Reviewed: November 23, 2001
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Electronic Arts
Developer
Electronic Arts
Released: October 31, 2000
Genre: Racing
Players: Online
ESRB: Everyone
7
6
6
7
6.8
System Requirements
Recommended System
I've been anxiously awaiting the release of Motor City Online since I originally heard of the concept and saw the demo at the 2000 E3 show. Almost two years later, the game has finally arrived, and what could have been the greatest online game this year has stalled in the parking lot.
The premise of Motor City Online is excellent, albeit not that original. The concept of buying junk (err...classic) cars then tricking them out with a huge variety of parts was something that was done almost ten years ago with a pair of games known as Street Rod and Street Rod 2. Those games had you reading the classified ads in the newspaper then buying used or new cars. You could then buy parts to make them run faster and look better then go race them for money or pink slips on a variety of tracks around famous California landmarks. Needless to say, this game was extremely addicting (even for non-car buffs), and I lost much of my life to the Street Rod series.
Motor City Online takes this premise and gives it a 21st Century twist by creating an online community where you can do basically the same thing as Street Rod, only online against real people and the cars they have built. Combine over 60 licensed hot rods and muscle cars from the 1930's to the 70's, 24 tracks, 4 racing modes, and over 2,000 stock and licensed parts to modify those cars and you should have the most intense and addicting online driving experience in history. So what went wrong?
For some reason Motor City Online has failed to capture the interest of enough people to create an online community large enough to make this game any fun. Most people who enjoy racing games and racing sims (yes there is a difference) simply want to "race". They will be turned off by the simulated real-world economy model that forces you to budget money, buy parts, and make frequent repairs and upgrades to your car. Racing almost takes a back seat to the actual process of preparing for a race.
Then you have the other side of the coin - the people who live for restoring classic cars, going to swap meets and car shows, and building the ultimate hot rod. Unfortunately those people enjoy doing those things in "real life", not on a computer. So you are basically left with a very small niche market of people who enjoy playing online games, and with so many massive multiplayer online games available, EA fails to offer anything compelling enough to lure players away from games like EverQuest, Anarchy Online, or the new Dark Age of Camelot.
The price of admission is also a bit steep. After the initial $40 purchase price (which does include your first month of online play), you will have to keep paying $10 a month to keep playing. Racing enthusiasts have been playing Grand Prix Legends and NASCAR online for years and for FREE!
This pay-to-play concept is nothing new and for most games it is worth it, as you spend much of your time online interacting with other people. However, Motor City Online seems to keep you in your garage working on your car, only going outside to meet the public for those infrequent races. And when you do finally go out to seek an opponent you might find that MCO has turned into a ghost town.
I'm sure Electronic Arts had a grand vision in mind when they designed this game. I know I had one in my mind just thinking about the possibilties; however, the results are admittedly disappointing. The software itself is excellent and offers some good community tools that let you build and race cars for cash or pink slips, host auctions, buy, sell, and trade cars and auto parts, and compare your stats among the other racers in the community.
But for a game centralized around racing, you don't seem to do as much of it as you would in other games. The game has more of an RPG feel to it where you have to earn racing experience points to earn more money and increase your driver ranking. You actually make a salary in MCO and this figure is based on your current experience level. Of course you, can supplement your paycheck by racing others assuming you win.
Money seems to be more important than racing in MCO. You need money to buy a car and to keep it running. If you race your own car it is subject to damage and that damage must be repaired. You do have the option to race "sponsored" vehicles and while you don't have to repair these cars after a race, the payoff is generally smaller than if you risk your own ride. Sponsored races are a great way for beginners to build up their bank account, gain experience, and get their own cars competitive with the rest of the community.
The process of buying parts and modifying your car is surprisingly difficult. Parts are grouped by the part of the car they go on, and you really have no idea how good a part is or what it will do for your overall performance if you were to buy and install it. The Grand Turismo series for the PlayStation still has the best parts interface where each part indicates any change in performance that would occur if you bought it. MCO seems to work under the assumption that the more expensive a part is, the more it will help you out.
