November 11, 2005 - I’ve learned through experience that to correctly predict game trends you must consult my older relatives or my non-gaming friends. I know this makes no sense, but they are the surest barometer of all things gaming-related. Go figure! A few years ago, none of them had ever heard of Project Gotham Racing or Need for Speed: Underground or Midnight Club or Burnout. And while hardcore gamers were playing these titles for the first time, the “gaming barometer” of the world was happily and blissfully asking me about that “chicken punting” game or that other “violent” one that all the kids were playing. But as sure as time ticks away when you’re least expecting it; the great “gaming barometer” eventually caught on and starting asking me about Project Gotham Racing 2 and Underground 2 and Burnout 3 and Midnight Club 3. I suppose the barometer loves numbers or simply playing catch-up, but one thing is certain; where the barometer goes, trends follow. And since the first glimpse of the Xbox 360 I’ve heard nothing but talk about this “Gotham Game Racing Project 3” that looks so good. Well, now I know what the barometer’s keeping close tabs on, and after playing PGR3 at X’05 in Toronto, there’s good reason.

I played the original PGR sporadically; I liked the game, but if never ceased to frustrate me. I’d pick it up, play it until I hit a certain level of frustration and put it aside for a bit. The day that PGR2 hit the shelves, I took a day off work and played it until I had all the cool cars I wanted unlocked for online play. And play online I did. I talked all my friends into buying it and everyone loved it. I added dozens and dozens of people to my Friends List after meeting them online. I gave PGR2 to people as a birthday and Christmas gift. The game could do no wrong. PGR2 was a work of perfection and the expansion packs only kept me playing it more and more. To this day, I still think of PGR2 as one of the greatest games of all time. And so, in my mind, PGR3 was destined to fail. How could it come remotely close to being as good as 2 was? Sure, it looked all nice and shiny with polygon counts through the roof, but c’mon! Would it keep me hooked? I headed to Toronto expecting very little and ready to be disappointed. Yeah, PGR3 made me a believer again...

The first thing you’ll notice when you take this iteration out for a spin is the insane amount of options that PGR3 give you. When you customize a race, you really customize it. From time of day, mode, A.I., cars on the track, weather, courses, music, whatever, PGR3 lets you race the way you want to. PGR2 had a lot of “invented” online games, in PGR3 you can just create them. If game modes and setting weren’t enough, the game also lets you build the track the way you want. You’re racing southbound on Las Vegas Boulevard and just passed Circus Circus on your right, the Stardust looms in the distance but you want to avoid it and head towards the Sands instead. Done. You want to keep on Paradise Road until you hit the Hard Rock? Done. You want to cut between the Paris and the Aladdin? Done-aroonie! Yes, Las Vegas is not only that detailed in the game, but the track creator is that good at re-routing a course. And if that weren’t enough, PGR3’s engine renders the entire city whether you are racing that track or not, so when you hit a wall and come to a stop, you can actually move the camera over to peer down perfectly rendered alley-ways and side streets. All the landmarks of every city are there, from the roller-coasters of Circus Circus (can you tell that Vegas was my city of choice?) to the high towers and billboards of Tokyo and New York.

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