Project Gotham Racing 2 - Page 6

Boom · 27-11-2003, 10:10

Got mine this morning along with NHL2K4, XIII, and Manhunt. NHL2K4 is well good and definite improvement over 2K3 and probably the best hockey game I've played since the one on I used to play on Sega Genesis. Where are you McTim?

Zorilla · 27-11-2003, 12:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteRiley

Tonight I've ended a marathon session on the game and its almost complete to Silver medal, meaning that most of the tracks and best cars are unlocked. In the original PGR this would have taken me days and days. It's been made easier so that its more accessable to all, again I think this is another downfall to the game as a whole.

I see what you're getting at, but can you play the single player with a different Player name, so that the cars and tracks are still locked?

You could argue that this defeats the object, but the alternative (of having to unlock all the cars and tracks in single player 1st), would have taken alot of fun out of the LIVE experienced, as newbies would have the crappy cars, and the veterans would "whip their @rses"

27-11-2003, 12:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jarandco

Well mine has been dispatched, got the email today, did you get it aswell neon? So i should be online tomorrow!

Yes, got my email this morning at 8.30am. Fingers crossed it will arrive tomorrow but judging by past deliveries it could be Saturday. Think I'll have to move house to south of the Watford Gap to get my games earlier!

Ste Riley · 27-11-2003, 13:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorilla

I see what you're getting at, but can you play the single player with a different Player name, so that the cars and tracks are still locked?

You could argue that this defeats the object, but the alternative (of having to unlock all the cars and tracks in single player 1st), would have taken alot of fun out of the LIVE experienced, as newbies would have the crappy cars, and the veterans would "whip their @rses"

Yes you can set up another profile so that they are all locked up again but theres no point really.

I play fair and if a newbie comes on with there Mini I wont get out my Enzo and laugh in there face as I speed away. There's no challenge in that, I'd get out my Mini or Focus something with a similar speed and give them a good race.

However, you can restrict the classes when you are hosting so that everyone does have similar speed cars.

If your not into offline gaming then you will struggle to find the time to get some of the better cars out there, although it is possible to get the Enzo in under 3 hours easily.

My big gripe is that this just wont last you in the long term online because it gets old fast. The enjoyment from this comes out of racing on your own, I think I will find supporters of this.

invalid_session · 27-11-2003, 13:50

Quote:

The enjoyment from this comes out of racing on your own, I think I will find supporters of this.

That's the best thing about all decent racing titles, to be honest. Time trailing against your own records proves to be the true test of a gamers might - add in the Xbox Live stuff and it looks set to keep gamers amused for some time to come (e.g. take a look at Moto GP).

However, I feel as though Project Gotham 2 doesn't really convey the same time trailing aspects as something more "harcore", like Moto GP 2 or F355 (yeah, I know, not Xbox... just drawing on experience as the Xbox lacks in "proper" driving games imho), where one could learn to take advantage of a much deeper, richer handling and "physics" model, taming the beast.

Not my cup of tea, to be brutally honest...

Ste Riley · 27-11-2003, 14:25

Well said invalid session, this is not a good hardcore racer that I hoped for either. Hopefully SEGA GT will give us that and provide the hours of rip-roaring action we demand from Live games today.

By this time next week, I'd like to see how many people who get the game this week are still lapping up the online multiplayer head-to-head side of this game.

I think it wont be very many, you'll all slip back to Rainbow 6 or whatever else floats your boat.

Boom · 27-11-2003, 14:33

Unfortunately Sega GT got delayed again.

Ste Riley · 27-11-2003, 14:36

Yup, we'll have to wait till Feb it seems, so we'll just have to dream about it till then and aim to get Platinum medals in all challenges on PGR2.

Jarandco · 27-11-2003, 15:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boom

Got mine this morning along with NHL2K4, XIII, and Manhunt. NHL2K4 is well good and definite improvement over 2K3 and probably the best hockey game I've played since the one on I used to play on Sega Genesis. Where are you McTim?

4 games in one week - just before xmas

Tell us or me (if i am the only one interested) what XIII is like single and online as i am wondeirng about getting this!

Boom · 27-11-2003, 15:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jarandco

4 games in one week - just before xmas

Tell us or me (if i am the only one interested) what XIII is like single and online as i am wondeirng about getting this!

I will if I get a chance. If McTim has got NHL2K4 (he pre-ordered from the same place), it's likely I won't be playing much beyond this game for the next few nights online. If he hasn't got it, then I'll give some kind of first impression when I get a moment from PGR2.