Once you get your ride on the street things start to get more fun. The game plays much like any other Need For Speed game. The physics model is above average for an arcade game, and the cars all handled quite nicely with my ThrustMaster NASCAR Pro Force Feedback wheel. MCO is not a sim by any means. While the economy may be realistic, the driving parts of the game have made several concessions to favor fun over realism.
Finding other people to race against may prove more of a challenge than actually winning a race. The game features a racing center that shows everyone who is online and available for a race in all the various racing styles. You can try to start your own race, but you might be waiting hours for somebody to join. Joining existing races seem awkward, much like inserting yourself into a group conversation at a party where you don't know anyone. Considering that MCO is designed as a community game I just didn't get that "warm fuzzy" feeling I get when playing other online games. It was more like I was Richie Cunningham trying to drag race Howard's Edsel, and all the "cool kids" were laughing at me.
If you find yourself alone you can always head off to the time trials and try to earn some spare cash and experience points. These have very small payoffs compared to actual races, but the best time each week is rewarded with bonus experience points, so time spent at the trials isn't a total waste.
During the actual races I did notice the game suffered from some lag. Granted, I only connect at 48k most of the time, but the box states a minimum 28.8kps connection. For as few people online at any given time I can't see the MCO servers being taxed that heavily. Lag in a racing game is going to lead to wrecks, and wrecks can be expensive in a game where damage is realistically modeled and you have to spend your hard earned money to fix the damage.
There also seems to be some collision problems that can cause some unrealistic fender benders. Often, a small tap can send a car slamming into the wall causing little damage to the "hitter" and extensive damage to the one getting hit. It's a cheap tactic that I've seen used many times, especially in races where the pink slip is on the line. "Dirty racing" is no stranger to online racing games, but it really hurts when you have to pay for it when the race is over.
The graphics are actually a step down from last years Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed game. Motor City Online has overly saturated colors that give the game a cartoon-like feel. The cars are all modeled with ample polygons and look very realistic. The ability to custom paint your cars is pretty nice.
The tracks are simply okay and the city where the street racing takes place is average - nothing close to the scale or detail of games like Midtown Madness or Grand Theft Auto 3. There are some nice subtle effects like lens flares and reflections in wet pavement that add to the overall ambience of the game.
Everything in the sound department is acceptable, although nothing really stands out. The music is above average and the voice and dialog is pretty cool. Some of the cars sound really strange though. I regularly attend car shows and know what a lot of these muscle cars sound like, and it is nothing like they depict in MCO. And somebody, please, give that race announcer some new lines.
The idea behind a massive online game such as this is that you can virtually play forever. It's a living, breathing universe that exists parallel to our own - only online. How long you will play is based solely on how addicted you get to the game. I've heard stories of people who have lost their jobs and families playing EverQuest. I doubt you have to worry about that with MCO.
EA has plans to offer more tracks and an expanded car and parts list available via download. This should give the game an extended lifespan beyond the original purchase.
Motor City Online is all about multiplayer. Designed from the ground up as an online community experience, there isn't much to do if you venture into this game as a lone wolf. To have any fun at all you are going to have to seek out other people and challenge them to races. The community tools for MCO are above average, and if more people decide to play this game it could actually become a quite engrossing experience.
As with most online games, you will find people who will abuse the system. The aforementioned "dirty racing" tactic is only one way to "cheat" in this game. The economy is dynamic and changes based on supply and demand. It won't be long before people figure out how to "work the system" and artificially inflate prices so they can buy and sell to their advantage.
Motor City Online falls into a dangerous category. It's too "arcade" for pure racing simmers, and the economic model and process of building and modifying cars might scare off casual arcade racers. Combine all this with a community-based game where there is no real community and you have little left.
You have to ask yourself "Is Motor City Online worth $10 a month to play?" Right now the answer is no. Even if EA were selling the game for $19 (as they should) I'd still have trouble recommending this game. This is not to say that MCO is a bad game. It is simply too early to tell for sure. If this is the type of game you enjoy then I would recommend keeping a watchful eye on it. If more people join the community it definitely has potential.