As a fan of MSR and the first PGR, Project Gotham Racing 2 has to be one of the finest racing experiences on consoles to date. First, the graphics. The cars look splendid, although not too much better than PGR1. The light reflections are better in sunlight and the curves are less jagged. I remember this one particular scene with the sun reflecting off of the top of a Cayenne, simply amazing. But a quick comparison between the two games doesn't show too much improvements. The background is where the game really shines. The bump mapping on the brick roads look awesome; combined with the rumble on the controller, it really feels like driving on a brick road. The city background, although useless during racing, looks nice when you just want to drive around town. In the audio department, the car sounds are authentic so it's hard to complain. I listen to my own music during racing so their lengthy and diverse soundtrack is meaningless to me. Now the controls. They feel a bit different from PGR. Seems like the cars turning radii have been enlarged a bit. I find myself slowing down a lot more than I did before to make those tight turns. The power slides feel about the same. Although I think it's more obvious now that some of the cars just can't power slide. Additionally, each car has its own driving characteristics that are somewhat true to real life. Most of the American muscle cars don't have handling and the same goes for the SUVs. The structure of the game has also been tweaked. For one thing, you can now only use designated cars in a certain stage. So it's no longer possible to take a Skyline to the beginning stages and smoke them all. This makes sense because it just isn't fair. Secondly, the Kudos goals are much more defined. You can longer adjust the exact goal down to the exact point or second. Instead, they have gold, silver, bronze, etc. I sorta liked the older version. The Kudos system has also been adjusted to make life easier. You can now bump the railings and not lose the entire combo. Likewise for hitting cones. It makes the game easier but I do like the idea of perfection present in PGR1 and even the stricter MSR. You now also get bonuses for a clean race and finishing ahead of your preset goal. I think these are execellent additions. I've heard complaints from non-PGR fans that the game was just too hard to get into. While I disagree with that notion, it is nice for the developers to make this excellent game more accessible. Overall, this has to be the tightest racing game ever made. PGR1 was my previous favorite and the changes in this one has made the game better overall. Some changes I didn't especially care for but the good out weighs the bad in the end. Having lots more cars to drive also doesn't hurt.
When I first played this game I loved it for it's graphical beauty and familiarity, several hours later I was awe-struck by the depth and immersion I never thought capable of a racing game. Gameplay: This could easil... Read Full Review
This game is awesome! Project Racing 2 has loads of game modes including street races, cone challenges, time runs, car challenges and the Kudos world series. You can also take on up to eight players online and engage you... Read Full Review
