and San Francisco.-Gameplay:The game features...
, released in April 20002000 in video gaming-Events:* May 11–13 — 6th annual Electronic Entertainment Expo ; the 3rd annual Game Critics Awards for the Best of E³* June 26 — International Game Developers Association renamed from Computer Game Developers Association...
for WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and set in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and San FranciscoSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
.
- Midtown Madness 3Midtown Madness 3Midtown Madness 3 is an open world racing/arcade sequel, part of the Midtown Madness series. For the first time in the series, the game was released only on the Xbox, with a Windows version rumoured for later release, but ultimately scrapped....
, released in December 20022002 in video gamingThe year 2002 in video gaming saw the release of many games to sixth-generation video game consoles, predominately, the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.-Events:...
for the XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and set in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Midtown Madness and Midtown Madness 2 were developed
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
by Angel Studios (now Rockstar San Diego
Rockstar San Diego
Rockstar San Diego is one of the development studios under the Rockstar Games umbrella. The studio pioneered open world racing games with the Midtown Madness and the award-winning Midnight Club series. It is also responsible for the "Red Dead" series of western games...
) for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. Their later released Midnight Club
Midnight Club
Midnight Club is a series of racing video games developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. The games are similar to the Midtown Madness series previously developed by Angel Studios, focusing on competitive street racing in open world urban environments. Midnight Club however,...
games are similar to Midtown Madness but with an emphasis on the import racing scene
Import scene
The Import Scene or Import Racing Scene or Tuner Scene refers to the subculture that revolves around modifying imported brand cars , especially those of Japanese brands, for street racing.-History:...
.
Midtown Madness 3 was developed by Digital Illusions CE
Digital Illusions CE
EA Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment AB is a Swedish video game developer, wholly owned by Electronic Arts, best known for the Battlefield video game series and Mirror's Edge.-History:...
(of Battlefield 1942
Battlefield 1942
Battlefield 1942 is a 3D World War II first-person shooter computer game developed by Swedish company Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh . The game can be played in singleplayer mode against the computer game AI or in multiplayer mode...
fame) and released only for the Xbox.