With the launch of every new gaming console, certain titles define the technological capacity of that platform and usher in the next generation in style. For the Nintendo 64, it was Mario 64; for the original Xbox, it was Halo. Just days before the launch of the Xbox 360, we have a new candidate for that honor: Bizarre Creations' Project Gotham Racing 3, a gripping and intense racing game that is a welcome addition to the 360's launch lineup.
What could be better than driving the car of your dreams in race locales that look this good?
One of the hallmarks of the PGR series has always been its volume--the large numbers of tracks set in a variety of exotic locales, and a list of drivable cars that, based on sheer numbers alone, set the mouths of car aficionados agape. That number has been pared down considerably in PGR 3, to around 80 vehicles. But what an 80 it is. Instead of starting you out in a modest VW Corrado or Honda CRX, right off the bat in PGR 3 you'll have access to some of the hottest high-performance rides in the world. Models from elite makers such as Ferrari, TVR, RUFs, Mercedes, Lotus, and Shelby are available to you from the get-go--provided you have the credits to pay for them, of course.
Luckily, money comes quick in PGR 3, thanks to the game's centerpiece, the career mode. The mode's been split into two subsections--a solo career that has you take on artificial intelligence-controlled drivers, and an online career mode that pits you against real-life drivers in a number of online events. By completing events over a variety of difficulty levels (like in PGR 2, difficulty is noted by medals ranging from tin to platinum), you earn credits that pile up quickly and let you fill your garages (yes, note the plural) with the coolest collection of performance autos imaginable.
When it comes to mission variety, PGR 3's solo career mode will feel very familiar to anyone who's played the PGR series before. You'll have your straight-ahead street races, of course, which will pit you against one or more other opponents in a fight to the checkered flag, and elimination races--multilap sprints in which the last driver over the finish line is eliminated on each successive lap. There's more to do than simply drive fast--in the PGR world, driving with style is just as important as stomping on the accelerator and pointing your nose at the finish line. So the kudos system is back, serving as a measure of your ability to feather your car around corners, maintain awesome drifts around tight turns, and avoid the ever-present walls and other barriers.
Like the cash in PGR 3, kudos seem to be easier to earn this time around--though that could be a function of the incredible power of the cars in the game, which are at once very agreeable to drift-style driving, and fairly easy to control in the process. If you've got some touch behind the virtual wheel, for example, you can slalom your way down long straights, spinning your back wheels practically the entire time, racking up massive kudos along the way. In some timed runs, earning kudos will temporarily pause the countdown clock that you're running against; thus, these kudos versus time races are challenges that require a fine balance of race speed and skillful touch. As easy as kudos are to earn, however, you won't just breeze your way through the kudo-centric cone challenges. At the hardest difficulty level, these races require not only improvisation on the course, to ensure your combo chain isn't broken, but a sniper's accuracy behind the wheel, to navigate the tough placement of the cones. It can be frustrating or invigorating, depending on your mindset.
Motion blur effects and solid frame rate contributes to the game's thrilling sense of speed.
There's just enough variety to keep things moving forward, and it won't take you much time to get through either solo mode or the online career mode. We wrapped up the solo career mode with all silver medals in approximately eight hours of play. Obviously, there's an incentive to earn even better medals, as well as more credits, achievements, and badges; but with only 23 trophies available in solo career mode, it won't be long before you begin to explore other options in the game.
The other half of your career in PGR 3 will take place online in the appropriately named online career. Unlike playtime matches, racing in your online career is for keeps, as these are ranked matches. A complex system of player matching ensures that you're racing against opponents who not only share an agreeable network connection with you, but also are of like skill on the track. Unlike the solo career mode, your online career never really ends in PGR 3--you are simply on a quest to win as often as possible and improve your online ranking in the process. The challenge of running against unpredictable real life opponents adds value to a game whose single player game ends quicker than you might hope.
And that's as it should be. The real meat of any competitive Xbox 360 game is (or at least, should be) taking on real-life opponents from all over the world and enjoying the sounds of them choking on your exhaust. Just as in PGR 2, Project Gotham Racing 3's long-term appeal comes in its online features, which include the aforementioned online career mode, as well as the kind of quick-race and optimatch features that you've come to expect in online racing games.
The crowds gathered to watch you race will run to get out of your way should you crash into a wall.
When creating matches from scratch, you have three modes to choose from: street race, eliminator, and capture the track (along with team versions of street race and eliminator). Online street races and eliminator modes play exactly as they do in PGR 3's single-player game. In capture the track, your goal is to "own" as much of a particular course as you can by posting the fastest sector teams in specific sections of a track. The quicker you are over the course, the more of the track you'll own. Online performance was silky smooth in our test sessions with the game--we didn't notice any sort of lag or warping of vehicles. And, because it's been a while since we've played the last PGR game online, it's nice to see that beating loudmouths on Xbox Live is still as satisfying a simple pleasure as online gaming can provide.
