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| Exclusive: Project Gotham Racing 3 Preview | // article |
| The morning after the night before is always a hard pill to swallow, but today would be different in more ways than we could ever have imagined. Long gone were the mutterings of vertically challenged Liverpool fans, offering to ‘get in the boot' if we took them to the Chelsea players hotel. Coming back were the memories of the previous evening, where into the early hours we enjoyed the company of Bizarre Creations, the day before we got our hands on one of the big launch titles for the Xbox 360. We waited all day, through technical demos of every aspect of the game, the audio, the car mechanics, the environments, and every aspect you can imagine, all leading up to this pivotal moment. 3:41pm. That was the exact time the 360 pad slipped into our hands. That was the moment we were convinced by the power inside this simple, yet attractive shell. The moment I pulled back the right trigger to accelerate, the high definition motion blur, the in-car view utilising some jaw dropping high dynamic range visual effects rendering the scene in what looks like full motion video. The placement of the audio not in simple 5.1 surround, but the placement of sounds on each vehicle. The sheer number of polygons isn't important anymore. It's beauty is apparent to anyone within viewing distance. PGR3 features three sprawling cities, each taking over a year from research to completion, with no discernable reproduction of textures. Every single street, building, house, lamp, paving stone and road surface is individual, making the game more free flowing and natural than anything previously available in the genre. The attention to detail and the love for their craft is evident throughout with touches of genius gripping your gaze, enforcing the fact that you're playing a next generation game on what is quite clearly a next generation console. The moment that our collective jaws dropped closest to the floor would be the exact time that our demonstrator first pressed the newly appointed view changing button, the left shoulder button. Once in-car view was selection, the immense graphical capabilities of the machine become obvious. The reflections of the interior of the car mixing with the exterior reflections on the windscreen are some of the most aesthetically pleasing we've seen. This really is where high definition is taking us, and we'd be shocked if you didn't swear continuously in approval, just as we did. There is of course a more important aspect to a game than just its presentation. It's gameplay. Those having played any of the previous PGR series will instantly be at home, and with refinements to the difficulty of the game, the series should become more accessible to all. Gone are the car classes, and in are challenges and a refined Kudos system rewarding novice and expert instantly. So, what more can we tell you of PGR3? Well, we'll be going through the basics of car mechanics, each city in detail, along with Gotham TV, so keep your eyes peeled for parts two and three a little later in the week. Preview by Vagusnet.com (03rd October 2005), as part of an Xbox Community Network (XCN) collaboration. | |
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