I think we can say goodbye to the whole PGR franchise at this point, can't we? Isn't it being taken over/merged with Turn Ten, the dudes who make Forza (which by the way are the best racing sims ever.)?

Nice image there. I wasn't even aware PGR4 had DLC.. The whole PGR4 thing actually went straight past me. While I don't care much about PGR as a series, I can see this would be bad news for the fans.

The "DLC" in the rearview mirror should've been backwards.

I feel the same about this game... was really awesome

The MSR/PGR games are about the only driving games I every really really played. I loved what Bizarre did with the genre by making it more than just going round and round in circles wanting to finish in 1st place.

I hope that with Activision they develop a true successor and the franchise lives on in spirit if not in name.

I really must make an effort to get back into PGR4, it got shunted to one side last year when the games avalanche of Christmas began. I've still got Forza 2 to finish as well...

touché, I went to the forums yesterday to check if Bizarre would put out any more DLC, and saw the post that they've dropped all support.

This is a big, big loss to motorsport fans on consoles. PGR4 had the best sound design in the business, rivaling only GTR for PC and that game is far more purpose-built for track vehichles. The visuals weren't bad either.

And this side of GT and Forza, PGR was the only series with proper car physics. That's pretty good for an arcader. I just played the GRID demo, and the physics were complete shit. There really isn't much left in terms of good racing games on consoles.

I hope Activision puts Bizarre to work on another racing title. They deserve better sales and racing games is really what they're good at.

RIP Project Gotham Racing

I've only played PGR3 and was under the impression that PGR4 was a minor improvement - is that a fair assessment?

PGR3 was pretty good but nothing outstanding, I must admit that I spent way more time with NFS:Most and Burnout Revenge wanted back then.

Try the Grid Racing Demo. Cockpit view. It's awesome!

@dionion: I meant "Most Wanted", sorry.

I would have picked up PGR4 right when it came out, but I heard they didn't fix the unbearable load times from part 3. I hate me some load times!

PGR needs to go Test Drive,like huge free open roads and online. After playing.

PGR4 was fantastic; a shame that it's done so soon. At least the one pack they released already is pretty great. However, being owned by Activision means PGR5 won't be happening, at least not by Bizzare. Hopefully they'll get to reinvent the series later on, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

I absolutly loved the PGR series, one of the best console racers ever. And i know i will be flamed for this, but i dont care: IMHO the graphics in PGR4 is far, far superior than GT5. There, i said it.

But ive had many hours of fun with this series and i hope to god Turn10 will take this series under their wing and turn it into something even better.

@dionion:

I've only played the demos of PGR3 + 4 but I found at least the *demo* of 4 to be far far better. In particular, on my projector, the rescaled graphics from 3 caused awful awful aliasing, it was really ugly and distracting, but 4 was lovely. I've actually played the demo to death, planning to buy the full game soon.

Both demos are on XBL so give them a go.

@残心:
I hear that's the project they are moving over too.They hint at it a little.PGR4 is a good game.I was just playing it the other night.

@dionion: Actually all the installments of PGR vary quite a bit. I'm still getting used to PGR4 but it is a vast improvement over 3 as far as level detailing and course variation go.

Uh oh! Don't push Luke cos he's close to the edge!

It's too bad about 4. I need to pick that up still.

@slight: @Rususeruru:

Thank you both.

That was Bill Gates' favorite XBOX game too. I remember hearing him say that in an interview.

He's a big collector of rare & exotic cars & played a big part in getting the "Show or Display" law passed so supercars not certified for the US could still be imported. Too bad he had to buy a second Porsche 959 because the gov stole his first since he tried to import it before the law was passed, lol. Ironically Seinfeld did the same thing but the gov didnt catch him so he got to keep it.

bah I was hoping for Rome to be released as a city DLC booooo!

I have to say after the Need for Speed series started going down hill after Need for Speed: High Stakes in about 1999 ( I can't stand the ricer rockets they put in their games now) there were very, very few shining lights in the arcade racing world.

It wasn't until the PGR games came out did my interest come back to the genre and with every subsequent sequal released it has got better and better. Not only is PGR 4 visually and stylistically brilliant but the gameplay was incredible and the sense of speed was second to none.

I spent many hours flinging my Darth Vaderesque Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT around the streets of New York,in fact it almost makes me want to stop playing GTA IV just so I can have another run.........almost.

