Dark_Lord
Dark Lord of the Sith
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2004
- Messages
- 6,328
- Reaction score
- 261
- Points
- 73
I didnt see a thread on PGR4 and since I like the PGR series I thought I'd make one.
Pre-E3 2007: Project Gotham Racing 4 Hands-On
Prepare to earn kudos in the worst possible weather and on a motorcycle.
by Hilary Goldstein
July 9, 2007 - Including its original incarnation on the Dreamcast as Metropolis Street Racer, Bizarre Creation has been around the block four times already with its Kudos-based arcade racing franchise. So what's going to make the fifth iteration, Project Gotham Racing 4, stand out from the rest? Inclement weather, true AI, and motorcycles. As previously revealed, PGR 4 features rain, fog, and snow. What we didn't know, was that you'd be racing through PGR 4's ten cities on just two wheels.
A Hog Between Your Thighs
Don't think of motorcycles as some cheap toss on, an added bonus or some kind of fun unlockable. Bizarre Creations is taking bikes seriously (well, as seriously as the powerslide-heavy series can manage). There will be a little over 130 vehicles that can fill up your various garages in PGR4, at least 30 of which will be motorcycles. Among the manufacturers onboard are Honda, MV Agusta, and Ducati. And yes the "original naked motorcycle" the Ducati Monster will be among the roster of bikes.
As always, PGR 4 is about racing fast and with style. The same holds true when racing motorcycles. Because a motorcycle is not a car (unless you drive one effed up car), the Kudos set for bikes is a bit different. Wheelies, stopies, endos, drift, and catch air are the five Kudos available in a motorcycle and trust us when we say, you will find plenty of opportunities for all of these. Though control feels a bit looser on a bike, the principals of Project Gotham remain the same. Winning races won't mean much if you aren't earning major Kudos on the way to the finish line.
Most of those Kudos, however, require some cajones to pull off in a race against seven other people (who could all be racing you in cars). It's one thing to pull a wheelie for 20 yards in one of the motorcycle-specific challenges, but quite another thing to do one in the heat of a race. The truly daring will take risks and pull wheelies on short straightaways, before chaining into a drift around a corner. Daredevils will hold A to add a modifier to their stunts. Sure, it adds additional risk, but it will help you thrill your fans (and infuriate your competition).
As with the cars in PGR 4, you have a variety of different camera views. While you can get a good look at your custom uniform from the third-person perspective, the best view when riding a bike is the helmet cam. This gives a clear view of your hands on the throttle as your look through the windshield at St. Petersburg during a snowstorm.
If you know how to race a car in Project Gotham, you will have no troubles driving a bike in PGR 4. Though motorcycles have their own physics (and crashing your Ducati Monster into a wall is oh so much more fun than crashing your Enzo), it's not so different that it can't be quickly mastered by veteran players. The real trick is in learning to use the new Kudos while racing against cars. And while we were only given time to race briefly on an unpopulated track, it would seem that racing players online could get messy. After all, it's one thing for someone to sideswipe a rival's car, but imagine being neck-and-neck in a race and having your bike knocked to the side by your opponent.
Motorcycles are definitely a welcome addition to PGR 4. Don't expect it to be like racing in MotoGP, though. Again, Project Gotham is not about being a sim; it's about being fun. And on that end, the bikes should add some extra flavor to the mix. But hogs aren't the only new thing coming to PGR 4. Perhaps the most interesting new element is the dynamic weather system.
Should We Talk About the Weather?
There are ten types of weather in all, ranging for hot and dry to snowstorm. The weather isn't just a cosmetic addition to PGR 4. It's going to change the way your race. As it rains in Quebec, the roads will gradually get slicker and puddles will form. Since Bizarre Creations wants to keep things arcadey, you won't have to worry about wild spinouts or hydroplaning. Instead, you'll find that in heavy rain it "gets looser around the corners." You won't be saying, "Aw crap, it's raining, I better not drive fast." You'll be saying, "I am going to rack up some crazy drift Kudos."
