Despite being crappy, I still love her.

Project Gotham Racing 4.  Oh PGR, how my heart doth long for thee!  This game is the bread and butter - the nitty gritty of racing games, and boy oh boy is it a blasty-blast to play!  Sure, it doesn’t have all the mechanics and precision of some competitors, and sure it doesn’t have the customizability of others, but this game is a good all around racing simulator.

 

In all honesty, I have probably played this game for upwards of 100 hours, and I don’t even own an Xbox 360!

 

That’s how good this game is.

 

Then, there are the drawbacks: First and foremost, there was no innovation from its predecessor, and that’s something that car game designers can’t seem to grasp.  They seem to think that putting super fast, bajillion dollar supercars into the hands of a 12 year old is all that is required for entertainment, but the quality of a game is greatly compromised when the best game over Xbox live is something completely improvised by the players on the server.

 

Anyone that has played cat and mouse in PGR knows exactly what I am talking about - which is, by my best estimate, none of my readers.  Damn.

 

Anyway, the graphics are great, the physics are pristine, and the AI driving skill is, well, lacking.  I wish you could put more people in a single game at one time, but for some reason, I don’t see this game being nearly as popular as the multitude of other games out there, as its multiplayer is very one dimensional and lacking in replay value.

 

 Next up is Gran Turismo 5.  Notice I did not say Gran Turismo 5 Prologue.  That’s just stupid.  I should not have to pay to buy a limited demo for a game.  As a matter of fact, this game is the biggest heaping pile of decomposing bodily waste that I have ever laid eyes on.

 

Just kidding, this is actually probably the best driving sim out there.

 

I make such a bold claim for three reasons, first being that the GT series has ALWAYS produced fantastic -FANTASTIC- driving simulators.  I recall playing Gran Turismo for the first time years ago, and being absolutely baffled that I had to push the break before the turn.  What’s up with that?  Who stops to turn?

 

The people at Polyphony Digital do, apparently, and thanks to them, ultimate realism and fantastic physics are possible, and this game is a shining example of the beauty and magnificence one can achieve if they don’t cut corners and deficate on the creativity of their developers (I am looking at you, EA).

The game is spectacular on every, or so it may seem at first glance.  Granted, the game is just a working demo, and we should not judge it based upon a lack of depth in any respect, but I feel that most of the problems with this game are actually fundamental design issues.  Upon a closer inspection, one gets the feel that the game has lost a great deal of its realism to sacrifice for a broader acceptance of the game.  Now I am not saying they sold out entirely or anything, but they definitely sold a portion of their integrity for crowd appeal.  Still, they managed to make this game the benchmark of excellence when it comes to racing simulators.  The realism, and AI are all spot on, but it seems that Sony is looking for such a degree of excellence that they may be chasing the purple dragon on this one; the successor to Prologue (GT5), which was supposed to be released this year, may actually be delayed until after 2010.  Does that mean I should just save up for a PS4?  Probably not, but I won’t be betting on seeing the actual game any time soon.

Last but not least one of my personal favorite games of all time: TOCA Race Driver 3.

Now why TOCA and not GRID?  Because GRID (TOCA’s successor, for the non-gaming types) is literally dog vomit packaged in digital form.  I had no idea what they were doing with that game.

Nevertheless, I must say that TOCA was probably the most fun I ever had playing a racing game.  Online, the gameplay was absolutely fantastic, and single player was about as much fun as it can get.  No other game allowed for as much diversity, realism and sheer volume of different racing experiences.

Let me put it into perspective: This game has both F1 cars, as well as monster trucks.  Did you get that?  MONSTER EFFING’ TRUCKS!

What’s not to like?  You race in full grids, with more people per server than any of the competitors, the graphics are spot on, even with the age of the game, and the devs at Codemasters never pull any punches.  They never make damage simply cosmetic, and driving never gets easier for the idiot newbies that tend to ruin racing games.  Instead, this game forces you to gradually increase your own skill level in a multitude of series before your driver can even advance to a more challenging series.

If you’re a fan of racing of any kind, then buy this game.  You will not be disappointed.

All that being said, I am sure I will get some people complaining to me about why I didn’t compare certain games, or why I didn’t mention the latest Need For Speed 6 Hot Pursuit 3 Porsche Edition 51.  Frankly, those people can faff off, for all I care.  Those games are stupid, and don’t compare when it comes to racing games like these.  If you haven’t noticed already, this comparison was intended to face off the 360, PS3, and to appease the gaming master race, the PC.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more news on the Quakecon, and more of my splendid commentary on things you propbably don’t care about.