Like earlier racing games by Bizarre Creations, racing is a little bit different PGR2. You’re not going just for time; you’re going for style too. Your racing style equates to Kudos, points you can earn by performing certain tricks in a race. Powerslide through turns, ride on two wheels, slip into your opponent’s slipstream and overtaking other cars are just some of the things that will reward you with Kudos points. The downside to this is that you have to risk losing precious time in order to earn them. If you’re powersliding through a turn, you won’t get your Kudos points if you slam into the wall, and you’ll lose precious time on top of that. Of course, performing multiple tricks in a short amount of time will allow you to gain more Kudos. Powerslide through a turn, overtake another driver shortly thereafter will net you some big points. In a sense, it’s a lot like a Tony Hawk game. There’s an extra risk/reward element to the game that is not present in a lot of other racing games.

What makes PGR2 so great is how they’ve implemented the Kudos system into every part of the game. Certain races can only be won by attaining a certain amount of Kudos points, and they are the only way to get a better rank in the game, which allows you to purchase new cars. Fortunately the game is a lot easier than PGR1. Each challenge during the Kudos World Series contains different levels of difficulty, from the lowly Steel rank to the Platinum rank. This allows gamers to get the most out of the single player experience while at the same time making it easier for new players to progress through the game.

The single player mode isn’t all that PGR2 offers though. In fact, the large part of the experience happens over Xbox Live, even in single player. Before you start playing you can connect to Xbox Live, which allows you to do many things. One is to keep track of the leaders online for courses and challenges. You can actually see how well you stack up to others around the world without ever playing online. Of course you can still play online against seven other players, but the way that XBL has been integrated with everything in PGR2 is simply brilliant and gives the single player mode an entirely different dimension.

The track design is one of the most impressive things about the game. It’s smart, fun and most importantly of all, it’s challenging. The tracks vary greatly from city to city. Florence is one of the first cities you travel to, which features courses that have very narrow stretches, while Moscow’s courses are fairly wide open, giving you a lot of room to maneuver. We should also point out that even though many of the challenges take place in the same city, it’s a rarity that you actually have to go through the same course twice. That’s one of the best things about PGR2, as it would’ve gotten very boring had players been stuck with the same 15 - 20 courses throughout the game. Of course, the game controls perfectly. Responsive controls coupled with a good sense of weight and speed has made this game a dream to play.

Bizarre Creations have always been able to bust out some of the sickest visuals on whatever system they’re working on, and it’s no different here. Simply put, PGR2 is drop-dead gorgeous. The way that the cars reflect the environment around them to the bump-mapped roads screams polish. The cities are not exactly modeled after their real life counterparts, but that’s something that’s not a big issue. The cars themselves are an absolute sight to behold. Not only do they look great, but they are also realistically damaged whenever you run into an obstacle. If you should slam into a wall while drifting through a turn, that side of the car will show it, not to mention you might lose your headlights as well. Yeah, it doesn’t actually affect the performance of your car, but it’s a nice feature nonetheless and it gives the game some more realism. There is one thing that disappoints though. The lack of weather and daytime options for all the courses is something that would’ve been a nice change. Sure, there are courses that take place in the rain and at night, but it would’ve been awesome if the player could pick the conditions of the race before hand. It’s obvious the Xbox can handle it, so why not let players choose?

The most surprising aspect of the game will probably be when you listen to the numerous tracks available to you when you drive. Instead of going for the traditional licensed music from popular bands, we’re given a ton of indie bands that bust out anything from tap-your-foot pop music to good old-fashioned rock. Now, I'm not the type of person that loves his pop or hip hop music, but I have to admit that the decision to select some more obscure bands works well here, and hell, if you’re not satisfied with the soundtrack, you can always make your own custom playlist. Another interesting thing is how every city has their own announcer speaking in the country’s official language. It would’ve been easy to just have one announcer do all the talking, so it’s a nice touch that gives each location a more authentic feeling.

Given the pedigree of Bizarre Creations, it should be no surprise to anyone that Project Gotham Racing 2 has turned out even better than their first Xbox title. They’ve had a good two years to hone their craft, and it shows in every aspect of the game. Nothing in the game is unpolished, even the garage (which includes a fun mini-game called Geometry Wars). For those who are looking for a racer that’s just as challenging offline as it is online, look no further than PGR2.

· · · Reno