Project Gotham Racing (series)
| Project Gotham Racing | |
|---|---|
 Official game logo for Project Gotham Racing 4 | |
| Genres | Racing |
| Developers |
Bizarre Creations Glu Mobile Pixelbite |
| Publishers |
Microsoft Game Studios Sega Glu Mobile |
| Platforms | Xbox, Xbox 360, Dreamcast, mobile phone, Zune HD |
| First release |
Metropolis Street Racer November 3, 2000 |
| Latest release |
Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition November 11, 2009 |
Project Gotham Racing (PGR) was a series of racing video games developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Studios (Xbox and Xbox 360) and Sega (Dreamcast). This franchise is exclusive to the Dreamcast, Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles, and consists of Metropolis Street Racer (Dreamcast), Project Gotham Racing (Xbox), Project Gotham Racing 2 (Xbox), Project Gotham Racing 3 (Xbox 360), and Project Gotham Racing 4 (Xbox 360).
The PGR series have a system called Kudos points. These are given for performing stunts with the vehicle (such as power sliding, overtaking another driver, two wheels, etc.). The longer the stunt is maintained, the more points the player receives. Colliding with the guard rails and other surroundings will cause the Kudos points from that stunt to be lost.
PGR2, PGR3 and PGR4 support gameplay via Xbox Live, while the first installment in the series does not.
The cover of each game in the Project Gotham Racing franchise has featured a Ferrari car on it, going from the F50 (PGR) to the Enzo (PGR2), the F430 (PGR3), and the 599 GTB Fiorano (PGR4). The car manufacturer was even the main focus of a free mobile entry in the series, PGR: Ferrari Edition for the Zune HD, similar to that of Porsche in Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed.
The PGR series is the successor to Bizarre Creation's Dreamcast game Metropolis Street Racer, as evidenced by the similarities and the recycled content between the first Project Gotham Racing and Metropolis Street Racer.
In September 2007, after being bought by Activision, Bizarre Creations announced that PGR4 would be the last game produced for Microsoft. Bizarre developed PGR4's spiritual successor, Blur, which was released not only on Xbox 360 but also on PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows.[1] The future of the PGR franchise is uncertain.
Despite the name, this series has absolutely no relation with the fictional cities of Gotham and Metropolis, homes of DC Comics superheroes Batman and Superman respectively.[2] It was rumoured on November 1, 2010 that Microsoft was in secret talks with third party developers in an effort to reboot the franchise.
| Game Information |
|---|
Metropolis Street Racer
|
Project Gotham Racing
|
Project Gotham Racing 2
|
Project Gotham Racing 3
|
Project Gotham Racing 4
|
Project Gotham Racing Mobile
|
| Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition |
Reception
All four games in the series received positive reviews from critics.
| Game | Metacritic |
|---|---|
| Project Gotham Racing | (Xbox) 85[5] |
| Project Gotham Racing 2 | (Xbox) 90[6] |
| Project Gotham Racing 3 | (X360) 88[7] |
| Project Gotham Racing 4 | (X360) 85[8] |
References
- ↑ Activision buys Bizarre - News - www.developmag.com
- ↑ The Armchair Empire - Xbox Reviews: Project Gotham Racing
- ↑ Buchanan, Levi (1 May 2006). "Pre-E3 2006: Project Gotham Racing Mobile". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 18 October 2006. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ↑ "Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ↑ ""Project Gotham Racing" Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
- ↑ ""Project Gotham Racing 2" Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
- ↑ ""Project Gotham Racing 3" Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
- ↑ ""Project Gotham Racing 4" Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 14, 2013.