Sound

The audio in Midtown 2 is gorgeous, and it's quite obvious that Angel had a fine group of guys working in the sound department.

The voice

The voice acting is surprisingly complex for such a minor aspect of the game. At the beginning and end of every race you'll have a fellow giving you your propers or insulting and berating you. This is simple enough, but it's all governed by a massive amount of scripting which varies your digital conversations with these unseen critics.

Depending on the time of day, the type of race, the type of car you are driving, your finish, the damage to your car, the weather, you name it, the voice-overs will say something different. This is very surprising for a game which isn't plot driven in the slightest, since such scripting isn't necessary to the game.

But in Mario Kart, the little arrows make me go fast!

Gotta love seeing this.

Don't forget the fact that the voice acting itself is decent, which relative to the rest of the video game industry means that the voice acting is downright exemplary and impressive. Decent accents were pulled off from everything from a Cali gang-banger, an effete British poet who recites verse to inspire you, a hippy who missed the summer of love, to a British noble woman warning you not to harm Buckingham Palace. The voices for all of these characters are great. It's only in the arena of the writing and directing where the voice acting failed to shine.

"These other cars are just player haters, I know you can take them, you know what I'm saying?" No, that shouldn't read: "playa hata", and yes, it is "saying" not "sayin'". Other such worthwhile tidbits include: "Dude, great job, now let's go play hacky!," or "I love the mornings, man, perfect for racing and… drum circles!" Do people really talk like this in California? No way. Under the benevolent regime of Pete Wilson and his "A Better California" program, all these people were shot. Perhaps there is something to be said about ultra-conservative hateful fascism after all? (Ok, there isn't, but it was a good joke, no?)

Anyone else getting The Little Engine That Could flashbacks?

Leaping through hoops for our resident director.

The hideous clichés that the SF and London "natives" are still damned funny in a "Bad is good" or an "I love you Bruce Campbell!" kind of way.

Creaks, roars, howls and mutters

The other sounds of Midtown 2 are even better than the voice acting, far better, in fact. Each vehicle has a distinct and very authentic purr or growl. The Panoz Roadster hums and sputters, the Fire-Truck has an ominous roar to it, and the VW Bug whines at high RPMs.

Cities of the world, particularly London and San Francisco, are howling symphonies of sound. You can hear police sirens, bums pan handling, loud music from apartments above busy streets, yelling, talking, laughing and screaming all at once. This feeling of chaotic sound was captured perfectly in Midtown 2.

Roar past a fellow too close and he will curse your existence. Slam into a car, and you will hear an audible, "I just paid this off man!" Ram into a pole and you will hear the chirps of electrical wires and the groaning of the steel forming together into a strange harmony.

Close...

Secret Shadow!

The sound work is also surprisingly detailed. Have you ever noticed how traffic lights in a lot of cities sometimes have sound associated with them for blind people, but only at a few intersections? The lights in Midtown 2 have the same sounds, and spotty intersections.

The only bad thing to be said about the sound in Midtown 2 is the fact that you might miss it. The default sound settings are set with "effects" far too high, 100% in fact. Unfortunately, your car is classified as an effect, which means that even if you are driving an Audi, its hum still overwhelms the city sounds. This is easily overcome by simply turning down the "effects" category, and you'll be able to enjoy the sounds of London and San Francisco to your heart's content.

It is possible to change from "city sounds" to "music", though, you'll be eliminating a really great part of the game if you do so. The music isn't bad. It's not a mind numbing techno or a bad guitar heavy riff-filled piece. The music is electronic, a little upbeat, quiet, but atmospheric. To be honest, Beethoven would be hard pressed to write music that'll beat out the city sounds. Good luck Ludwig.