There are still some adventure games that have got good reviews that I want like Broken Sword, Sphinx and the Mummy, etc.

27-11-2003, 17:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteRiley

It's time for me to speak the truth, as a race fan and a veteran Project Gotham gamer its time to sound out just what has happened here.

PGR2: I got this game home on Tuesday home at about 2pm ready to **** my plank with excitement. Booted it up and shot right into some single player action to warm up.

The graphics, Superb, the handling superb, gameplay superb. It was what I've dreaming of all this time. I then got online to give it a spin, 30 cars already unlocked, quite a few **** ones and a couple of corkers. Just what you'd expect so newbies can get right into the action.

The first gripe I noticed as I got online was the game is too centralised on the brilliant Kudos system. When you race online you want to improve on your personal best lap times, here you dont do that, you just collect points (Kudos) every time you race.

Anyway, not to worry it'll be ok trying to get the highest amount of Kudos on each track instead right? Wrong.

Tonight I've ended a marathon session on the game and its almost complete to Silver medal, meaning that most of the tracks and best cars are unlocked. In the original PGR this would have taken me days and days. It's been made easier so that its more accessable to all, again I think this is another downfall to the game as a whole.

So I went back online again tonight and started to race all the different classes of car, then began to wonder, whats the point to this? What am I trying to beat?

I can aim to win the race, but after you've done that a couple of times who gives a monkeys who wins, it dont mean nothing. How did I compare to last time I raced on this track, you cant tell!

In the end there's no lasting appeal to this game, the scoreboards like on Moto GP are what makes racing games. The scoreboards provided by Gotham cannot even be accessed in the lobby.

I must repeat this is a great game, but for lasting appeal online it just wont cut the mustard because its to bland. A dissapointing end to such a hyped realese. It could have been so much and it almost is but has failed by lacking a few simple but vitial features like time logging and scoreboard access on the fly.

If only them scoreboards was there this game wouldnt have left my machine till after Xmas. Without them it just feels like a lifeless experience, maybe rushed out to soon without much thought by Microsoft.

RENT FOR A WEEKEND... NOT THE ONLINE CLASSIC WE HOPED FOR!

Reading the online review for PGR2 in the Official Xbox mag, it seems to contradict what you have been saying about leaderboards/postion on the different tracks etc. What the mag say's is this:-

Quote:

In PGR2, even when you are racing alone, you are still going against the world. The game is always LiVE and will constantly update your position on the leader boards, your position on each track, and will even put your 'ghost' out for others to race against........ PGR2 is the ultimate racing game and it just gets ever better with Xbox LiVE

So there's absolutely no Time scores/leader boards, is it all just based on Kudos points?

Ste Riley · 27-11-2003, 17:20

When you race head to head against other players then it is for Kudos only, ever! Or on exhibition where u just have a race for position.

The only way to race for times is to do the Time Attack mode in single player. If you are racing on tracks the fastest cars dominate and the people who have cheated with Action Replay to get the TVR Speed 6 have the worlds fastest times.

The car challenges on time attacks are probabily where you'll get the best lasting enjoyment. Again your playing this on your tod and wont ever speak to a single person, which is what we enjoy most about live coz we are all socialable people right.

EDIT: I must stress again with all this negative feedback, the single player side to this is really enjoyable and the online scoreboards for this may help longativity.

manowar68 · 27-11-2003, 17:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by HornetUK

Agree with everything said by manowar68. Only thing I've found annoying is my joypad seems to constantly vibrate when driving?

Can i join your races please? Are your gamertags as above post?

Cheers

Add away Hornet,that is your gamertag.....HornetUK?

HornetUK · 27-11-2003, 17:52

Yep

27-11-2003, 18:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteRiley

When you race head to head against other players then it is for Kudos only, ever! Or on exhibition where u just have a race for position.

The only way to race for times is to do the Time Attack mode in single player. If you are racing on tracks the fastest cars dominate and the people who have cheated with Action Replay to get the TVR Speed 6 have the worlds fastest times.

The car challenges on time attacks are probabily where you'll get the best lasting enjoyment. Again your playing this on your tod and wont ever speak to a single person, which is what we enjoy most about live coz we are all socialable people right.

EDIT: I must stress again with all this negative feedback, the single player side to this is really enjoyable and the online scoreboards for this may help longativity.

I see what you mean now, cheers for the quick reply.