Project Gotham Racing is the latest addition to the Xbox 360 racing game genre. Do we really need another racing game on this system? With so many games, which is the best racer for you? Will it be PGR4?
Many of us were "forced" to buy PGR3 as part of our Xbox 360 bundles a few years ago when we were forced to buy bundled systems. Some retail shops were tossing it in "free of charge" or had so many copies of PGR3 it decorated the isles. Does this mean the demand for such a game was low? Not really.
PGR4's Structure
PGR3 was one of the launch titles, a staple racing game for those that loved the speed of a racer. What can you expect to see from PGR4 and why choose this title over the Need for Speed franchise or the latest Forza 2 launch?
PGR4 can be defined as a well structured PGR3 with more time for polish and completion. The prior title showed its race to the store shelves with a very basic style of game play, although fun, with little attention paid to the details. PGR4 is Bizarre Creation's way of saying "this is what we really wanted to do without the time to do it before."
This isn't an arcade racer unless you've played a lot of Forza 2, which is as close to a true racing simulation as we've seen so far in a racing game. PGR4 has many elements of a simulation "dumbed down" for someone that just wants to race and have fun. You won't spend hours tweaking your suspension or body parts to increase or decrease drag, you'll spend more time hugging corners and building up kudos, PGR4's racing currency.
You may feel like you're playing Forza 2 when you crack into career mode because it's no longer a straight "track grind." You'll begin a real career with tournament invites, a calendar of weekly events and special invitationals that grow in challenge and can only be entered once and awhile. This is where PGR4's structure begins to show itself.
If you want to grind through tracks for first place position you can go ol' school and hit up the arcade mode. This will remind you of the PGR3 career mode in many aspects but certain tracks won't be unlocked right away (stick with career mode for a bit). If you've got time for a few predictable races setup to your desired feel, jump into arcade mode. But, if you're willing to sit down and invest an hour or so into the game, career mode is just what you need.
Kudos To You
For those familiar with PGR3 you'll remember kudos as those points you racked up when you pulled off nearly impossible combinations of moves, break slides and drifts. In this latest addition you'll find kudos won't raise your blood pressure or make you want to punch a wall (as much.)
Remember trying to do crazy combinations of moves in PGR3 in order to break some oddball achievement? The manual never explained how to pull off a complex combination so you'd spend hours on forums trying to learn the correct moves to complete in the right order for the correct number of seconds just to receive your "Style Racers Badge" achievement or "Pro Racer Badge."
Now you'll use kudos for credits to buy in-game racing car packs, unlock new tracks and other bonus features. This is a great addition to the game and makes kudos worth more than simply frustration and nerd point achievements. This also changes the standard behavior of racing games where you unlock features based on progression through a game title by putting the unlocking into your own hands. Now you don't have to receive a set of cars you'll never use by completing a tough challenge, you can choose the set of cars you wish to unlock.
Uh...motorcycles?
Yes, motorcycles. What better way to separate your game from other races than tossing in a few two-wheel motorized beasts? This isn't a MotoGP bike simulator so don't rush out and buy PGR4 simply because it has motorcycles. They do handle themselves differently than the racing cars but they're still more of an arcade feel and handle as such.
Initially you may be turned off from the concept of motorcycles because they respond differently than the cars. A joystick driven gamer may sway from side to side with over correction and toss themselves into death defying wall smashes on sharp turns. You'll fare better with a SpeedFreek accessory or perhaps the Xbox 360 steering wheel to avoid messy spills.
Once you've learned to handle the motorcycles you'll bust through corners and blow away the racing car competition... yes... you often are pitted against racing cars and bikes at the same time. This is odd considering most folks realize a racing car is no match for a person sitting on a mid-level powerhouse engine once you apply the concept of physics.
When farming kudos you'll find the bikes will grab you a good deal of points. You're able to perform minimal stunts to show off your awesome gaming prowess with wheel stands and endos as you're racing down the track. Start collecting the kudos and buy some faster bikes or cars or unlock some sweet tracks.
Overall, the motorcycles are an added bonus to PGR4 but do not define the games core functionality. The expanded set of cars, addition of the bikes and wide array of varied tracks make the game shine. Add into this the weather effects and you've got an in-depth variable racing entertainer.
