Midtown Madness [Tips & Short cuts]

Midtown Madness [Tips & Short cuts]

Submitted by: Thampuran
E-mail: - sreekuttan_p@yahoo.com

Short cuts
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McCormick Place -- This open building allows you to zip right 
through, even though it's not marked on the map. There are a 
few loading docks to fly across, as well as two intentionally 
propped ramps outside along the southeastern wall.

Open Field -- These open grassy areas are great for 
performing high-speed turns and throwing off anyone on your 
tail. You don't want to brake on the slippery grass as you can 
spin out rather easily. From this area, you can quickly head in 
towards Chinatown, up along Lake Michigan or hit the freeway
going west.

Soldier Field -- There are three entrances into Soldier Field? 
east, west and south. Make sure you're lined up perfectly 
before trying these doorways at full speed. Many a player in 
Cops and Robbers meet their doom trying to navigate these tricky 
little doorways.

Meigs Field -- The airport offers three things: a nice location to view the
flybys by the big jets, a raised platform with two ramps and some open space
to lose those persistent cops or antagonistic players in Cops and Robbers.

Adler Planetarium -- This little building has a passageway right through the
middle. Frequently, the gold in Cops and Robbers will be located on the side
of the planetarium facing the water. Come flying through the breakaway wall
at full speed and fly straight through, letting the back wall do the braking
for you (well?most of the braking?). Sure, you'll gather some damage but you
also gain some time as well. In the area between the planetarium and the
museum, you'll find another ramp. If you're doing breakneck speed in the
Panoz, you can clear any traffic on the main road in front?but you'll
probably get some damage as well.

Tunnel -- There is a tunnel with an entrance on what would be Harrison
Street, with the other entrance southeast of Dearborn Station.

Field Museum -- This location offers two stairway ramps; one at the north
end and the other at the south end. Flying up these ramps at an angle will
launch you into the air and hopefully force an opponent who is following, to
misjudge and wreck into the Museum.

Dearborn Station -- The Station itself is not the draw here but the open
area and trees surrounding the Station. You can maintain a high rate of
speed while weaving through the trees. Why weave through the trees? So those
Terminator 2-style cops will take themselves out by accident?.heh-heh.

Alleyway -- If you sweep around Dearborn Station, then fly west and the cops
are still on your tail, there is an alleyway opening heading north. Hit it
dead on, sending the boxes flying, and maybe the cops won't be so lucky.
This is also a great path from the Sears Tower to get to the southern
freeway exits.

Construction Yard -- Try smashing through either the northwest or southeast
walls. These walls are darker than the rest. You'll fly through some
construction equipment?uh, don't hit the crane?it won't fall?believe me?and
right out the other end. This is a handy trick to know in the Checkpoint
Race: Freeway Flyer.

Breakable Window Glass -- There is glass on both the south and east sides of
the corner of this building allowing you to fly through it and not lose too
much speed through the turn. Oh, you'll get damaged, and you really can't
see what the traffic situation is around the corner so it is a bit of a
gamble...but, hey, you're driving a rental!

Stairways -- These stairways don't do too much but give you a place to
climb, while trying to turn quickly and fly back down. Why? For the heck of
it, or to try to get one of the cops to take themselves out.

Stairways -- Same as number twelve above.

Tunnel -- This sweeping S-shaped tunnel is a great diversion and not really
a necessity for Checkpoint Race: Beetle Blast-A-Thon. Race it?find out for
yourself.

North Bank River Alley -- Okay, so this one is marked on the map. It's
narrow, tricky and a handful when a gaggle of autos are trying to run you
out of the way. Around the Wrigley Building are a set of alleys which are
good to be aware of because if you can quickly make the ninety-degree turns
at speed?chances are the cops won't.

River-Crossing Jump -- So we've all got a little Evil Knievel in us, just
hopefully not the broken bones to match. With this westward facing jump, do
a daredevil-style jump across the river. It's a great way to lose any cops
on your tail?and it looks cool, too. Of course, you need to be doing about
130 miles per hour and hit it dead on, so you land on the street on the
other side and not in someone's living room.

