Bonnie Day for a Drive

Project Gotham Racing® 2 is taking Xbox Live by storm with its high-quality graphics, advanced gameplay, and blinding speed. The game rewards you for driving with style with its unique Kudos system, and the racing action takes you to some of the coolest cities in the world. Among the glitzy and glamorous metropolises, you’ll find smaller towns that are no less challenging for a Kudo-hungry driver. Check out Edinburgh (pronounced “Ed-in-burr-a”), the capitol of Scotland, a town famous for its architecture, narrow cobblestone streets, and world-renowned distilleries. There are 10 different tracks (not counting the odd Speed Camera track), grouped here by street name.

You take the high road …

Princess Street: East, Long, and the Loop
The Princess Street tracks are characteristic of all the Scottish tracks: long narrow straightaways broken up by gentle turns and a few sharp hairpins to keep you on your toes. Princess Street East is open from the get-go and is one of the easier tracks in the city. The others are more difficult and have to be unlocked. You open the Loop by beating the Sport Utility Series and Long during the Roadster Series. Later, you’ll also race a Hot Lap on East during the Sport Utility Series, a one-on-one on the Loop during Supercar, and both a Timed Run and a one-on-one on Long during Roadster and Classic, respectively.

Out of my way, laddie!

Grassmarket: East, West, and Eight
Grassmarket tracks take you through more challenging stretches of the city with more turns than Princess Street and some hills to climb. Complete the Roadster Series to unlock East, the Classics Series to get West, and Sport Utility for Eight. The challenges on these tracks get more difficult as well, taking place at night or in the rain. You’ll compete on East in a nighttime Hot Lap race during the Supercar Series and in a one-on-one in the rain during Roadster. There’s another Hot Lap waiting for you on West during the Classics and a Cone Challenge on Eight during Roadster.

Lothian Road: Eight and Eight Long
Lothian Road has only two tracks, but they’re tricky enough to keep you interested. These tracks pile turn upon turn, mixing up series of gentle curves with sharp corners, so you’ll have to watch your speed to keep control. Eight Long mixes things up by appearing to be familiar but hitting you with turns that you won’t expect after driving on the other Scottish tracks. Unlock Eight by beating the Arcade Cone Challenge #20 and Eight Long during the Classics Series. Prepare to complete a Cone Challenge on Eight Long during the Classics Series as well.

Narrow streets, big fun.

Castle Eight and Terrace Sprint
The last two tracks in Edinburgh are perhaps the most challenging, with city-defining elements strung together for maximum difficulty. There are long straight stretches that tempt you to floor it, but if you do, you’ll have trouble on the long series of connected turns that you need to navigate between straightaways. Castle Eight becomes available after you win Arcade Street Race #20 and Terrace Spring during the Classics Series. You will also compete on Terrace Sprint in a Classic Series Overtake race and a Supercar Street Race.

Project Gotham Racing 2 is a huge, comprehensive, and addictive racing experience. The international flavor of the game is especially attractive on Xbox Live because not only can you compete against players from around the world, but you can do so in a virtual version of their hometown.

By Wendell Scott