29 March 2007
Ferry

Project Gotham Racing 4 gives Xbox 360 extreme weather in winter 2007

Thanks to Noa for sending this in. The May issue of Official Xbox Magazine (out on April 10) scored an exclusive sneak peak at Bizarre Creations’ Project Gotham Racing 4 (PGR4), the fourth installment of the Xbox/Xbox 360 flagship racing series. The magazine will have the first in-game screenshots. Up until now it wasn’t clear if the game would come out in or before the first half of 2008, luckily the magazine confirms the PGR 4 release date is set for winter 2007!

The preview details some new features:
* Enhanced Weather Simulation - “One of the slickest new features in PGR is its weather. Bizarre’s using what it likes to call ‘extreme weather’ for more than just making the sky gray. Water beads up on beautifully on all the gorgeous paintjobs, spray jets out from the tires, and in the in-car view, wipers move and windshields ice up.”
* Enhanced Raceway Environments - “A TV-style intro sets up each event, with a commentator offering wisdom…Choppers buzz overhead, camera crews and video vans are everywhere, and hordes of fans line the track. They’ll wear gear with your logo, wave your national flag, and react far more obviously to your performance.”
* Extended Car Selection - “PGR4 will deliver a much broader set of vehicles, ranging from a vintage’63 Corvette Sting Ray and the ’54 Maserati 250F to the sleek, ultra-modern Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano.”
* The tracks - “You won’t want to miss out on your viewing time with PGR4’s tracks, which tally up to 200-plus in 10 locations.”
* Xbox Live initiatives - “PGR4’s cooking up a mysterious new matchmaking system (like Halo 2’s).”
* In-car view - ” Bizarre has two key improvements in the works.You’ll now see drivers moving more- feeding the wheel as they zip through turns or pumping their fist after a win. Special effects will also crank up the tension in key moments: you’ll get a shake effect at high speeds, and your vision will blur after spending some quality time with a wall.”