Project Gotham Racing 3

Project Gotham Racing 3
Game: Project Gotham Racing 3
Platform: Xbox 360
Studio: Microsoft
Rating: 9/10

GAME DESCRIPTION: Project Gotham Racing 3 creates the ultimate roster of the hottest supercars in existence, introduces them to the high-definition era, and drops them into a completely new gaming world, where style rules the road. Racers define and create individually customized gameplay, and can race each other – on or offline.

Enhanced and refined gameplay reintroduces racers to the familiar Kudos system with a completely original user-driven experience that lets gamers race what they want, where they want. Gamers drive with style and daring to earn Kudos in front of large crowds, and win badges to reward their skills in all areas of the game.

With a whole new take on accessibility offered by the innovative and user-friendly GothamTV, “PGR 3” becomes even more like a real sport, offline and online. With unparalleled online features, racers compete to become the Gotham World Champion, live on GothamTV.

PLAY: 80 cars add a lot of replay value. Each car handles differently—some with a better mix of speed and handling than others. Some cars are phenomenally fast however they lack the handling. Some handle great while lacking the speed to make it through the entire game.

PGR3 is so intuitive that you can jump right and race once you know which button does what. There is no major learning curve other than getting a feel for your car. There are no longer classes so when you fall in love with a car you can stick with it. There is something to be said about a car that you feel comfortable with. There are some cars that just don’t stick to the street well and have too much power. Often the fastest cars are the hardest to handle. They are like wild stallions that slip and slide all over the course.

Aside from just winning races you can earn kudos. Kudos are earned by doing powerslides, combos, and more. Kudos can be used to purchase and unlock cars. You must also progress and win races in order to unlock new courses. As you progress through the courses the harder the game gets. Each track gets progressively more difficult. Opponents also get tougher to beat. Even a little mistake can cost you the race. The AI is better than with PGR2—although it’s not perfect.

One extremely cool, and possible glitch, is the ability to go full speed into a corner and use your opponent as a cushion. You can kill two birds with one stone by putting your opponent into the wall and come out of the corner at an amazing speed.

Career Mode is vast and it’s no surprise how addictive it can be. Hours fly by as you attack each course and opponent. Even if you lose it’s impossible to step away until that course is conquered. Other modes include Create-a-route and Photo Editor. Photo Editor allows players to edit screen captures. Create-a-route mode is actually more interesting and useful. You are given cities like London, New York, and Tokyo and allowed to set up your own course.

GRAPHICS: Even at standard definition it’s easy to see how far the Xbox 360 pushes graphics. On HDTV the game is absolutely amazing. There are 5 different views while racing. Some from above the car and others within the car and no matter which mode you decide to play you will be amazed by the detail. From within the cockpit you won’t believe how fast the game progresses. It might be too much to handle for some gamers. The cars are brilliantly designed. The reflectivity is amazing. The car details are like nothing gamers have ever seen before.

SOUND: Honestly, during our gameplay we listened more to the classical music more than anything else. Too much music can become to distracting during gameplay. There are plenty of different styles of music for everyone from techno, hip-hop, to rock. A great feature is the ability to change the music on the fly by pressing down on the directional pad.

FRANKLY: Project Gotham Racing 3 is more enjoyable and all around better than Gran Turismo 4. Enough said.

+ Charlie Craine


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