MTM2.com

I don’t recall ever being on a MTM 2 track and seeing the speedometer go so far past the 110 mph mark that it nearly hit the zero. (hehe I kid you not!) In general, if you’re traveling at an extremely high rate of speed, and for a sustained period of time, more than likely you’re cruising on a Finne track. I kind of dubbed him “The Undisputed King of Speed”, and Roller Coaster City substantiates that title well…very well, in fact.

Admittedly I was kinda surprised when I ran it for the first time primarily it represents a departure from his norm...in a way. Oh sure, it’s got the ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile)-like speed, which is a Finne trademark, but as the name implies, there’s a city to commute thru, and heretofore not something you see in Finne tracks. Still, that part alone is sure to give you a run for your money. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here; let’s take this baby from the top – from the start, I mean!

I’m not sure if it was intentional or whether it just worked out this way, but any “respectable” roller coaster will start off by taking you around a short corner, and then quickly go into a climb up a hill…a large hill. Once at the top, it rounds a corner, and at that point it’s time to go for the gusto!! This tracks starts out exactly like that, as if you were on a real roller coaster. Of course, he did throw in the signature mark bank on the right turn at the beginning of the run, but you have to expect that – it’s classic Finne!! So anyway, as I said, this track mimics the manner in which most large roller coasters start off, and once you get to the top and start your descent, either hold on to your hats or roll up the windows, because the speed is incredible. As I said, the speedometer nearly wraps all the way around, and you normally don’t see that kind of speed on an MTM track – at least I don’t.

The roller coaster ride takes place around a rather large city, but once that portion of the track ends, the city portion begins, and I’m here to tell ya, this city is busy! It’s got trucks & cars galore, mail boxes, construction areas, emergency vehicles…it’s just jam-packed with stuff! I kinda thought he went a tad overboard with a mailbox at nearly every corner, but maybe the guy is really in to mail. Regardless, the ride thru the city is fun, fast, and extremely intense. All the models are moveable, which adds an interesting little twist to an already exciting, fast-paced jaunt thru what appears to be a city on the go. Catch one of those models wrong, and it could slow you up for a few seconds. They can also work to your advantage as well by hampering your opponent(s) just enough to allow you to pull ahead. But what I really, really like about Finne’s work here is how easy it is to navigate thru a city full of lefts and rights. His use of directional arrows should serve as a hallmark for those looking to make tracks based in a city setting. Not once did I have to turn on the map…not one time, and when you’re traveling at break-neck speed, having to execute quickly, who wants to be bothered trying to figure out a map?

This one’s already up on the SLO site, and will undoubtedly be used in our Fast Lane racing event. The only flaw I noticed was right after checkpoint 7, on the left side, there’s an invisible portion of that building model that grabs ya if you try to cut it close. Other than that, this is one lean, mean, racing machine, and should be loads of fun and excitement for all, but especially for long-time Finne fans that love speed.

As for how this one stacked up in the battery of tests that comprise the “Copey Rating”…when all was said and done, it kicked out a whopping 9.73 out of 10!!! Yeah, I know - that’s a rather odd number, but it’s not like I have control of it…the rating generation portion of it, I mean. I simply input all the data, crank the handle around a few times, and turn that sucker loose. But that’s not important really. The fact is I can’t imagine anyone NOT liking this track. I guess if you’re partial to a little hang time via a few jumps in your tracks you could be slightly disappointed, but I’m telling you, I really believe the speed, coupled with the lightning-quick pace of the city roads more than makes up for it.

Finne - great job, bud; once again you’ve proven without a shadow of doubt why you are indeed the king of speed!!

[This message has been edited by SLO_COPE (edited 04-05-2002).]

Okay, I just re-ran SLO Park and instead of griping endlessly about blind jumps and corners on that track, I thought I'd come here and offer some support to Copey's review. I think a remarkable part of Roller Coaster City is the way in which Finne has mixed and merged severe elevation changes with dead flat city streets. And! he's done it almost seamlessly. At one moment you're climbing incredibly steep hills wondering if you're even going to make it to the top and then speeding down the other side at breakneck speeds (tho I didn't bend the needle on my speedometer - I'll have to check the air pressure in the tires), and the next instant you're navigating paved roads trying to make the next corner without allowing your speed to carry you into the building across the way. These are almost completely different driving environments yet they are woven together in a tight-knit pattern that makes you wonder how they could exists in such close proximity on the same track. Yet here they are. Indeed, this is a masterfully designed track. Now, however, I must balance the scales of my commentary. I did tend to find the up and down sections a tad repetitive. True, one of Finne's trademarks is spiralgraphic race courses, but I think, me, myself, my personal viewpoint, is that if Finne can create these wonderfully driving tracks featuring speed, stamina and symmetry (please excuse the sibilant alliteration) then surely he's capable of turning it up yet another notch, for example, ala Alpine's Crazy which acheives these same qualities yet with little or no repetition of roads travelled. This is not to suggest that Roller Coaster City is in any way flawed, it is not, nor that my track example is a perfect anaolgy with Finne's work, it is not, but, as raiser of the bar, I'm here to kick some behind and raise it higher still ;-)