Tracks, Tracks and More Tracks
PGR3 had a large set of tracks but they were all bland in comparison to PGR4. A few years ago we were astounded with the beauty of PGR3 but their newest franchise title puts the detail of PGR3 to shame. Colorful environments mixed with dynamic weather and more twists and turns than one person can handle.
Their prior title had two major track features: Long straight tracks and windy curved tracks with little in between. PGR4 offers a variety of track variations with so much added detail that you strain to pay attention to the curves and turns because you'll be looking around at all the nicely rendered buildings and glowing signs.
The tracks seem to have a little more depth in them in terms of varying bumps and hills. Not every track or environment is going to be a roller coaster, thankfully, but their are a few more than the last title. The only concern may be motion sickness from the speed and crazy driving styles, especially on a motorcycle.
Today's Forecast, Thunderstorms With a Mixed of Snow and Sleet.
The dynamic weather affects where the first thing Bizarre Creations bragged about when leaking information about PGR4. You'll find the eye candy is so-so when driving in the outside view of the car. The in-car view is another story entirely. Your windshield wipers will be swishing away the water and sleet as you're racing down curved city tracks encountering black ice and opponents that don't want to come in second place.
The weather effects are a distraction you'll grow used to as you invest hours into racing but the change in road conditions will always require precise forethought and perfect handling. A high-end BMW or prototype car may handle the course with ease until you add snow or ice into the picture. Race with ease or you'll grow fairly fond of the side walls and opponents paint jobs.
Is the dynamic weather all it's cracked up to be? You'll find the weather system is pretty to view but adds something new to a racer which we've not seen often enough. Dynamic racing conditions means you'll be adapting your style of racing constantly, weather can change during a race, so you will need to build up a three dimensional skill set before you master PGR4.
Multiplayer: Saving The Best For Last
Multiplayer is where PGR4 will make the price worth each penny. If you're not a multi-player gamer you'll only explore 40% of the games fun factors. You can play online in ranked games or with your friends in a variety of track combinations. Jumping in a ranked play will be just as frustrating as PGR3. If you bump a random person by accident you may take a hit on your gamertags credibility followed by a long string of curse words.
PGR gamers are insane in their need to have perfect races. Coming out of the first turn will be mad chaos that will inspire creative swears and unkind words in almost every ranked game. Unlike some ranked games people get very upset when you touch their cars or knock them around on a track so be prepared for it.
Gaming with friends is an entire different animal. There is a reason 2old2play has racing nights and a cult of racing gamers with a consistent weekly play schedule. There is no need to explain why you should game with friends, try finding some PGR4 racing buddies on 2old2play and it will be self explanatory.
Microsoft and Bizarre wants PGR4's online play to extend itself for years to come. They've opened tournaments, Racing weekends and new content to drive the multiplayer features of PGR4. Bizarre Creations hopes to build a huge community of racing fans to competing in world wide tournaments like a virtual sport. They've expanded this with their PGR Nations website to give you scores, statistics, forums and news about the game. Their adding new downloadable content and patches to field problems gamers have had with the game.
In addition to racing in world tournaments, ranked play and with friends you can view your photos from the game on PGR Nation to share with friends. A Forza 2 player will recognize this feature provided by Microsoft Studios as well. This may be the next "must have" feature requirement for any upcoming racing title.
PGR4's online interactivity is on par with Halo 2's competitive style play from years ago. One way to keep your gamers coming back for PGR is to exceed the lifetime of the game far past the single-player career mode. This will give gamers the feeling that they received their moneys worth in the game and build expectations (for good or for bad) on the next franchise release.
Overall
Single player brings us to where we should have been in PGR3 if it didn't have the pressure of being a console launch title. The eye candy and graphic enhancements shows you Bizarre Creations had time to understand the workings of the 360 console and become veterans in the space. Multiplayer breaths new life into the title after the single-player career has long become tiresome.
If you're a huge Forza 2 fan you'll probably find this title lacks enough realism, car damage and a sense of thrill from avoiding critical crashes. You'll be asking "where is the detail?" and questioning your decision to purchase the game. If you're simply a racing enthusiast with a need for another racing game PGR4 is worth the investment. For those that are unsure of themselves, rent it first and test out the feature set before opening your wallet.
