Project Gotham Racing 3

Project Gotham Racing 3
Cover art featuring a Ferrari F430
Developer(s)Bizarre Creations
Publisher(s)Microsoft Game Studios
Director(s)
  • Martyn R. Chudley
  • Craig Cook
  • Philipp Teschner
Producer(s)
  • Peter Wallace
  • Peter O'Brien
  • Chris Pickford
  • Julie Elizabeth McGurren
Designer(s)
  • Chris Novak
  • Ged Talbot
  • Gareth Wilson
Programmer(s)
  • James Coliz
  • Brian Spanton
Artist(s)Kiki Wolfkill
SeriesProject Gotham Racing
Platform(s)Xbox 360
Release
  • NA: 22 November 2005[1]
  • EU: 2 December 2005
  • AU: 23 March 2006
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Project Gotham Racing 3 is a 2005 arcade-style racing video game developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Game Studios as the third entry of the Project Gotham Racing series. It was released exclusively for the Xbox 360 as a launch title in November 2005. The game was rated by Official Xbox Magazine as Xbox 360 "Game of the Year" (2005), as well as "Best 1st Person (Not Shooter) of the Year", because of its realistic inside-car view. A sequel, Project Gotham Racing 4, was released in October 2007.

Gameplay

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Project Gotham Racing 3 offers players four cities—Las Vegas, London, New York City, and Tokyo—as well as the Nürburgring to race through. Project Gotham Racing 3 features 80 licensed cars from over 30 manufacturers such as Ferrari, Dodge, and Lamborghini.

The polygons used to make up a car model increases in Project Gotham Racing 3, to between 80,000 and 100,000.[2] The increased polygon count allows for smoother, less jagged-shaped cars than in earlier games.[3] Of the 80 cars in the game, 71 are unlocked and available for play at the start of a new game, while the remaining 9 (prototypes, one-offs, and concept) cars are left for the player to unlock.

Sound quality is improved from the previous game, with Bizarre dedicating a sound team to record and implement car audio in the game using the Xbox 360's new audio capabilities.[4][5]

In a change from the previous two games, Project Gotham Racing 3 emphasizes supercars and special models instead of generic production cars (cars with a top speed of over 170 mph). One of the starter cars is the Acura NSX. Similar to its predecessors, each car in Project Gotham Racing 3 is allocated to a specific class. There are five classes, A through E, the high performance cars being Class A, and the low performance cars in Class E.

Kudos once again play an important part in Project Gotham. Kudos points are given for stylish driving, for example drifting around a corner, drafting, or getting two or four wheels off the ground. When combos are linked up, the player is given a bonus for keeping them linked together, and this builds up to huge amounts if the combo is held for a substantial length of time. This bonus is, however, lost if the player crashes into any barriers, though the base Kudos (all but the combo bonus) are kept.

Multiplayer

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Project Gotham Racing 3 allows multiplayer offline with up to two players on one Xbox 360 console or more players via System Link. Project Gotham Racing 3 offers online integrated scoreboards for single player career events as well as Time Trials and test track times. Gamers with Xbox Live Gold are able to race with up to seven other competitors in races online. Online career (ranked) and playtime (unranked) are both offered as online multiplayer modes. Scoreboards also track standings for online career.

Geometry Wars

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Project Gotham Racing 3, similar to Project Gotham Racing 2, has a secret easter egg in the garage. If you walk in the garage, there are 2 arcade cabinet's with the Demo versions of the games Geometry Wars and Geometry Wars Retro Evolved, which were available in the Xbox Live Marketplace.[6]

DLC content

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In 2006, several DLCs were released:

  • The entire Cadillac V-Series was made available in May as free download content.[7]
  • A speed pack was made available in April, with tournament access, new features, some fixes, and new cars.[8]
  • A style pack was made available in July, featuring more cars and features.[9]

Reception

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Project Gotham Racing 3 received "generally favorable" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[10]

