Video games - Metropolis Street Racer

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	Video games - Metropolis Street Racer

Metropolis Street Racer or MSR is a racing game for the Sega Dreamcast. It was developed by Bizarre Creations, and published by Sega. The game was originally intended to be a Dreamcast launch title in Europe and North America, however, due to numerous delays it was not released in Europe until November 2000, with a US version following in January 2001. Development of a Japanese version was started, but was never released.

Many of the concepts used in Metropolis Street Racer were reused in Bizarre Creations' follow-up racing series Project Gotham Racing
on the Xbox.

Metropolis Street Racer is notable for introducing the "Kudos" system (whereby players are rewarded for racing stylishly as well as quickly) into video games, and for its detailed and accurate recreations of the cities London, Tokyo and San Francisco. Music for the game was composed by Richard Jacques, and delivered via nine fictional radio stations (three for each city), similarly to the Grand Theft Auto series. The day/night time spectrum during gameplay is realistic, in that the game uses the internal clock of the Dreamcast to calculate the present time in each city. Play at 8AM in England, for example, and the San Francisco races will all be at night.

A selling point of MSR was the sheer number of different tracks available (262 in total), created by blocking off certain areas of the city to lead the player around specific roads and paths. However, only a few of these are available from the start of play and most are unlocked by playing through the single player mode. The game did, however, feature far fewer cars than the Gran Turismo series.

Gameplay

Gameplay in MSR is centred around the single-player mode, with tracks and cars in the multiplayer mode being unlocked at the same time as in the single-player game. The premise is that, as a street racer, you have to impress other drivers with quick but stylish driving in a series of challenges. These challenges are in sets of ten (called Chapters - there are 25 in total), with completion of all challenges opening the next chapter (assuming you have enough Kudos, see below) and unlocking a new car. Each challenge is on a different track, and unlocking a challenge unlocks that track in the time-attack and multiplayer modes.

Challenges

Hotlap: Race on your own around a track - typically three laps - and attempt to beat a specific time. An alternate version records the average time for all laps.
One-on-one: A race (again, usually three laps) against an opponent. You can give yourself or the computer a head start up to 60 seconds.
Street Race: A single race against three opponents.
Championship: A four-race series against three opponents. You receive points based on your position at the end of each race. Usually this is the last challenge in the chapter.
Challenge: A race with custom rules, such as passing a certain number of cars within a time limit.

Some challenges (usually the Challenge category) have a time unlock, which allows you to unlock secret cars or cheats by completing the challenge during a certain time. Playing at a different time will allow you to clear the challenge, but will not unlock the reward.

Kudos

Kudos is the currency of MSR. You earn it during the challenges in two categories - Skill and Style. Skill Kudos is earned by completing a challenge successfully. Before starting a challenge, you have the opportunity to make it easier or harder on yourself by setting the time limit, head start, or race position required to clear the challenge. The harder you make the challenge, the more Kudos you earn by completing it. Style Kudos is earned by drifting - that is, using the hand-brake to skid while turning. A "K" symbol appears when drifting, and becomes more visible the longer a drift goes on and the harder it is. The more opaque the symbol, the more Kudos you earn. You also receive a bonus of 25 "K" if you don't crash into anyone or anything during the entire race. Finally, you lose Kudos in two ways - by hitting a wall, obstacle or other driver (theoretically you don't lose Kudos if you are hit by another driver, though this isn't always the case); or by failing the challenge, which results in a final Kudos total of -25 "K" for the whole challenge.

Kudos is calculated on a per-challenge basis. Each challenge's Kudos result is stored, and only the last attempt at a challenge is stored. If you gain 250 "K" on a challenge, then try it again and fail, you lose 275 "K", as that challenge's result is now -25 "K."

Through playing the game, you sometimes earn "Joker" cards. Playing one of these cards before starting a challenge will double the amount of Kudos gained or lost during that attempt.

Cars

In the single-player mode, you have a garage which holds three cars. In order to "buy" a car, you must complete a hot-lap challenge in that car - usually completing a short lap under a time limit. You have unlimited time to complete the challenge, and once you do, you can customise the car.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Metropolis Street Racer ]

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