Project Gotham Racing 3

Anyone who’s played a racing game in the last five years will instantly feel at home with PGR3. It’s as simple as using RT to accelerate, LT to brake, and the A button for the E-Brake. You can also switch to full manual transmission and switch gears using the X and B buttons respectively. The left bumper is used to switch views and the left stick to control your vehicle. The cars themselves all handle really well with slightly heavier physics and an overall tighter feel. It’s also really easy to slide the backend around, possibly due to the fact that most of the vehicles are super-cars.  If I had to gauge it, I would say the developers have moved the slider one or two points from simulation to arcade in terms of the control scale. The fact that each move might reward you with more Kudos does not mean that the actual drifting system is easy to master though. With 8 types of braking drifts and feints available, the learning curve is definitely above average.

This franchise was definitely “a looker” on Xbox, but with the 360 the environments have finally caught up to the beautiful car models. It’s not always easy to see, especially when blasting down the road at 180mph, but if you slow down long enough to look around, you’ll see one heck of a beautiful game. A new graphics engine makes for some unbelievably gorgeous environments with buildings and other landmarks that light up each area with unfathomed realism. There’s also a lot more in the worlds background, like planes flying in the distance, fan’s snapping photo’s, and trains scuttling overpasses. The fans watching the race have all been motion captured for added realism and will even leap back from boundaries you slam into. The cars have always been beautiful, but with a pixel count that tops 100,000, the cars are almost carbon copies of their real world counterparts. There is some minor car damage; things like broken taillights or scraped paint, but it would have been nice to have seen much more. All of the camera views look great but I definitely recommend the interior view. Everything from the steering wheel to the functioning dashboard and other instruments look absolutely astonishing. You can even notice dirt smudges build up on the windshield, and it just adds unparallel emersion. Even the menu system has received an added coat of paint with a slick tile presentation that adds a little more flare to an already beautiful game.  If you’re looking for a game that shows off your shiny new system, Project Gotham 3 is definitely that title.

The audio in PGR3 is also very strong and goes a long way in creating the proper atmosphere for a racing game. Engine noises are all individually recorded, with subtle and not so subtle changes depending on vehicle. You’ll even begin to recognize the proper time to shift just by listening to the roar of the engine.  The rest of the sound effects are just as solid, everything from the screeching tires to the sound of trading paint with opponents is captured and delivered adequately. The team at Bizarre even went so far as to record ambient background noises at each world location for that added touch of realism .The soundtrack is also very good for a racing game, with everything from hard rock to Mozart, there should be something to suit any mood. You can of course still listen to your own custom soundtracks, but I found myself sampling the provided tracks more then usual. Overall the audio presentation is extremely strong, especially with a decent 5.1 setup. Combined with the stellar visuals, you’re left with a presentation that definitely blends the line between game and reality.

Final Word 

PGR3 may not have changed the winning formula but it’s hard to fault a title that stays true to such a successful recipe. A few minor problems keep the title from reaching perfection, most notably the availability of only 4 cities to choose from, but nothing that really hampers gameplay. The complete graphical overhaul and just plain magnificent presentation goes a long way to making this a compelling next-gen experience Add in the refined game-play and killer additions to Xbox live, especially Gotham TV, and you’ve got one of the best launch titles, and a must buy for any fan of racing games.