Tunnel - Alley Combination -- More of a short roadway through a building
than a true tunnel, this path is perfect for keeping the RPMs churning high
while heading straight into Chinatown.

Spacious Area -- Yeah, doesn't sound like much but this building is one of
my key areas for pulling ninety or one hundred eighty degree turns. The open
area around the building allows me to keep my speed up while pulling a
sweeping turn. Don't overlook the importance of this area in multiplay.

Another Spacious Area -- Again, another place to keep up the speed while
making a turn. Burn this location in your brain!

Sears Tower -- Nothing special, just more room around to pull those moves
that only you can!

Non-River-Crossing Jump -- Why is this jump here? No idea? you can't jump
the river this way. Even at max speed, you'll end up sleeping with the
fishes. If you want to try it, you'll need to go up the alley (#22) and
partway into the tunnel (#23) and then come flying back, hoping no traffic
is in your way and that you pull off the final turn onto the ramp
perfectly?and you'll see that?you go really?nowhere.

Cross Alley -- This cross-shaped alley is essential for victory in the
Checkpoint Race: Beat The Bridges.

Daley Plaza -- The building with the artsy-fartsy red sculpture?that's the
one. It's a nice open space to fly around and keep the speed up while
hopefully watching your opponents impale themselves upon the red angular
pieces of the sculpture.

Can You Wrap It To Go Please? -- This mall doesn't normally allow
drive-through shopping, but I'm sure they'll make an exception in your case.
Just don't get caught. The entrances are at the north and south ends of this
building. Just make your own doorway through the plate-glass windows.

Art Institute -- There is a pathway that runs north-south through the
middle. This is an essential pathway for victory in the Checkpoint Race:
Soldier Sneaker. Just be aware of the tree right outside the south end as it
can bring you to a quick unwanted stop when doing 120 MPH.

Navy Pier -- My favorite locale for shaking the local heat? There are
several cross-streets and a raised parking platform with two separate ramps
to get to it. When several cops and/or opponents are making your driving
experience intolerable, weaving in and out of traffic can quickly bring any
pursuers to a halt.

Tunnel Of Donuts -- This tunnel differs from the others in that it has a
central area where you can quickly turn around if necessary. It's also a
nice place to go to get uptown quickly.

Breakable Window Glass -- Another glass window on the south and west sides
of the building allows you to smash right on through. Some damage?some car
collisions?maybe some pedestrians getting in the way?but, that's their
problem, not yours.

Cool Looking Church! -- The open area around the structure gives you some
high-speed turning area and a nice place to swing the big rigs around. The
stone church is one of the nicest looking in this virtual city landscape.

Three-Piece Alleyway Collection -- Only the centerpiece of the alley shows
on your map but the northern and southern sections are there in the virtual
city. When racing the Checkpoint Race: Beetle Blast-A-Thon, ramming the
truck northwards through here is an effective way to trash your competition.

John Hancock Center -- The only thing of notice here is the walkway that
goes into the ground and pops out again. This is a location where the gold
will get placed occasionally in Cops and Robbers multiplay games.

Wrigley Field -- If you feel like trying to run the bases at eighty miles
per hour, go ahead. Two slim entrances can make the price of admission a bit
high, but it's a great place to throw your pursuers off the scent.

Dual Stairs -- Much easier to go down than up. If you do need to go up them,
make sure to use the sidewalk. Don't worry about the pedestrians, they can
take care of themselves.

Shedd Aquarium -- The aquarium has doors that you can break down on the west
side. Head through the curving passage and out the other side!

------
Tips
------
Here are several tips that apply to all styles of game play in Microsoft's
Midtown Madness.

OVERALL

No matter the vehicle, always lay back on the throttle when taking a tight
turn. If you don't, your rear end will come swinging around on you.

Power slides work great in the Ford F-350 truck. When you need to take a
ninety-degree turn, don't worry about the brakes. Just turn as quickly as
you can and then apply a little opposite lock to help correct for the power
slide skid. This is very effective in keeping those pesky cops from
following you too easily.

