Project Gotham Racing 3 review - ColourShed

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Project Gotham Racing 3 review
Platform: Xbox 360
Release Year: 2005
Developer: Bizarre Creations
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Genre: Driving, Aracde Racer
► Music (in order):
"Project Gotham Racing 3 Menu Music 1"
"Project Gotham Racing 3 Menu Music 2"
"Asterism" by Underbelly
"Project Gotham Racing 2 Arcade Mode"
► Gameplay, audio and images from:
Bizarre Creations
Bungie
Codemasters
Electronic Arts
Epic Games
Evolution Studios
Metacritic
SCE Liverpool Studio
Slightly Mad Studios
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Turn 10 Studios
Xbox Game Studios
► KZbin videos used:
"E3 2005 - Complete Microsoft Press Conference" by Adam Washington
• E3 2005 - Complete Mic...

[@CasepbX]

The saddest thing ever about this franchise is that not a single game is backwards compat with the X1...

[@wayne1da121]

True! Not only should it be backwards compatible, it should be xbox one x enhaced as well.

[@SuperballsSupervidsOnYT]

It is truly unfortunate. I would even jump on a PGR 1-4 (with MSR as a bonus) remaster in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, I think getting any of these games as BC would be a licensing nightmare, and I don't use nightmare lightly. The amount of licensed music in each single game was astronomical.

[@GraveUypo]

@@SuperballsSupervidsOnYT cut all music off. idc. i just want the games anyway.

[@Phenom98]

'Back compat' is a misnomer. They are all ports.

[@bruhmentium2693]

i mean, there are reasons.

[@dominicrusho]

Both this and PGR4 look (and sound) absurdly good for their age - and better still, they're terrific fun to play. I've still not played an arcade racer that got so much right with it's handling.

[@TheKamikazeNici]

I just played PGR4 for the very first time and I have to admit you are absolutely right, its a blast 😍.

[@yobro6053]

@@TheKamikazeNici it's a shame it's not backwards compatible with the xbox one smh

[@MidnightClubStillCancelledSoz]

One of my favorite classics from 2005.

[@woooshbait5398]

Him again

[@ferdinand12390]

This game brings so many memories, this game came free with the 360 my brother bought, when he left to live to Texas, he left me the 360 with all his games, I remember spending hours playing this

[@visionop8]

I got the "PGR Bundle" too! Though I don't remember what that bundle entailed. Either way I played the hell out of that game.

[@ItzDatGuy21]

I remember when i was 6, i got home from school and my dad just finished setting up the 360 . First game i played was PGR3! Having played pgr2 on the original xbox, this games visuals blew my mind back then. Looking at it now, its aged pretty well. Here's hoping they can revive the PGR series eventually.

[@scottoleson1997]

Hollow Skull better than all the NFS and burnout at the time

[@danteasdfgh]

The spiritual successor would be forza horizon if I m correct.

[@scottoleson1997]

danteasdfgh they don’t have much city driving though. It’s more off-road focused with each game and with Horizon 4 there’s not even any London. I was disappointed about that. I wanted to do some midtown madness driving too but sadly I’ll have to wait longer for another spiritual successor. Maybe watch dogs legion will be like that

[@SuperballsSupervidsOnYT]

A lot of the Bizarre Creations team went on to work on the Forza Horizon series. It is very much the spiritual successor to Project Gotham racing, with a "kudos" system well intact.

[@SuperballsSupervidsOnYT]

@@danteasdfgh Very much so. FH is developped by a lot of the Bizarre Creations alumni and it's very very apparent.

[@TheDriftingspliff420]

Graphics look amazing for its age. Never played this looks ok

[@SuperballsSupervidsOnYT]

This whole series is the absolute pinnacle of "simcade" racing. The physics are tight enough to make sense and feel believable, but still be controlled with a gamepad.

