| | Kudos to You
Players have high expectations for sequels to their favorite games, and fans of the original Project Gotham Racing® are no exception. They don’t want to simply race through new environments in a mere update of the game; they want a full sequel with new environments, cars, options, and surprises. Project Gotham Racing 2 meets and exceeds all these expectations, giving players more of the exciting atmosphere of the original, while expanding the game in entirely new directions.
Barcelona, Spain. Edinburgh, Scotland. Moscow, Russia. Florence, Italy … These are just a few of the gorgeously detailed cities drivers will scream through. And, they’ll do it in a host of great rides. The popular GT2 and Mini Cooper S from the original game return, but you’ll have entirely new vehicles and vehicle classes to choose from, such as the X5, the first-ever game appearance of the Enzo Ferrari, a classic Pontiac GTO, and even SUVs. Want to know more about these cars? Garage mode lets you examine your vehicles closely. There’s now damage modeling for the cars, although the damage will not affect a car's performance. And, there’ are tons of options for the player seeking multiple ways to play, from single player to multiplayer to XboxLive.
Ready to race?
Style andSpeed
The most welcome improvement over the original game is the new ranking system that scales according to the difficulty you're playing. This makes the game more accessible to players of varying skill and rewards drivers for more than just beating the clock.
Sure, you want to leave your friends in the dust as you hurl your GTO around hairpin curves in Edinburgh, and the game gives you plenty of opportunity to do just that. But, the thrill of just thrashing your buddies can become routine after a while, leaving you craving new challenges. As if in answer to your dreams, the game presents a completely updated Kudos system, which rewards drivers for the skill and style they show during a race. Earning Kudos increases your Kudos Rank; as your Kudos Rank increases, you earn more Kudos Tokens, and Kudos Tokens unlock new cars. At the conclusion of each race, the game displays a breakdown of exactly how you earned your Kudos across a total of 15 categories, such as Position, Fast Lap, Overtake, Air, and Slide. Pulling several maneuvers in succession earns you big Combo Bonuses. And, since you’ll gain Kudos for both Style and Race Completion, you can concentrate on exactly the kind of racing action you enjoy most.
The improved system deducts Kudos on a sliding scale according to the severity of mishaps. For example, scraping briefly against a guardrail will cost you just a few Kudos, while ramming headlong into a wall might cost you everything. (This is far more forgiving than the Kudos structure of PGR1, which deductedall your Kudos for even minor mistakes.) You’ll have more than enough opportunity to earn Kudos during every race, so don’t sweat the small accidents and concentrate instead on staying on the road and completing the race goals, particularly in the initial levels of play.
It looks better. It plays better.
Beyond the Box
The game’s Xbox Live features ensure that Kudos aren’t just for your living room any more. When you connect to the service, you’ll find Scoreboards that automatically track your Online Kudos Rank, so you can measure your performance against other players worldwide. Online and Offline Kudos are tracked separately: any Kudos or Kudos Tokens earned online remain attached to your Gamertag. In single-player mode, you can download Ghosts—transparent replays of a car’s performance from a previous race—of top-ranked players from around the globe. If you can beat their records, your own Ghost goes on the Scoreboards as a challenge to others. In multiplayer mode, you can join or host races. The game host defines the criteria for the race, such as the city environment and track, racing weather, and number of laps.
Online Style Kudos work exactly the same as Offline Style Kudos: taking a corner on two wheels and pulling a 360 as you cross the finish line earns huge Combo Points! Race Completion Kudos, however, work a little differently. Where you place, what car you’re driving, and the relative ranking of your opponents all impact the outcome. To earn the big Kudos, race against as many opponents as you can, especially those who are either ranked higher than you or who are driving better cars than yours (or both).
Project Gotham Racing 2 gives drivers the best of both worlds: fast driving and the opportunity to look good doing it. By Jason Carl |