We should warn that, while the weather will be more asset than hindrance, you will need to alter your driving somewhat based on the weather. Over time, puddles will accumulate on the track. Racing through a puddle will slow you down slightly, so you'll want to quickly spot and avoid these hazards. Timing for powersliding will also vary based on weather, since a slicker surface will mean you may need to start a drift earlier than in dry conditions.
The weather is dynamic in PGR 4, meaning that it can actually change during a race. It will never go to the extremes of starting out snowy and ending in sunshine, but there will be changes on a smaller scale. In Shanghai, it might go from light rain to a heavy downpour with thunder and lightning. Or it could start heavy and lighten as the race wears on. Weather will be specific to the cities and tracks -- which include Vegas, Quebec, Shanghai, Macau, NY, London, St. Petersburg, Tokyo, the Michelin test track, and Nurburing. It doesn't snow often in Vegas, so you will almost never see fresh powder on the strip. London and Macau will see a fair amount of fog, which should make navigating some of PGR 4's sharp turns just a tad more adventurous.
In Macau, the volumetric fog is especially cool. You'll start one race at the bottom of a mountain. The fog is so thick you can't see more than 30 feet in front of your car. As you race up the hillside, you'll pull above the fog and into the clear. Take a peak to the right and you can see the fog blanket below. While we'd have loved to see a few more new areas to PGR 4, Macau is a pretty interesting new area we can't wait to explore.
Be a Team Player
Project Gotham Racing 4 expands on Bizarre's tradition of online integration by introducing Team Racing. After creating your character (either male or female), choosing from one of 25 nationalities, and customizing your professional race jersey, you can join or create a team. You'll race with your club online in 4-on-4 team-based race modes including Capture the Flag, Cat & Mouse, and Cops & Robbers. Team-based Kudos will be earned during races, but every point you rack up adds to your single-player total. So whether you decide to race on- or offline, you will always be adding to your bank account.
That bank account, by the way, takes only Kudos points. Everything in PGR 4 is unlocked by Kudos. You'll unlock new cars, bikes, and garages with the Kudos earned in races. The garages, while not yet revealed by Bizarre Creations, are promise to be more interesting and substantial than PGR 3's storage facilities. And while there's not official word on another Geometry Wars sequel being found in one of these garages, we've been told to expect "something." And hey, something sounds like a lot more than a dusty Galaga machine.
You'll be filling up that garage with more than just bikes and supercars. PGR 4 includes a number of cars with "a history in automotive culture." In other words, expect to race some hot muscle cars. The Shelby GT500E and Chevy Sting Ray (Tuxedo Black no less) are just two of the muscle cars being included in PGR 4. How these beasts will be able to stand up against the Ferraris of the world is anyone's guess at this point. But we can't wait to get behind the wheel of one of these old metal beasts and charge through PGR 4's twisting courses.
And the Rest...
While PGR 4 plays very similar to its predecessor, there have been a few changes. The most notable is some tweaking to the Kudos system. You will no longer be able to earn quick drift Kudos by quickly swerving on a straightaway. All powerslides will need to be genuine this time around. And there's been an adjustment to Kudos timing so that "Kudos can be truly chained."
PGR TV has been given a makeover. It's now PGR on Demand. Expect a lot more videos for each track in PGR 4 along with uploaded pictures as well. You can search by very specific criteria to find the right videos. Let's say you want some tips on powersliding in Vegas. What happens in Vegas, no longer stays in Vegas. Just search for "longest powerslide" and learn from other racers. You can also find places to catch the biggest air or watch entire runs to find how to earn the most Kudos.