Learn to use a vehicle that matches your driving style. If you like to hit
things (or just can't help it), try the Ford F-350 truck. Once you feel the
need for more speed and control, grab the Cadillac or Mustang GT. Once
you're completely comfortable and need more speed, go for the Panoz Roadster
or GTR-1.

Since there are no true damage meters, keep an eye out for smoke. White
smoke means you're probably about fifty percent damaged. Black smoke means
one more good hit and you are out of there.

Try to use a combination of the handbrake and the accelerator to power skid
through turns.
CRUISE

Use the Cruise mode to try out different paths if stuck on a Checkpoint
race.

My favorite play style in Cruise is to use the bus and play out a scene from
the movie Speed. Keep it at fifty-five and try to make it around the city.
Harder than it sounds!

Cruise is the best way to try the handling of the different vehicles before
committing yourself to a race.

Try to discover all the shortcuts not shown on the map. There are several
alleyways and river pathways that are essential for winning Checkpoint
races. And don't miss our special Shortcuts article in the Game Tips
section.

Find different locales where you can easily lose the cops. When shooting
down the narrow confines of the Navy Pier, the cops tend to wreck. If you
dart down a narrow alley or the river path alley, the cops nearly always
crash when trying to make the turn into the entrance.

Try to drive on the sidewalks. The pedestrians will always move aside, but
do watch out for the trees.
BLITZ

You can win the first three or four races with the new VW bug, but then
you'll want to throw yourself behind the wheel of the Panoz roadster because
it has a much higher top-end speed and better acceleration.

The traffic patterns can vary when restarting a race, so watch out for
different moves by the surrounding traffic.
CHECKPOINT

You do NOT need to go after the checkpoints in order. All you need to do is
hit them all.

The checkpoint does not need to be lit up on your map to get credit for
passing through it.

Try to keep your turns to a minimum so you can keep your speed as fast as
possible.

Soldier Sneaker - Immediately pull a one-eighty to the left as you start out
staring at some eighteen-wheelers who would like to make you a hood
ornament. Next, use the pathway through the center of the Art Institute and
be sure to bear to the left when you exit because of a tree that is standing
in your way. Don't stick to the roads; just follow the arrows. After hitting
the two checkpoints at Adler Planetarium, cut through Meigs Field so when
you zoom out for the next checkpoint, you'll be heading in the right
direction.

Freeway Flyer - If you keep getting trashed in the congestion of other
racers making the first turn, hold back just slightly and then turn
hard-left up the sidewalk. When everyone turns right, go straight and take
the shortcut through the construction yard. Swing across the open area in
front of the Sears Tower to take first and to get into the alleyway before
the others. Rub your lucky rabbit's foot because when you exit the alley,
there may be no traffic or there may be a few buses coming your way. Once
you reach the highway, the worst is behind you. Protect your car and watch
for any remaining cops.

Nocturnal Navigator - Go against the flow in this one! Immediately turn
around and bear to the left around the next three turns. You'll see you're
not the only one doing this. Once you see a mad rush of cars coming at you
(these are the remaining racers), get on the left side sidewalk to bypass
the tangle of cars. Take the right into the tunnel. Near the end of the
tunnel, it will sweep to the left. Slow down and come flying out of the
tunnel continuing to the left. Hit your very first right then follow it up
with the first left. This way you'll avoid one of the cops on the path. In
two checkpoints, you'll see the Mall on the left. Break through the window
and head over to the other side. Go left after showering the streets with
broken glass from your mall exit. As soon as you hit the next checkpoint,
with one of Chicago's finest on your tail, you'll notice you need to be
going the other way. The grassy field to your left is a great place to
execute a high-speed turn while hopefully avoiding the officer pursuing you.
From this point on, it's mainly a matter of protecting your car...and your
lead.

Beat The Bridges - This is one of the trickier ones. You can try to drive
flawlessly and maybe use the North River Alleyway to your advantage or
another proposal is to hit the checkpoints out of order by going east-west
instead of north-south. Once you hit the first five checkpoints, take the
next left and hit the alley. When you come out, scream through the
checkpoint and go straight across the river. Take your first left and then
left again to hit the final checkpoint and have yourself set up for the
finish line.