PGR4 gets career mode, 'dynamic' weather, and (duh) new cars

by James Ransom-Wiley { May 10th 2007 at 2:44PM }

"Dynamic." The coveted buzzword adds a Hemi-like boost to Project Gotham Racing 4's newly announced gameplay element: a weather system -- a dynamic weather system. Wipe out as you power around a corner into a rare Shanghai snow storm, or get pounded by a sudden downpour on your last lap through St. Petersburg. Expect the unexpected. That's next-gen, er, dynamic.

Of course, the stakes are higher while competing in the new career mode. As you act a fool, earning Kudos and dedicated fans along the way, you'll have to balance an addiction to flair with the unsettling fear that a freak weather occurrence could cut short your days of thunder-less glory. That or the "new" AI (the "dynamic" adjective was already taken) will just own your ass -- in style. Yes folks, Bizarre has promised virtual fist-pumping.

PGR4 is tentatively scheduled for a fall 2007 release.

[Via Microsoft media blast]

Gallery: PGR4 (Xbox 360)

PGR4 car roster will include:

2004 TVR Sagaris
1965 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray
2005 Vanwall GPR V12
1993 Toyota Supra Turbo
2005 Gumpert Apollo
1997 Panoz GTR-1 Coupe
2006 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
1957 Maserati 250F

Tags: bizarre, bizarre creations, BizarreCreations, car, career, pgr, pgr4, project gotham racing 4, ProjectGothamRacing4, racing, weather

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

JodyAnthony @ May 10th 2007 3:16PM

I absolutely adore weather effects in games. it adds SO much to the game in my opinion..makes where you are in game feel like a real place.
http://www.jodylovesnintendo.com

peeweejd @ May 10th 2007 3:17PM

Those screenshots are gorgeous.

Breserk @ May 10th 2007 3:19PM

I hope to God they rethought their entire level loading mechanism. It was horrible! PGR3 is one of my favourite 360 games, but I simply can't draw myself to play it that often because of all the loading...

JodyAnthony @ May 10th 2007 3:26PM

why is it that no games ever look better than racing games? is it the lack of people models?

Joshua @ May 10th 2007 3:29PM

Maybe it's easy to make cars look good?? I really don't know, but I have definitely noticed they usually look really good (well, at least the good ones do).

Anyway, what's the difference between Project Gotham Racing and Forza Motosport? They're both Microsoft-published racing/driving games. That's all I know, so someone please help me!

Sparkstalker @ May 10th 2007 3:50PM

#5 - Forza is a racing simulator, using mostly established tracks and allowing for car customization and setup. PGR is more of an arcade style racer, with the extent of customization being the color of your car. And instead of being established race courses, it's more of a "build tracks out of city streets"...

Joshua @ May 10th 2007 4:00PM

So basically, Forza = Gran Turismo and PGR = Ridge Racer.

Shockgamer @ May 10th 2007 4:31PM

@7

PGR is a game that meets Ridge Racer and Gran Turismo/Forza halfway. It's nowhere near as punishing and super detailed as Forza and GT, but it's not the fantasty track filled, techno laced, nitro using arcade experience of Ridge Racer.

PGR is for people who want real cars and real tracks but without difficult sim handling......and that's why I love it so.

dave @ May 10th 2007 4:44PM

Tell me people what do i buy? Forza 2 or PGR4.

embassy @ May 10th 2007 4:53PM

im very suprised MS is releasing both of their top racing franchises in the same year...isnt that borderline cannibalistic?
usually they swap racing games every other year...but not the same year.

embassy @ May 10th 2007 5:03PM

oh and PGR is no where near as arcadey ( or corny) as ridge racer...its almost the perfect blend of arcade and sim..but god did the load times suck on pgr3...the in-car view is the best in a racing game tho.

sheppy @ May 10th 2007 5:43PM

"oh and PGR is no where near as arcadey ( or corny) as ridge racer..."

I love Ridge Racer. More "arcade" style games need to realize that not EVERYONE wants to learn the 12 step program just to drift and maintain control. After all, you don't hear people bitching about the blue sparks, do you? Sometimes I just want to race, hit corners like an action star, blast the nitro, and do it all without worrying about blue shells. And, incidently, I love it's style.

Einhanderkiller @ May 10th 2007 6:46PM

The rain effects are purdy.

embassy @ May 10th 2007 7:32PM

sheppy,

i just think other games do "acardey" style racing better than ridge racer, NFS series for one..and even something as over-the-top as burnout is more fun imo...and the insanely unbelieveable drifting is lame to me..its like your driving on rails. but to each is own.

Jake @ May 10th 2007 8:03PM

dave,

Just play the demos. They are completely different games, but the descriptions above are punishing.

I would say Forza is less "fun" on the most basic level. But it is crazy realistic, which I love. You just need to get good and take it slow.

My only knock on Forza2 is that it is very difficult to get a feel for how fast you are going. You spin out and feel like it was for no reason, until you realize you were taking a pretty tight corner at 80. The game could benefit from some more unrealistic motion blur and periphreal objects flying by, just to help with the "feel" of the speed. That is just my opinion.

The Forza 2 demo rocks, though, if you are into that sort of thing.