Project Gotham Racing 4 is looking promising. Though the series is fundamentally the same as it ever was, there's enough new wrinkles to satisfy fans. So far, we have only had a chance to get our hands on the motorcycles. Hopefully we'll get to race in some muscle cars against the new and improved AI. With PGR 4 feature complete and expected in early September, we should be seeing quite a bit more of Bizarre's racer in the coming months.
source: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/802/802288p1.html
Pre-E3 2007: Project Gotham Racing 4 Hands-On
Prepare to earn kudos in the worst possible weather and on a motorcycle.
by Hilary Goldstein
July 9, 2007 - Including its original incarnation on the Dreamcast as Metropolis Street Racer, Bizarre Creation has been around the block four times already with its Kudos-based arcade racing franchise. So what's going to make the fifth iteration, Project Gotham Racing 4, stand out from the rest? Inclement weather, true AI, and motorcycles. As previously revealed, PGR 4 features rain, fog, and snow. What we didn't know, was that you'd be racing through PGR 4's ten cities on just two wheels.
A Hog Between Your Thighs
Don't think of motorcycles as some cheap toss on, an added bonus or some kind of fun unlockable. Bizarre Creations is taking bikes seriously (well, as seriously as the powerslide-heavy series can manage). There will be a little over 130 vehicles that can fill up your various garages in PGR4, at least 30 of which will be motorcycles. Among the manufacturers onboard are Honda, MV Agusta, and Ducati. And yes the "original naked motorcycle" the Ducati Monster will be among the roster of bikes.
As always, PGR 4 is about racing fast and with style. The same holds true when racing motorcycles. Because a motorcycle is not a car (unless you drive one effed up car), the Kudos set for bikes is a bit different. Wheelies, stopies, endos, drift, and catch air are the five Kudos available in a motorcycle and trust us when we say, you will find plenty of opportunities for all of these. Though control feels a bit looser on a bike, the principals of Project Gotham remain the same. Winning races won't mean much if you aren't earning major Kudos on the way to the finish line.
Most of those Kudos, however, require some cajones to pull off in a race against seven other people (who could all be racing you in cars). It's one thing to pull a wheelie for 20 yards in one of the motorcycle-specific challenges, but quite another thing to do one in the heat of a race. The truly daring will take risks and pull wheelies on short straightaways, before chaining into a drift around a corner. Daredevils will hold A to add a modifier to their stunts. Sure, it adds additional risk, but it will help you thrill your fans (and infuriate your competition).
As with the cars in PGR 4, you have a variety of different camera views. While you can get a good look at your custom uniform from the third-person perspective, the best view when riding a bike is the helmet cam. This gives a clear view of your hands on the throttle as your look through the windshield at St. Petersburg during a snowstorm.
If you know how to race a car in Project Gotham, you will have no troubles driving a bike in PGR 4. Though motorcycles have their own physics (and crashing your Ducati Monster into a wall is oh so much more fun than crashing your Enzo), it's not so different that it can't be quickly mastered by veteran players. The real trick is in learning to use the new Kudos while racing against cars. And while we were only given time to race briefly on an unpopulated track, it would seem that racing players online could get messy. After all, it's one thing for someone to sideswipe a rival's car, but imagine being neck-and-neck in a race and having your bike knocked to the side by your opponent.
Motorcycles are definitely a welcome addition to PGR 4. Don't expect it to be like racing in MotoGP, though. Again, Project Gotham is not about being a sim; it's about being fun. And on that end, the bikes should add some extra flavor to the mix. But hogs aren't the only new thing coming to PGR 4. Perhaps the most interesting new element is the dynamic weather system.
Should We Talk About the Weather?
There are ten types of weather in all, ranging for hot and dry to snowstorm. The weather isn't just a cosmetic addition to PGR 4. It's going to change the way your race. As it rains in Quebec, the roads will gradually get slicker and puddles will form. Since Bizarre Creations wants to keep things arcadey, you won't have to worry about wild spinouts or hydroplaning. Instead, you'll find that in heavy rain it "gets looser around the corners." You won't be saying, "Aw crap, it's raining, I better not drive fast." You'll be saying, "I am going to rack up some crazy drift Kudos."
