There are a ton of racing games out there on the market that allow you to drive super sports cars through several different tracks with different conditions. Where the Play Station 2 has Gran Turismo 3 as the premier racing game, the Microsoft X-Box has this little gem called Project Gotham Racing. In this outing, your skill is not determined on how fast you can drive, but rather the style that you have in driving one of several different cars. There are no specialty options that you’ll find with Project Gotham, but this is more of a stylish street racing game than a technical aspect racing game!

Gameplay:
Project Gotham offers up several different styles of racing that allows you to test your skills as a car driver rather than simply racing through the tracks. Most of your arcade mode racing is done against a highly skilled computer and you have to earn more cars in order to keep your garage full at all points. The racing itself is fast and furious, with hairpin curves, rolling hills and power slides all being a part of your point earning experience. What the most interesting point of the game is, is with the Kudos system that allows you to pick up points for driving certain ways. For instance, if you make an awesome power slide with your car, then you’ll earn points that will go towards an overall score.

The only thing that’s difficult with this system is that if you make one mistake in the middle of a Kudos run, then all of the hard earned points that you just accumulated, are returned to zero. You’ll find that if you’re in the middle of a high Kudos run, and you screw up, it could cost you placement in the future running for more points and otherwise. What I’ve found is that the precision that you need for Kudos placement is more important than simply running the race and once you’ve found your niche with the different cars, there shouldn’t be a problem simply tearing through the game!

The multiplayer stages are all interesting enough, but they retain that standard two-player fare with most of your goals being to get more Kudos that your opponent within the specified laps. You’ll find that there are no shortcuts to really find throughout the game, and the tracks all range from easy ovals to breakneck speeds through highly dangerous alleyways. If you place the laps throughout and change them just a little bit with weather effects, time of day, laps and earnings, then you can make some serious changes to the way that you have to drive in all of the modes, which makes for some pretty intense competition!

-The Control-

I’ve found that the game handles pretty well with the X-Box controller, though in some of the more difficult turns, using the handbrake takes plenty of practice. You can use the directional pad or the left analog stick for turning, even though the game is better played using the directional pad. With the different cars, you’ll find that all of the handling, speed, the way that they slide around corners and accelerate around the competition is variable. However, once you have an understanding on how to use the brakes and the handbrake, then speeding around corners and hitting the straightaway with a hole shot to overtake the rest of the pack shouldn’t be a problem!

Graphics:
Visually beautiful, there is plenty to look at and see speeding by you. Though the views that you have at your disposal are limited to just a couple of different aspects, you’ll find that the cars take on damage according to what you’ve done to them throughout the race. If you smash into the wall with the left side of your car, then the tail light and the head light will reflect the damage as will the paint job. The skids and otherwise pan the camera around with you, which makes for some pretty interesting replays, and you’ll find that the different areas that you race through are all filled with detail, speed effects and lighting that reflects the time of day. All in all, something for everyone who likes a good, visually appealing racing game.

Sound:
The audio that you hear in Project Gotham is actually real music that you would hear throughout the world, or so it’s mentioned in the instructions. There is a little bit of something for everyone, from dance music to hip hop and even a little rock in there for good measure. For me personally, it’s a good reason to use the ripping system on the X-Box and create my own stuff, however, I haven’t been able to figure out if it’s possible to change the soundtrack on Project Gotham yet! What you do have though, does fit the game if you’re into the music and it can be changed throughout, with all of the stations that you hear being more regionally located than anything else.

Round Up:
Though most racing game fans will enjoy the overall technical side that Gran Turismo 3 has to offer, those who like to have a little skill thrown into their driving instead of simply racing will find this title to be exceptionally well done. With good looking visuals and a well done audio track to go along with the excellent control and stylish game play, there is a little something for everyone. However, of those who like a game that is straight up racing, you might find that this title is a little difficult to work with considering that you have to learn how to be stylish with your car instead of simply running from start to finish at a breakneck speed!