John

I think most players are missing the sheer brilliance of Showtime.

First of all, I rented this game to see if it was worth buying. The manual was not included so I had no idea about Showtime. I saw there was no Crash mode, and I was very disappointed. Although it had its entertainment values, I was not convinced to pay $60 for the game.

But I kept thinking about Road Rage and the free roam play, and I decided I would give $30 for it on eBay. So I got the game, this time with the manual, and discovered Showtime. It took me several tries to get the hang of what I was supposed to do, but when I did, Showtime was all I was playing on the game. It would have been well worth $60!

I'm not going to elaborate on how Showtime is better/ not better than Crash mode, although I personally like it much better. But I would like to elaborate on its sheer brilliance:

When you go into Showtime, the game visual changes. There's sort of a grainy, real old film look to it, and at certain angles the color is almost washed out to black and white. The movement of the other vehicles is the most realistic I've seen in a game, and they will even attempt to swerve and miss your rolling wreck. I used to wonder why the cars didn't roll in Revenge. Well, they do in Paradise, and then some. The pileups and mayhem can get so intense that the "camera" actually shakes as if it were truly filming the total destruction. The sound is genuinely thrilling and even a bit disturbing as the cars pile up. Shrapnel and tires can be seen flying through the air and overhead signs come crashing down as your car hurtles through them.

It also helps to have some choice music tracks playing during Showtime. Some seem to be made for it, such as Metallica's "Battery," and "Master of Puppets," Megadeth's "Wake Up Dead," Motley Crue's "Wild Side," and "Primal Scream," Ozzy's "Crazy Train." The list could go on and go on.

There's a record of 54m mentioned on Youtube. I reached 51m without a lot of effort, so I have a feeling a true record is going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 500m. Strategy? There can be strategy in Showtime. It's all about location and multipliers.

The only complaint I have about Showtime -- and I've not seen this mentioned anywhere else -- is the lack of 18-wheeler trucks, like was seen in Revenge. I can only imagine the added mayhem of a jackknifing truck or an overturned log truck with its logs rolling and bouncing through busy intersections.