More madcap racing from Microsoft

Microsoft have announced a cracking 2000/2001 line-up at this year's Gamestock event in Seattle. No less than 14 games have been highlighted so far. Some we already knew about, some we didn't, but there's none more exciting than Midtown Madness 2.

The sequel to last year's smash hit racer features two new locations, London and San Francisco, and nine new urban roadsters. There's also a new 'Crash Course' mission mode where you assume the role of a Hollywood stunt driver on location in San Francisco or a trainee at the Imperial Cabbie Academy in London.

The faithfully reproduced cities are even crazier than the Chicago of the original Midtown Madness. San Francisco's hilly streets have been popular with Hollywood filmmakers for years now and are sure to make for some hair-raising driving. We can't wait to jump down Lombard Street, otherwise known as 'the crookedest street in the world', if you'll excuse the American grammar. And then there's the London Underground...

Midtown Madness 2 is scheduled for an autumn 2000 release.