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Project Gotham Racing 3 easily usurped the title of “best launch game” from the intended – and incredibly buggy – Perfect Dark Zero. Gotham featured all the great racing and Xbox Live integration found in its Xbox predecessor, with graphics that were almost too gorgeous to believe. Racing through the massive cities while sitting inside a virtual cockpit that rivaled reality made us all feel like we were truly playing something that was “next-gen.”

But it’s been a couple of years since then, and some damn fine racers have hit the system in the ensuing months. Can Project Gotham 4 stay ahead of the pack?

Green Flag

The answer is a resounding yes. While the bells and whistles of this franchise have admittedly become old hat (Microsoft’s other racing flagship, Forza, borrows liberally from the mechanics Gotham popularized), the basic racing action is just as solid and exhilarating as ever.

Careening around the tight courses based on real cities including places like St. Petersburg and Quebec City, is made that much more satisfying with a slight tweak to the now-famous Kudos system. Now lengthy and linked combos are rewarded with Kudos stars, which some achievements and single-player tournaments are actually based on. It’s not a major update, but it does a something noticeable and fun to shoot for to the already solid action.

Rain Delay

Visually this generation has progressed well past the point where Project Gotham Racing 4 would evoke the kind of bug-eyed glee that its predecessor did. But Bizarre Creations has upped the ante a tiny bit with a downright jaw-dropping effect for water and the way it changes the look of a car. In fact, they’re so proud of this effect that every menu screen is positively soaked throughout the game. It’s actually to the point that it starts to bug you a bit.

Until you realize that the weather effects in the game aren’t just a gimmick, but an integral part of the experience. Moving through the career mode places you in various places at particular times of the year. Thus, every race in Quebec City during November features snow falling on the track. And you haven’t lived until you’ve piloted a classic Formula 1 racer around the massive Nordschleife in a snowstorm.

Wreckers to Checkers

Of course, all of this comes with the online racing modes you’d expect from a triple-A Microsoft game. Project Gotham Racing 4 doesn’t re-invent the wheel by any stretch of the imagination. But in a genre that’s become increasingly competitive in the couple of years since Gotham 3, Bizarre Creations still crafts a game that’s worthy of a podium.

Review by: Greg Stewart
Video Produced by: Paul Bonanno