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Project Gotham Racing 2 Preview |
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Project Gotham Racing 2
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Project Gotham Racing was one of the better launch titles for Xbox, being the sequel to "Midnight Street Racer" on the Dreamcast. It differed from other racers in that you didn't necessarily win by coming first in the race, but by reaching a certain amount of "Kudos", rewarded for time remaining, clean runs, slides, 360s and air. Project Gotham Racing 2 promises to expand on the previous game, with new features, more ways to earn Kudos, more cars and tracks, and just more in general.
The game will feature 8 new cities, in addition to the 4 from Project Gotham Racing. At the moment, only 6 of these are known. They are: Hong Kong, Chicago, Edinburgh, Moscow, Florence and Barcelona. On top of this, the game will feature over 100 new cars, including the Toyota Supra, Pontiac GTO, Ferrari Dino GT, Porsche Cayenne Turbo, Cadillac XLR and the Ferrari Enzo as a result of the huge licensing budget Microsoft has given Bizarre. The game will play in the same way as the original, with gaining certain amounts of Kudos or completing certain races unlocking faster, more desirable cars.
One of the main adjustments to the Kudos system is that crashing into a wall may not cause you to lose any Kudos you gained before. Instead, a minor bump will result in a small penalty. A head on smash into the wall will still lose any Kudos you have. After the race, the game gives you a breakdown on how you earned your Kudos, which helps in preparing for future runs. Kudos are also rewarded for hugging the racing line this time, making it a viable option for races.
The Xbox Live compatible section of the game will support not only head to head racing in a multitude of game modes, but also fastest lap and top score tables and ghost car downloads. It is also very likely that downloadable content will be available, including new cars and cities. System link and split screen play will also be included for those without broadband or Xbox Live.
Just as the first game, Project Gotham Racing 2 looks stunning. The cars a modeled well and reflect light as they should. The cities look smooth and nicely detailed. This really looks like an Xbox game. The physics engine is also surprisingly realistic, taking into account things such as weight transfer which were absent from a lot of supposedly realistic racing games, most notably the Gran Turismo series.
Project Gotham Racing 2 is looking like much more than just an expansion of the previous game. With 3 times as many cities, many new cars, an entirely new Kudos system, much better graphics and Xbox Live support, Project Gotham Racing 2 could set the standard for arcade racing games.
Review By: Flid_Merchant
Game Info: Project Gotham Racing 2
Screenshots (8):
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