Genre: Racing
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Bizarre Creations
Release Date: November 22, 2005
With
the upcoming launch of the Xbox 360, there were some individual titles
that were expected, and Project Gotham Racing 3 was
definitely a title from Microsoft Game Studios that was on the short list.
The last time around the block for
Project Gotham Racing 2 was enjoyable for many, but
there were a few qualities that really got some gamers’ radiators
boiling. One big issue was a highly exploitable bonus system; by making
flashy turns, kudos gained would accumulate to boost your racing score.
It was kind of like being at the restaurant in the movie Office
Space, where your performance was rated on pieces of flair instead
of your skill. Ultimately, competition suffered because some players would
just rack up kudos instead of really racing.
Another issue in Project Gotham
Racing 2 was car control as an arcade racer. The superhuman cornering
was a little too good to keep players in for the long haul. That said,
Project Gotham Racing 2 was still a solid game, and tearing around
the tracks with your friends usually made for some really close matches.
So, with Project Gotham Racing
3 we’ve been waiting to get close to the final build to
see exactly how the tweaks would play out, and if the jump to the Xbox
360 would make a world of difference in the environment.
From the moment we stepped into the
world of PGR 3, it was evident that things have changed.
The very first car we saw, a shiny little Honda NSX, was so pretty it
warranted some extra time to admire. All of the cars in Project
Gotham Racing 3 are so well rendered that they look too good.
They are sharp, colorful, and really, really shiny; almost too shiny.
PGR 3 cars are so clean that you can get distracted
watching the clouds’ reflection on the clear coat of the hood, so
make sure you choose a cockpit vantage point, or you might just run head-on
into a wall.
The highly rendered exterior combines
with some other details about the car, proving that the audio and visual
effects for vehicles in PGR 3 were extremely well thought-out.
Project Gotham Racing 3 stuck microphones all
over the real cars that match those in the game, and the result is a driving
experience that can allow anyone to close their eyes and just imagine
they are sitting in the driver’s seat of a Ferrari. As far as the
visual effects go, the cockpit view seems the least developed, but all
other views couldn’t be much better.
Continuing with the visual rendition
is the speed effect. PGR 3 lands somewhere in the middle
of the effect compared to previous titles in the genre, making it a pleasant
fit with its simulator-looking, arcade-feel approach.
If there’s one part of Project
Gotham Racing 3 that is most like a simulator, it would be the environment.
If you are from NYC, or Tokyo for that matter, PGR 3 might freak
you out a little bit. There is little doubt that New Yorker friends of
those who buy Project Gotham Racing 3 early will buy the game
just to see their neighborhood in the game. It’s no joke –
Microsoft Game Studios had to go out and get licenses for nearly every
individual building in Project Gotham Racing 3. It sounds crazy,
but after not being to the city for a while, it was really awesome to see
buildings I remembered, with the same businesses that are actually there.
So, with the fact that PGR
3 is an arcade racer on a bit more conservative track than recent
predecessors in the series, it still shows the grace under fire around
the corners that keeps many from losing their minds. Drivers like Forza
aren’t for everyone – most can’t handle the
stress of that reality.
In the end, it all comes down to the
fact that Project Gotham Racing 3 is trying to nestle
itself right into the slot of an arcade racer that makes you feel like
you are driving a simulator because the graphics look so good. Will they
succeed at that? Absolutely.
But how will drivers get to enjoy
the worlds of Project Gotham Racing 3? Microsoft Game
Studios has come up with five modes, as follow below.
Team Modes
Capture the track : Team
racing, where individuals win segments. Team that wins the most wins.
Team Eliminator:
Last to cross the finish line each lap loses until one team wins. With
two teams of two, if team one is last the first lap, they lose a
racer.
If they are last the second lap, the second racer is lost, and team two
wins.
Team Street Race:
Red Vs. Blue. Sound like Halo? Score points throughout a race series,
and the team with the most points wins… deathmatch?
Individual Modes
Eliminator: If you’re
last in the lap, you die. Everybody dies, except for the last driver
racing.
Street Race: The old stand-by,
juice it up, hit the corners and win it the old-fashioned way –
by yourself!
If you are going to hit the streets
alone, make sure you are well equipped. We started out with a lower-end
Honda, and it was tough at first. After all, in multiplayer, it’s
not easy taking on 400+ horsepower beasts with your little machine, so
beef up a bit in solo play before you decide to take on the big boys.
Cars are available in Project
Gotham Racing 3 right from the start -- all of them, if you
only had the cash! That’s right, big spender, PGR 3
has the whole automobile world unlocked for you, but it will leave most
window shopping for quite a while before they can afford it. Don’t
worry, you have company any day of the week… just swing by British
Motor Cars on Van Ness in San Francisco, and you will see plenty of guys
staring in the window at the newest Lamborghini, Lotus, or Bentley seven
days a week.
For those of you who can’t
make it, PGR 3 has made it possible to drool over these
cars in the comfort of your own home – but you might actually be
able to afford one in the virtual world sometime in the coming months,
and don’t worry, we’ll be right there buying one in the Project
Gotham Racing 3 fantasy world with you.
|