We should warn that, while the weather will be more asset than hindrance, you will need to alter your driving somewhat based on the weather. Over time, puddles will accumulate on the track. Racing through a puddle will slow you down slightly, so you'll want to quickly spot and avoid these hazards. Timing for powersliding will also vary based on weather, since a slicker surface will mean you may need to start a drift earlier than in dry conditions.
The weather is dynamic in PGR 4, meaning that it can actually change during a race. It will never go to the extremes of starting out snowy and ending in sunshine, but there will be changes on a smaller scale. In Shanghai, it might go from light rain to a heavy downpour with thunder and lightning. Or it could start heavy and lighten as the race wears on. Weather will be specific to the cities and tracks -- which include Vegas, Quebec, Shanghai, Macau, NY, London, St. Petersburg, Tokyo, the Michelin test track, and Nurburing. It doesn't snow often in Vegas, so you will almost never see fresh powder on the strip. London and Macau will see a fair amount of fog, which should make navigating some of PGR 4's sharp turns just a tad more adventurous.
In Macau, the volumetric fog is especially cool. You'll start one race at the bottom of a mountain. The fog is so thick you can't see more than 30 feet in front of your car. As you race up the hillside, you'll pull above the fog and into the clear. Take a peak to the right and you can see the fog blanket below. While we'd have loved to see a few more new areas to PGR 4, Macau is a pretty interesting new area we can't wait to explore.
Be a Team Player
Project Gotham Racing 4 expands on Bizarre's tradition of online integration by introducing Team Racing. After creating your character (either male or female), choosing from one of 25 nationalities, and customizing your professional race jersey, you can join or create a team. You'll race with your club online in 4-on-4 team-based race modes including Capture the Flag, Cat & Mouse, and Cops & Robbers. Team-based Kudos will be earned during races, but every point you rack up adds to your single-player total. So whether you decide to race on- or offline, you will always be adding to your bank account.
That bank account, by the way, takes only Kudos points. Everything in PGR 4 is unlocked by Kudos. You'll unlock new cars, bikes, and garages with the Kudos earned in races. The garages, while not yet revealed by Bizarre Creations, are promise to be more interesting and substantial than PGR 3's storage facilities. And while there's not official word on another Geometry Wars sequel being found in one of these garages, we've been told to expect "something." And hey, something sounds like a lot more than a dusty Galaga machine.
You'll be filling up that garage with more than just bikes and supercars. PGR 4 includes a number of cars with "a history in automotive culture." In other words, expect to race some hot muscle cars. The Shelby GT500E and Chevy Sting Ray (Tuxedo Black no less) are just two of the muscle cars being included in PGR 4. How these beasts will be able to stand up against the Ferraris of the world is anyone's guess at this point. But we can't wait to get behind the wheel of one of these old metal beasts and charge through PGR 4's twisting courses.
And the Rest...
While PGR 4 plays very similar to its predecessor, there have been a few changes. The most notable is some tweaking to the Kudos system. You will no longer be able to earn quick drift Kudos by quickly swerving on a straightaway. All powerslides will need to be genuine this time around. And there's been an adjustment to Kudos timing so that "Kudos can be truly chained."
PGR TV has been given a makeover. It's now PGR on Demand. Expect a lot more videos for each track in PGR 4 along with uploaded pictures as well. You can search by very specific criteria to find the right videos. Let's say you want some tips on powersliding in Vegas. What happens in Vegas, no longer stays in Vegas. Just search for "longest powerslide" and learn from other racers. You can also find places to catch the biggest air or watch entire runs to find how to earn the most Kudos.
Project Gotham Racing 4 is looking promising. Though the series is fundamentally the same as it ever was, there's enough new wrinkles to satisfy fans. So far, we have only had a chance to get our hands on the motorcycles. Hopefully we'll get to race in some muscle cars against the new and improved AI. With PGR 4 feature complete and expected in early September, we should be seeing quite a bit more of Bizarre's racer in the coming months.
source: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/802/802288p1.html
