• 28Nov 05

  Project Gotham Racing 3

  This is a must have for all PGR fans!
  I'm not going to get into the incredible graphics or the attention to detail that makes you feel like you're going 200 mph crossing a bridge. The graphics, sound, game-play, etc. is simply incredible. This is a must have for any racing fan.
  
  What I'd like to cover are some of the things that could have been improved.
  
  - To start, I have had the game lock up twice. I was just goofing around both times, but this is still annoying.
  
  - There is quite a learning curve to figure out how to start a race. On the previous games my wife and kids could do this on their own. It now requires assistance. Along the same lines, it is difficult to switch from automatic to manual and vice-versa. You must exit all the way back to the main menu, select more..., select options, select game options, find the transmission and change it, exit back to the main menu, then go find the race again. Quite a pain.
  
  - Photo mode is cool. However, the photos I like to take are usually at the end of the race. When doing the replay at the end of the race it exits out of replay leading you to start the replay again and fast forward to right before the end. It is very difficult to take a photo of the finish.
  
  - There is very little to lead you through the learning curve. It would be nice to have some introductory explanation of trophies, badges, leagues, etc.
  
  - The loading time is very long. I would gladly exchange some cool looks in the garage for a rapid car selection process.
  
  - There are some delays in graphics loading. Sometimes you will see the backs of buildings before you see the front, etc.
  
  - When starting a race, I would like to see the cars and the track. Instead you see various angles of your car followed by text. It is not until a couple seconds into the race that you can see the other cars and the track.
  
  - The LB button that changes the view often gets hit by accident when braking. This may be due to my large hands, but it often costs the race when the view unintentionally switches from the car view to the in cockpit view.
  
  - On one occasion I had all of the display overlays go away. I'm not sure how I did this, but it would be nice to be able to toggle them on and off.
  
  All these minor issues aside, the actual gameplay is awesome! The graphics are extremely impressive, the sound is wonderful, and the music rocks! I have not touched on any of the cool effects such as the glowing reflectors on the cone gates or the spinning ferris wheel as there is simply too much to cover in a user review. You simply have to get the game to discover all the wonders.
  • Posted Nov 28, 2005 1:59 pm PT
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