Project Gotham Racing 4 (Xbox 360, 2007)

With 2005's Project Gotham Racing 3, Bizarre Creations ushered in a new era of racing on the Xbox 360 with a game that continued the long-standing quality of its Project Gotham series with amazing graphics and extensive online options. Here we are, two years later, and Bizarre has turned in the fourth game in the PGR series, one that opens up the vehicles list a bit and adds to the online fun, yet still follows the tried-and-true PGR formula. In short, Project Gotham Racing 4 continues the series' tradition of brilliant visuals and fun gameplay, and adds to the list with new rides and weather effects that must be driven to be believed.

The fastest cars in the game will typically be quicker than the bikes but, in our experience, if you can grab an early lead in PGR 4 on two wheels and can maintain some consistency in your laps, you'll be awfully tough to beat. Bikes have their control quirks; for instance, when coming out of a turn, you'll want to let go of the analog stick in order to bring yourself back up smoothly, as manually bringing your rider upright can result in serious overcorrection errors. But for the most part bikes aren't much of a challenge and, as a result, aren't really as fun as we were hoping.

The weather effect system, unlike the bikes, is a major feature of Project Gotham Racing 4 regardless if your love affair is with cars or bikes. The dynamic weather affects each and every machine- whether two wheel or four- which makes for an ever-changing physics lesson, not to mention constantly varying wheel-to-wheel racing difficulty. It makes sense in a racer too. For instance, all-wheel-drive cars are nearly always heavier than their two-wheel-drive counterparts, which normally gives the advantage in the dry to the latter. But throw in rainy (or better yet) snowy conditions, and the advanced AWD systems of these tanks more than makes up for their weight (this also allows AWD cars to drift, which we all know equals Kudos) This is even more evident with the bikes. How many bikes do you see driving around on ice and snow? There’s a reason, and it can be played out in Project Gotham Racing 4 without risking serious

If you know the PGR series then you know that the Arcade and Career (revised for a more interactive experience) modes are all about acquiring Kudos in order to progress through the locked areas and gain access to better tracks and cars. Project Gotham Racing 4 gives us more of the same, but a revised Kudos system makes the experience a bit more tolerable. Those that don’t like to slide all over the track or aren’t looking to make a YouTube video of successive 360’s will enjoy the fact that technical road racing skills will be rewarded handsomely as well. Techniques such as acquiring the fastest lap, drafting, completing a section cleanly, maintaining a target speed or even hitting an apex can result in mad Kudos. Of course you’ll still have to do feint and power drifts, catch some air and use that e-brake all of the time if you want to progress as planned through Project Gotham Racing 4. In addition to normal racing events, the Cone, Time vs. Kudos and Speed Challenge events are back for flashy Kudos collection. The dynamic weather makes this sometimes-monotonous task of Kudos collection more fun and tougher to master, and the new gathering system devised by Bizarre helps a bit too. There are separate Kudos to earn for bikes, which can be interesting at times as well

OVERALL 8.8
A MUST BUY

I've been looking for a really fun racing game and couldn't find one until now. Project Gotham Racing 4 is without a doubt fun and accelerating. This time around you'll get to use motorcycle and the new weather system which can affect your driving in a realistic way. When coming to a puddle you can feel the car slowing down and be careful if you go too fast you will hydroplane. I recommend this game to all racing fans as well for people who likes cars and motorcycles.

This game is relatively older, from within the last few years. For it's release date, it is graphically impressive, has reasonable depth in car selection and unique modes of play. Most notable about PGR4 is the usage of the Kudos system, which grades and awards you "Kudos points" in real-time as you drive through each track for any and all flashy moves, overtakes and faultlessness.

Unlike most racing games, there are more things to do than the overly-familiar 'beat the other 7 racers'. This comes to you in the form of track-specific challenges, multiple difficulties for each event and racing to achieve different goals. Recommended for any race enthusiast, this game is a great combination of arcade-style racers and the more realistic racing element found more commonly in simulation-style racers.

PGR4 is a good game, but there are a few things holding it back from being a great one.

[+]
Excellent graphics
Great sense of speed
Kudos system makes every turn count in some fashion
Motorcycles are fun and easy to control
Easy to pick up and play
Works great with xbox steering wheel
Good customization

[-]
Not nearly as many vehicle options as in Forza 2
Motorcycles can make the game almost too easy
For an arcade style sim, cars still tend to spin out of control a lot

Overall, I recommend PGR4 only behind Forza 2 as far as the racing experience on the xbox 360 goes. If you're looking for an arcade style, jump in the saddle and play type of racer, you can't go wrong with PGR4, but if you want the answer to Sony's Gran Turismo on your 360, get Forza 2.

It's got a lot to love, although it might be more of the same if you're a previous PGR 3 fan. But the graphics and flair are just undeniable. It's not a sim racer like Forza MS 2 or Gran Turismo 5 Prologue but it's close enough. PGR has a distinct feel to it and that's why you'd buy it. Plus it's got a nice list of manufacturers and vehicles to chose from.

If you're looking for a great racer to add to your collection and keep your roster of cars up to date, PGR 4 is your game. Me personally, I think it's great on its own if you had to chose between it and Forza MS 2. There are those who would balk at its arcade feel...that's the whole POINT! Truth be told, when I wanna feel the wind in my hair I'll go for a spin in my REAL car. If I wanna just pick up the controller and play something fun and enjoyable, I'll put Project Gotham Racing 4 on. And it doesn't disappoint.