PGR is ok, better than that steaming pile called Forza at least. the visuals are terrible though as they have the whole physics of the surroundings passing by all wrong and the sound is ok. Ooooo they take sound readings from real cars.... As if every other company doesn't do that. I thought they load up the car sound clips cd '95 and start programming.

Too bad the game isn't as exciting as their commercials.

I have a funny theory: The majority of the people (MAJORITY! not all!) who dislikes Forza2, does not have a drivers license.

@Bon5ai: Well, the key difference is not that they actually sample real cars since everyone else is doing that as well obviously, but they actually try and re-create that sound in the game. And not just the engine and exhaust pipes. The racing prepped A-Class cars all have that distinct whining of the transmission box, the turbos are vastly different depending on each car and setup. They've even added different fuel mixtures and the cars back fire depending on how you rev the engine and change gears.

This is quite different from the generic turbo sounds from Forza and a pretty far cry from just about everything else out there that can't even make a proper distinction between Ferrari and Audi engines.

@zlimness:

Reminds me of NFS:UG2 using ferrari sounds for the tuned honda's and Audi sounds for the Evo :p (or was it the other way around? Either way, it was a complete mess).

I saw this at target on the clearance aisle for 9.98 the other day. For whatever reason I didn't nab it at the time and when I went back yesterday they were all gone. Plenty of Tiger Woods 07 left though.

Still my favorite racing game as well.

Love the PGR series. Really great. Have been my favourite arcade racing games, since xbox. Forza being my fave sim. Is sad that there won't be more content but the news comes at a time right after downloading and putting a few hours into the grid demo. And I'm loving it. Can't wait for it to come out now.

I really liked the MSR/PGR series, though I haven't tried PGR4 yet. (Its sitting there mocking me to play it.)

Would really like to know more about your reason for it being your favorite though, Luke.

I've following the series since MSR on Dreamcast, but I've never got to really like them, The ones I played the most were MSR and PGR1, PGR2 disappointed me since it only ran at 30fps whereas the first one was silky smooth 60.

Then came PGR3 and 4 which I played very little before getting sick of them. I just can't get into them, the whole PGR series has been always too hard, too sim-like to me. But maybe that's because I like games like Ridge Racer 6 (If I had a PS3 it would be RR7) that one is my favorite racing game ever, I have it since launch and I still play it a lot.

I'm pretty sure Bizarre will come up with the spiritual successor of the PGR franchise, maybe they'll go back to the Metropolis Street Racer name? I'll give it another chance when it comes out (60 frames per second this time, please). Meanwhile I'm keeping myself busy with Sega Rally Revo, Burnout Paradise, RR6, and the upcoming GRID. (The demo was awesome, this is what NFS ProStreet should've been)

Project Gotham was the best racing game because you got points for doing burnouts and other silly shit.

No, it wasn't realistic, because it didn't let reality get in the way of feeling like a badass while busting 360s down an offramp.

It would have been the perfect game if it determined winners by amount of kudos, not finishing place, so you could still win even if you came in dead last, just because you drove like the biggest lunatic.

I fucking love this game sooooo much

Thanks to Forza 2, I never did pick this up. I really enjoyed 3, though, and the demo to this was great too. I was just poor at the time (still am) and could only afford to buy two games during the holiday season. Halo 3 and Mass Effect won out.

Someday, when I finally finish Forza (seriously, I think this game may be longer than Oblivion) and I can find this on the cheap, I'll be all over it.

@DARTH_TIGRIS:

Same thing here, I was too preoccupied by Forza2 to pick up PGR4. PGR3 was my favorite racing game pre-Forza2, but now that I've completely finished Forza (Don't give up, it's possible!) I'll be picking up PGR4.

Good riddance. The game already jumped the proverbial shark by including motorcycles, and wanting to include ATVs. Its much-tauted weather effects were also utterly over-hyped.

It's been the same experience for 4 versions. It's always been very lacking, with false car variety and slightly increasing graphical power. There have been no other innovations. It's an obsolete brand. Games like Forza 2 and Test Drive: Unlimited remove any need for such a racer. They're not only better games in every sense, but they're just more fun. Let's face it, PGR has been dead since 3.

@Billkwando:

+ Watch video

There there, Luke. The good news is that I've played the game, and it's not as good as you make it sound. So I guess there's your silver lining, eh?

the complete PGR series deserved better sales number..

I love this game too. The only people I know on my friends list with it are from Europe. It's so great.

I really love this game, it made racing games fun again (for me). I'm not one for realism, and I enjoyed this much more than most racing games. I've always loved this series though, all the way back to MSR on the Dreamcast.