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Introduction:
When the original Xbox launched, along with it came some impressive launch titles: Halo, Amped and Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee just to name a few.  There were also a scant offering of racing titles, but the one that seemed to stand out the most, and became one of Xbox’s most popular and best selling launch titles was Project Gotham Racing (PGR).  Not quite a sim but also not quite an arcade racer, PGR brought the premise that there’s more to racing than just finishing first.  The ‘kudos’ scoring system, introduced by PGR, pushed the notion that driving with style is as important as finishing first. 

A few years later, Bizarre Creations followed up with Project Gotham Racing 2 (PGR2), a worthy successor to PGR and even more popular in sales.  PGR2 expanded and improved upon the kudos scoring system introduced in the first title and, of course, added a plethora of Xbox Live features to the game.  The gameplay was still solid; the graphics were crisper and Bizarre got Live right.  Xbox racers everywhere were happy. 

Well, here we are; 2005, and the most sought after & difficult to find console, the Xbox 360, has arrived.  Among the list of launch titles for the Xbox 360 comes a very familiar sounding name.  So, does Project Gotham Racing 3 (PGR3) live up to the legacy of its predecessors?  Is it the 360 launch racer everyone was expecting it to be?  Read on to find out.

Gameplay:
One aspect I’ve always liked about the PGR series is it’s ease of gameplay and PGR3 is no different.  The game menus are very easy to navigate, and the gameplay itself is simple and intuitive.  Of course, most racing games aren’t overly taxing control-wise (like most racing games, it’s: gas & brake on the triggers & a face button for the e-brake), but the PGR games just make it really easy to jump right in and start racing. 

Having played both previous titles extensively, I was eager to get on the road and see what PGR3 had in store for me.  After automatically creating my PGR3 profile from the Xbox 360 Live account my Xbox 360 was logged on to, I was presented with the following options: Gotham Career, Playtime, Gotham TV, Achievements and More. 

If you select Gotham Career, you’ll be presented with two basic options: the solo (off line) career and the online (Xbox Live) career.  From this menu, you also have the options to view the leaderboards or view your cars (viewing your cars also allows you to walk around the garage and play the original Geometry Wars, from PGR2, and a demo for the sequel that’s available on the Xbox 360 Live Arcade, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved).  Though many gamers will be eager to jump right into their online careers, they have to keep in mind that you can only use cars in your online career that you’ve unlocked by playing the off line solo career.  So, if you really want to work on your online career, you’ll have to put in some time in the off line career first. 

As you progress through the off line career, you earn credits that can be used to purchase better cars, and there are five different classes of cars to chose from (A thru E – and you must own a car in the proper class to participate in class restricted races).  To be honest, I found it almost too easy to earn the credits I needed to buy the top cars in the game.  There really are no ‘bad’ cars in the game, however.  The first car I purchased was an Acura NSX (PGR3 calls it a Honda), and I used that car to progress far enough in the off line career to earn enough credits to purchase pretty much any car I wanted. 

Many consider the Ferrari F50 the top car in the game, but I decided to be a little different and purchase the Mercedes CLK.  In a feat I knew I likely wouldn’t be able to duplicate (and I did not), I managed to win my very first online race in PGR3, which was a rather exhilarating experience. 

Of course, if you don’t care about rankings and just want to jump into a race on Live, you can.  Just select Playtime from the main menu.  Here you can select any city/track and race with any car in the game for some off or online fun.  You can select any race type from the following playtime options: Street Race, Eliminator, Team Street Race, Team Eliminator and Capture the Track.  All of these race types are also available for system link play. 

The other two options from the game’s main menu include: Race Against the Clock, where you try and get the best time on a particular track, and Route Creator.  The route creator feature allows you to create your own race route through any of PGR3’s cities.  You can use your created tracks off line and in playtime on Xbox Live. 

The graphics in Project Gotham Racing 3 are outstanding.  While some complain that many of Xbox 360’s launch titles hardly look next gen (and I agree for some games), PGR3’s visuals are extremely impressive.  The cars themselves look excellent and the cities you race through are near photo-realistic.  Also, in addition to the usual compliment of available views while racing, PGR3 adds the new ‘Dash View’.  Dash view gives you a through-the-windshield view, complete with a view of the windshield pillar, the car’s dashboard and your gloved hands on the steering wheel.  The dash view quickly became my favorite.  It’s the most realistic view, as if you’re seeing the race through the eyes of your virtual driver. 

Sound in PGR3 is equally impressive.  The squeal of the tires and the roar of the engine, which changes appropriately for each car you drive, sound just as you’d expect.  Also, as with every Xbox 360 game, PGR3 allows for custom soundtracks.  One drawback I found, however, is that, if you chose to use custom soundtracks rather than the in-game music, you lose the ability to skip to the next song, using the directional pad.  Of course, the in game music isn’t all bad.  In fact, I accidentally discovered the thrill of driving to classical music.  Tchaikovsky is my new friend. 

The Achievements option from the main menu, allows you to view the trophies and badges you have earned in PGR3  Here you can also view general stats, the leaderboards and your Xbox 360 Live achievements (which link up with your ID on the official Xbox.com forums).  The final option from the main menu, More, allows you to alter settings such as audio and video options, enter the Xbox Live marketplace and chose which profile to use in the game. 

Extras:
Project Gotham Racing 3 is, of course, fully Live-enabled.  You have the option to race in ranked races over Xbox Live (Online Career) or race for fun against friends or strangers (Playtime).  If you select the Online Career, you’ll only be able to race using cars you’ve unlocked in the single-player off-line career and you will not get to select people from your friend’s list to race against.  This is because, during your online career, PGR3 will automatically match you up with other online racers of the same approximate skill level.  You simply select an event, and off you go to be matched up on Live and race.  The better you do, the more you’ll rank up to face better and better racers. 

If you become one of the best, you’ll be featured on another part of PGR3: Gotham TV.  Gotham TV is PGR3’s version of a replay theatre.  However, rather than just being able to view your own replays or have a ghost race with you (which you can also do in PGR3, of course), Gotham TV lets you watch anyone on your friend’s list, as well as PGR3 ‘Heroes’ race…Live.  That’s right.  These are not replays you’ll be viewing, but actual live races as they take place on Xbox 360 Live. 

The heroes are the best of the best from those who play PGR3 over Xbox Live.  Want to see how the top ranked racers take their turns?  Want to see how they get those amazing race times?  Just access Gotham TV and watch them race.  For those of you who truly learn by watching, this is really a great feature. 

If you chose to host your own playtime game on Xbox Live, you’ll have the following race options: City to race in, track to race on, the number and skill level of your AI opponents, whether to race during the day, night or when it’s overcast, reverse the track, restrict the gear type, force the in-car view for all racers, turn collisions on or off and select whether to have a friends-only race (from those on your friend’s list) or an open race (open to anyone on Xbox Live). 

Conclusion:
Project Gotham Racing 3 is a worthy successor to its earlier versions, and one of the better launch titles I’ve experienced for the Xbox 360.  It brings everything that was great about the first two iterations, while adding jaw-dropping graphics and even more Xbox Live goodness.  Some may see the game as nothing more than PGR2 with a graphical upgrade, but I do not.  In addition to the greatly enhanced graphics, PGR3 also brings features that utilize Xbox Live to a great extent, and show off the Xbox 360 in an impressive way. 

If you’re a fan of the racing genre, then you owe it to yourself to own Xbox 360’s first great racing title, Project Gotham Racing 3. 

Score: 8.9