Realistic game puts you in the driver's seat

I finally have had some “go time” with one of the most anticipated launch games for the 360, Project Gotham Racing 3. I have to be honest with you and say that if I hadn't gotten this game for free, I don't know if I would have bought it. I'm only mentioning that because although I do love the rally-type or arcade-like racing games, more realistic racing games don't amuse me too much.

You may ask yourself then, why are you writing about this, Peter? I'm doing so because I want everyone to know that this is one of the nicest blends of arcade-meets-realism that I've ever indulged into.
From the beginning, the game is very easy to get into. You buy one of the couple of cars that are available with your budget and immediately launch into a race that will suit your level of comfort. The higher the degree of difficulty, the more money that you will make and the faster you can buy more powerful cars.

The graphics are an excellent showcase of the 360's power. The cars and the scenery are all beautifully rendered and the little details like the lighting and the reflective surfaces give the game that extra kick in the realism department.

For those who really like realism in their racing, they may be a tad disappointed for a few reasons. First, like I said before, the game has a strong arcade-like feeling. If you want Grand Turismo or Forsa Motorsport, go play those games instead. Secondly, you can't tweek anything with the cars and their engines. You can only choose some of the colour schemes. Last, when you do get into an accident, there is no damage to the cars whatsoever. That's the crappy part about licensing — the clauses where you can't show their cars getting banged up and performing horribly.

One thing I really like about the game is how flawlessly you can import your own music and playlists into the game. I'm not a fan of the majority of the music included with the game, so I took the half an hour out of my life to rip a bunch of CDs onto the 360. There's just something extra cool about sliding around the corners of a track with Obituary blaring over the speakers.

If you love competition, the online play is fantastic and you can even earn money and Kudos points (which are basically points given for style) to go towards your career! If you don't wanna play anybody but would like to see how the best of the best play, head on over to the spectator mode where you can watch the champs race it out live!

I'm definitely impressed with this game and it overtook my Halo 2 fun and prohibited me from finishing the amazing Call of Duty 2 (review hopefully next week). I'm sure that those of you looking for some fun will definitely want to check out this game. The levels of difficulty will welcome any gamer and definitely encourage you to get better and better. (9 out of 10).

Play online with Peter! Email him at popeyepopsolive@hotmail.com