For the most part you can go the entire career mode without spending much time on the bikes, but you're going to have to get used to the two-wheel vehicles if you're going to beat the Arcade mode. Arcade mode is a more traditional take on the Project Gotham Racing series, in this mode you play through a series of themed races for medals. The nice thing about this mode is that it doesn't feel like a stripped down variation on the career mode, instead it manages to feel like it's own thing. Best of all, the arcade mode rectifies some of the problems I had with the career mode, which made this "classic" mode even more fun for me. Bizarre Entertainment did a wise thing, no matter whether you like the new career mode or not there's going to be something in Project Gotham Racing 4 to keep your attention.
Beyond the new game modes, vehicles and events, Project Gotham Racing 4's other big enhancement is the weather system. While this may not sound like much, Bizarre Entertainment actually spent a lot of time making sure they got all of the weather effects perfect, and it really shows. PGR4 accurately recreates a heavy fog, the snow and the rain. Sure, other games have done this in the past, but there's something authentic about the way they affect the race track. Even though there are three weather conditions, there's one you will see more than any other - the rain. It rains a lot. In fact, there were entire months of the career mode where it felt like rain was the only thing I was racing in. The good news is that the rain is incredibly realistic; it makes you slip and slide, while looking cool as it hits the camera/windshield. If Project Gotham Racing 4 does anything well it's the weather effects, they are simply stunning and just the beginning of a world of racing games (and all games, really) that use realistic weather to heighten their level of authenticity.
Unfortunately that's also the problem with this game; the most innovative thing about Project Gotham Racing 4 is the weather effects. That's not to say that this game isn't fun, it's just not as fresh and new as it probably should have been. There's this sense while playing the game that you've seen and done this all before, even some of the cities from older PGR games make an appearance in this game. It all just feels very recycled, as if Bizarre Entertainment was just going through the motions when making this game. The fact that I can still recommend this game feeling this way is a testament to how much fun the core mechanics of the gameplay are.
The real reason this game is so easy to recommend is because of the amount of content found on this DVD. Not only does this game have a lot of compelling single-player modes (career mode, time attack, arcade mode, etc.), but Project Gotham Racing 4 also comes equipped with a number of exciting multiplayer games. Be it racing by yourself or as a team, there's just nothing like racing against other real people. PGR4 gives gamers a chance to fight it in all kinds of race types, including elimination, street race, cat and mouse, and bulldog mode. While the online modes aren't as meaty as what we saw a few months ago in Forza 2, there is certainly enough content here to keep even the most diehard fan entertained for months to come.
It also doesn't hurt that Project Gotham Racing 4 is easily one of the best looking racing games on the Xbox 360. PGR4 manages to take everything that was good about the third installment and add more details and style. This is a sharp looking game that is only improved by the addition of amazing weather effects, such as the drops of rain on the front of your car and how the snow sits on the real city streets. As good as the game looks in still images, it only looks better when running on a nice high definition television.
Project Gotham Racing 4 is a fun game, there's no doubt about that. It's also an extremely unlucky game. Coming out only months after Forza 2, it's hard to not want to compare these two racing games. But Project Gotham Racing 4 is not Forza 2; these are two different games competing for the same space. Project Gotham Racing may not be as innovative as I would have hoped, but it's still a solid racing game that offers hours of content to play through. If you're the type of gamer who is looking for some diversity in their racers, then Project Gotham Racing 4 is well worth adding to your collection.
B-
Project Gotham Racing 4 is a solid game that delivers a diverse collection of races to complete. Unfortunately it's marred by the fact that it's not all that different from Project Gotham Racing 3 and isn't as much fun as Forza 2. Still, this is an exciting racer that is well worth adding to your collection.
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