It is the sequel to 1999's Midtown Madness, developed by Angel Studios (now Rockstar San Diego) and published by Microsoft.

Unlike its predecessor, which is entirely set in Chicago, it features two open worlds in which to race, fictional representations of San Francisco, California and London, England.

Players can choose from a variety of American and British vehicles including sports cars, buses and taxi cabs.

Midtown Madness 2 received generally favorable reviews, and holds a score of 78 out of 100 at gaming aggregator Metacritic.

One of the game's most entertaining aspects is its humor; for example, the new age retro hippie in San Francisco singing an out-of-tune variation of the John Lennon song "Give Peace a Chance".

[6][7][8][9] In a July 2000 interview with IGN, Jay Panek, Producer on Midtown Madness 2, detailed the larger scale of the game.

San Francisco was chosen for its hills and American-styled grid layout of streets, while London provided many technical turns and occasional narrow roads.

British vehicles are prominently featured in the game, including a double-decker bus and offerings from Mini Cooper and Aston Martin.

[12] Samuel Bass of NextGen said, "Arcade-style racing at its finest, Midtown Madness 2 deserves a spot in the collection of any true adrenaline junkie.

[24] GamePro's Brian Wright conceded that the ambient traffic vehicles were not detailed, and that building textures were blurry.

[26][a] The vehicle models were categorized as "quite accurate" by Chris Couper of AllGame, and went on to add that it was "the sort of detail that impresses before the racing even begins".

Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell stated they were " tough, feverish challenges which while short-lived stack up and provide infuriatingly addictive gameplay.

[26] GameSpot's Stephen Poole found them exciting, but noted that they don't provide the same level of thrill as the core races.

[17] In speaking of the moments of lag in online multiplayer, Bramwell called it "intolerable for people used to a steady, smooth gaming experience.

You haven't truly played a racing game until you've driven a double-decker bus straight down Lombard Street; it's just damned FUN.

Midtown Madness 2 was the last racing game published by Microsoft for PCs, until the release of Forza Motorsport 6: Apex in 2016.