USA Today gave it a score of nine-and-a-half stars out of ten and said it "offers plenty of "oohs" and "aahs" with impressive graphics and sound. But luckily this game still plays very well too. And with a robust online package and plenty of racing options, it becomes a 360 must-have."[24] The Sydney Morning Herald gave it four stars out of five and said that "despite Gotham's obliging nature, high-speed thrills and gorgeous graphical sheen, it's hard not to feel that we have seen its best tricks before."[25] However, Detroit Free Press gave it a score of three stars out of four and stated that "online play is as hectic, though perhaps not as friendly, as the previous Xbox version."[23] During the 9th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, Project Gotham Racing 3 received nominations for "Racing Game of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay".[26]

Project Gotham Racing 3 received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA),[27] indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[28]

References

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  1. ^ "Microsoft Announces Xbox 360 Day One Launch Lineup — Strongest Launch in the History of Video Game Consoles". Microsoft. 14 November 2005. Retrieved 14 November 2005.
  2. ^ Richards, Geoff (14 October 2005). "PGR3 developer lied about polygon count". bit-tech.net.
  3. ^ Moltenbrey, Karen (February 2006). "The Fast Track Part 2". Computer Graphics World. Vol. 29, no. 2. pp. 26–28. ISSN 0271-4159.
  4. ^ Richards, Geoff (13 June 2005). "PGR3 site launches". bit-tech. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. ...the real highlight is the Car Audio page. Contained within you will find downloadable MP3 and WAV engine note samples of Ferrari's 355, the Nissan Skyline R34, Dodge Viper GTS ACR and the truly insane Cadillac 16: a 13.6 litre, 1000 horsepower behemoth. The sound quality is a big leap forward from Project Gotham Racing 2, and Bizarre have a dedicated audio team of five travelling the world to record all manner of exotica...
  5. ^ Wiswell, Nick. "Audio Creation for PGR 3: The who, what, when, where, and why?". Bizarre Creations. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012.
  6. ^ "Project Gotham Racing 3 Cheats, Codes, and Secrets for Xbox 360 - GameFAQs".
  7. ^ "Project Gotham Racing - Cadillac V-Series". projectgothamracing3.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2006. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Project Gotham Racing - Speed Pack". projectgothamracing3.com. Archived from the original on 11 April 2006. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Downloadable Content - Project Gotham Racing 3 - Bizarre Creations". Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
  10. ^ a b "Project Gotham Racing 3 for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  11. ^ Edge Staff (25 December 2005). "Project Gotham Racing 3". Edge. No. 157. p. 88. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  12. ^ EGM Staff (February 2006). "Project Gotham Racing 3". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 200.
  13. ^ Bramwell, Tom (22 November 2005). "Project Gotham Racing 3 Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  14. ^ Mason, Lisa (January 2006). "Project Gotham Racing 3". Game Informer. No. 153. p. 140. Archived from the original on 14 June 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  15. ^ Funky Zealot (15 November 2005). "Project Gotham Racing 3 Review for Xbox 360 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 24 November 2005. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  16. ^ Ferris, Dunk (22 November 2005). "Project Gotham Racing 3 Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  17. ^ Ekberg, Brian (18 November 2005). "Project Gotham Racing 3 Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 20 April 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  18. ^ Kosak, Dave "Fargo" (23 November 2005). "GameSpy: Project Gotham Racing". GameSpy. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  19. ^ "Project Gotham Racing 3, Review". GameTrailers. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  20. ^ Romano, Natalie (27 November 2005). "Project Gotham Racing - 360 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  21. ^ Perry, Douglass C. (15 November 2005). "Project Gotham Racing 3". IGN. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  22. ^ Curthoys, Paul (January 2006). "Project Gotham Racing 3". Official Xbox Magazine. p. 66. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  23. ^ a b Newman, Heather (4 December 2005). "Project Gotham Racing 3". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on 21 May 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  24. ^ a b Molina, Brett (12 January 2006). "'Project Gotham Racing 3' sets the pace for driving games". USA Today. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  25. ^ Hill, Jason (25 March 2006). "Project Gotham Racing 3". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 April 2014.
  26. ^ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Project Gotham Racing 3". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  27. ^ "ELSPA Sales Awards: Platinum". Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009.
  28. ^ Caoili, Eric (26 November 2008). "ELSPA: Wii Fit, Mario Kart Reach Diamond Status In UK". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017.
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