o say that the Project Gotham series is the Xbox’s best looking racer is to overlook a few other key factors in its success. While still retaining and improving upon its vaunted good looks, PGR 2 is yet another hit for the console because of that one quality that most games in the genre can’t capture: It leaves you constantly craving your next challenge.
On the face of it, this sequel is largely untouched. Earning Kudos through good driving and the great-looking environments are its pillars. However, this isn’t just a case of adding more cars. The key is in the title’s excellent pacing. Because you can earn Kudos in almost every segment of the game, PGR 2 is largely freed from merely being about rehashing the same races just for cash. This and the choosable difficulty levels allow you to progress at your own pace and perform a variety of tasks to get the Kudos you seek. You can tackle cone courses in the Arcade mode or stick to the Kudos World Series and earn them overtaking cars or marshalling your top speed to make it past the Speed Camera. Even Xbox Live is all-inclusive. Instead of just being a multiplayer component, those hooked up to it while playing single-player can see the record times and ghost cars of other online players who have gone before them.
The racing itself is stimulating as well. The automobiles (including classics and even SUVs) show a good adherence to the delicate principles of acceleration, braking, and drift, and also have distinct differences in the way they handle and feel. Between this and the gorgeous scenery, it’s like a sensory overload as you brake and scream around a tight corner in a dangerous mix of adrenaline and gasoline. Shadows are impressive (especially when you get nervous as an opponent’s headlights creep up and shine on your car), and go so far as to cast themselves on the rear seats of your ride.
Whereas the soul of Gran Turismo is about the cars themselves, PGR 2 is all about tearing up the courses and getting paid handsomely in Kudos to do it – "stylish driving" as the game says. Consider this important point: Bizarre Creations’ racer is well balanced for maximum pleasure. Beyond the variable difficulty levels, learning to string together combos can be a delicate task. And yet, the game doesn’t get too strict about enforcing every brush with the wall or scrape with another car. However, for the future, I hope that the next PGR has an option where you can accrue performance-altering damage to back up the already impressive visual effects. Furthermore, adding upgradeable parts into the game’s balancing would offer a great amount of depth to a title that already has my knuckles three shades past white.
Project Gotham Racing 2 doesn’t blow open any revolutionary doors to the racing genre. However, it has reached the obvious but not always obtainable goal of not only demanding my skill on the track, but my constant interest as well. You’ll want to give it your full attention.