Bizarre Creations Turned Out With A Masterpiece That Keeps You Coming Back For More Races!

User Rating: 9 | Project Gotham Racing 4 X360
The fourth installment of the Project Gotham Racing series does not disappoint; this is simply one of the slickest, most visually appelaing racers out there, especially with the rain effects on the vehicles. The game does stray away from the series' roots of being strictly on exotic, high performance vehicles to importing city class vehicles and sedans such as the Buick GNX, the GMC Syclone, and the Toyota Supra, for example, but it is still a Project Gotham Racing Game through and through. There's also the inclusion of motorbikes into the game such as the Triumph Trident and the BMW K1200R which are also a neat feature, especially when you pit your bike with other high performance vehicles on the track.

The menus are also slick and visually appealing, as you'll see the last car or bike you drove either doing 360s for a silhouetted crowd or popping up from one side of the screen and stopping in the background. The menus are also easily laid out so you can easily find what you want.

Visually, the game is stunning. The weather effects are also a neat feature, giving you snow, rain, fog, etc. and also getting to witness changing weather patterns, as it could start raining when you're midway through a race, for example. Even, the crowd animations along the sides of the tracks are impressive and capture the the race day rush.

The gameplay is also a thrill. You get tons of championship races (street races, timetrials, etc.), amateur and professional, invitationals for unlocking certain vehicles, and even test tracks such as the skid pan for a way to test out your drift skills and earn your kudos points. And oh, yes, the Kudos points are just as rewarding as ever. There's also the inclusion of Kudos Stars that you get for every 100 consecutive kudos points (no pauses in between gaining kudos points to work or hitting walls) and getting 5 will get you an achievement score. With the Kudos points you get to get credits, you unlock certain vehicle packages, (i.e. a muscle car package) upgrade kits, etc.

Overall, PGR4 is a rewarding, visually impressive racer with several redeeming qualities. Too bad Bizarre Creations is no more now, but Project Gotham Racing will always be a racing legend!