Gaming Age
28th November 2005
Author: Jim Cordeira
Publisher: Microsoft
Machine: Xbox 360 (EU Version)
Project Gotham Racing 3
The racing game to get for the Xbox 360.
The launch of every new console needs a good racing/driving title, if only to show off the technical abilities of said platform. The Xbox 360 is blessed with at least two, one being Project Gotham Racing 3. From the stunning near photo-realistic visuals, to the innovative Gotham TV feature, PGR3 is everything you could ask for from a launch title.
Counting Metropolis Street Racer for the Dreamcast, Project Gotham Racing 3 is technically the 4th game in Bizarre Creations' long running racing series. They've changed up the formula of the game a bit over the years, but what they've finally settled with at PGR3 struck all the right notes. The game doesn't attempt to be a simulation or anything of the sort. If you want to drive a licensed supercar through a number of accurately reproduced real-life city streets, this is your game. There's no tweaking you suspension, purchasing new parts, or fussing with paint jobs. You just choose from a number of exotic rides, such as a Lamborghini, an Aston Martin or a Ferrari, and race. There is one small catch though. Racing from point A to point B and beating other drivers is only part of the equation. To succeed in PGR you must drive with style. Again, "style" having absolutely nothing to do with how you trick out your vehicle. The cleaner you drive, the more controlled your powerslides are, and in general, the amount of risk you take, are proportional to how much progress you make Project Gotham Racing 3. Of course it sounds simpler than it really is.
Lets get right to the most obvious of topics, the visuals. PGR3 is a gorgeous game, and quite the showpiece for that new widescreen HDTV you may have purchased recently. For those who are stuck with a regular old TV (myself included), the game still looks fantastic, although somewhat less "next-gen". I was once a member of the "60 frames per second or nothing" group, but after witnessing the beauty of the game's engine, I've turned in my membership card. While the game only runs at 30fps (compared to 60 fps for Ridge Racer 6 for example), the rock solid framerate and subtle motion blur really tricks the eye into believing that it is somewhere north of 30. Sixty fps is like the Holy Grail, but with the amount of effects and quality of the graphics they've pulled off, it is perfectly fine where it is... for now. The modeling of the vehicles and the courses themselves are among the best ever seen. The shaders and layered texture effects give the game a realistic look, and the lighting and reflections are a step above current generation standards. By adding crowds of eager racing fans to the course sidelines, PGR3 has finally pushed the series past that whole lifeless, unintentionally post-apocalyptic look that has plagued it since the MSR days. The engine occasionally seems confused when streaming certain textures, and you'll be sure to catch at least a couple of instances of low resolution textures "popping" into high resolution versions. The only other criticism I have is the softness of the textures while in motion. I know it's mostly due to the same motion blur I praised earlier, but certain textures appear to blur out too close to your point of view, such as the traffic lines in the road. PGR3 provides a number of useable camera modes, but it's worth mentioning that the in-car view is the best ever created. From the working gauges to the subtle smudges on the windshield, it's an impressive and surprisingly playable addition.Microsoft put together a rather varied and interesting soundtrack, ranging from Rock to Rap to Electronica, but quite honestly, it's not really that important. At the default settings, the car engines and race sound effects drown out most of the music, and that's exactly how it should be. The engine sounds in Project Gotham Racing 3 are like music to the ears, especially when we are talking about driving the most exotic supercars in production. The engine noises sound cool, of course, but listening to them is almost as important as checking your mirrors. It doesn't take long to pick up on the differences between one make and model of a car, and another, and you can quickly tell who may be approaching you just by the sound of the engine.
As mentioned earlier, PGR is all about racing with skill and style. Pulling off a clean slide, getting a bit of airtime, or drafting off another racer, for example, will earn you style points otherwise known "Kudos". The more Kudos you earn the higher of a ranking you'll eventually earn, it's as simple as that. I'm not sure if it's the comfortable Xbox 360 controller or the game itself, but Project Gotham Racing 3 plays extremely well, and better than I remember any of the previous games playing. There's nothing fancy about the controls at all; one trigger accelerates, the other is the brake, and the face buttons serve as the hand brake, shifting controls and quick rear view function. Even the grippiest of the cars have a tendency to slide if pushed hard enough, so a light touch on the analog stick and gas trigger yields the best results.
The game itself revolves around the Career Mode, which is just a straightforward, laddered race schedule. You select a group of races, beat the various challenges all while earning Kudos, credits, medals and eventually a trophy, and move onto the next group. These challenges range from a straight up timed multi-car race, to an "earn x amount of Kudos" task. Mostly everything found in previous installments of the series are back, though they've definitely simplified them to an extent. With a number of difficulties to choose from on each challenge, PGR3 really caters to even the most casual of race fans. The more difficult the "medal" (ranging from steel to platinum), the more credits, and later on achievements, you'll rack up. Credits are then used for one purpose and one purpose only; buying a better car. Even if you just cruise along the race schedule taking on the lower levels of difficulty, it won't take much time to earn enough to buy the best-rated and most expensive vehicles in the game. Unless you dedicate yourself to playing only at the highest difficulties, a good portion of the challenges are easily beaten. And surprisingly, there really aren't that many challenges in all. PGR3 is nowhere near as long or as difficult as Gran Turismo 4, or even GT3 for that matter. You can go back and tackle the races you've previously raced in order to rank up on the Xbox Live Leaderboards, earn more medals and achievements, or fill more and more garages with cars. Or you can do what I hope most Xbox 360 gamers choose to do - race online.Project Gotham Racing 3 on Xbox Live is where's it's at. The game makes probably the best use of "Xbox Live aware" functionality yet, and the results are incredible. Even when playing the single player modes, your achievements and milestones are broadcast out to other users in the form of a constant news ticker on the bottom of the menu screens. Besides the ticker, and your data being automatically submitted to the Leaderboards, if you really rock, you can end up on a "live" Gotham TV feed for all the world to see. These video feeds allow you to become a spectator in a race that one of the best-ranked PGR3 drivers are taking part in. Whether it be to gawk at their elite driving skills, or to pick up on some tricks of your own, it's an amazingly cool concept.
Of course, you can actually take part in an online career mode or just race other players online as well. As expected the online play is smooth and lag free, and the various single and team-based racing modes can keep you busy forever. Project Gotham Racing 3 supports up to 8 players simultaneously, which is just enough to be fun but not enough to turn the races into an all out demolition derby. I've experienced a few sporadic issues with the voice chat, such as echoing and cutting out, that has yet to be solved. It hasn't affected the experience all that much, but with eight players trying to unsuccessfully communicate, it is sometimes better off not using the headset at all. The problem with last place racers just dropping out of races still exists, not to mention those who just like causing problems, but there's not much you can to do police that kind of activity outside of reporting them.
If you have an Xbox 360, Project Gotham Racing 3 is a must own title, whether you are a big racing fan or not. The Xbox Live functionality and the next-gen visuals are what will appeal to most hardcore gamers, while the exotic stable of cars and easy to get into gameplay will hook the casuals. The single player experience is a bit shorter than expected, but the unlockables, additional modes, and Xbox Live functionality almost make up for it. Either way it's worth your hard-earned $50, especially if you own an HDTV.