[@_leftwardclamp4960]

I really recommend it

[@cd-rommasterclass19]

Project Gotham Racing 3, a game I remember well, but that I haven't played much off; It blew me away, and it looked about as photoreal as they could possibly have gotten it to look, at the time. I used to compare this game to real life, more often than not... it also had a spectacular motion blur effect that I loved so much; this was before I began despising motion blur in video games. ...and you know what? Motion blur still looks so nice in this game, so smooth... what about that? What technique did they make use off, I wonder, cuz it looks really damn good.

[@GraveUypo]

yep that garage. that garage. man that looked PERFECTLY REAL on a crt tv. there was nothing to give away that it was a video game. it's the moment of my life i always go to when people ask what was the time you were wowed the most by a game's graphics. to me that was the first moment ever that i felt "we've got there". that i looks real. then when i got an HD tv it kinda dispersed the magic a bit, but still looked hella good.

[@cd-rommasterclass19]

@@GraveUypo , I played a lot of X360 on a CRT too and man do I miss payin' games on that... I got myself an HD LCD TV later on; but was, in all honesty, somewhat disappointed at the my new acquisition; I noticed a bit of a drop in image quality; things looked more washed out than before and it was lacking in colours... image quality was less defined amongst other things. Man, do I miss CRTs.

[@SantiagoMonroy5]

Motion blur works great here because it isn't so aggressive, it only blurs the edges and in this game, there really isn't that many obstacles that would be affected by motion blur, so all motion blur does here is to add more flavor and make you feel really fast (as if it already wasn't), also helped to hide the fact that it is only 30fps

[@spongebelt]

Played this more than forza, I was really into this game, I used to watch tournaments of this on HD net back in the day!

[@39PSIOnTheDaily]

Dude, you gotta do “Enthusia” on PS2!

[@krdhkr]

Yes! 😀

[@39PSIOnTheDaily]

sceptical legend It also had accurate tire scrub, understeer and oversteer, variable power steering and weight shift! It was incredibly advanced for a PS2 game... Ironically enough, its creator disappeared off the face of the earth! It still holds up incredibly well as a sim-racer to modern generation games.

[@blackavant9405]

Yup one of the best racing games even for today,

[@AsAngelsFall221]

Sheesh I miss Enthusia, I always bring it up whenever friends talk about old racing games and they're like "Enthusi-wha?" smh LOL

[@romuloarrudaa]

Jeeesus, Enthusia was increadible

[@Randolph_]

And still there's no Batman in it

[@abhistorm]

Batman: Arkham Kart

[@mro9466]

WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME ?!!

[@juancortes6837]

Hell, YESS!! this and PGR4 bring back big memories of my childhood, and ill never forget that when my uncle used to fly down from New York that the first thing we would do when he unpacked his bags was fire up the Xbox and race!

[@juanfep.p856]

I've got pgr 1 and 2 for the Xbox and are great games, easy to play but hard to master.

[@FabioGnecco]

those PGR games look incredible !

[@IlhamParamartha]

I’ve been waiting for you to review this game since you reviewed the second one. Keep ‘em coming mate. Proper work!

[@Shenmoki]

Loved the cockpit view in these games- shit was intense!!! Loved the precipitation in PGR4 too :D

[@Fuzzarr]

Enjoyed this, cheers. I was on the testing team at BC for PGR3 and PGR4, after spending an unhealthy amount of time on PGR2 and BC's forums (which were unfortunately killed off a good while ago now)

[@andrew6978]

You guys did a good job, not many bugs I came across in either version.

[@wolfboy20]

I absolutely adored this game! Being able to drive across the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges at over 200 mph never gets old! As someone who lives in ny, they got the location and some of the surrounding areas 100% right! Love it!!

[@potatolol4579]

YES. ABOUT TIME! It’s been about a year, if not more, since people asked you to try this and PGR4

[@elliot1111]

This game and Colin McRae dirt was my introduction to Motorsport and I’m so glad I played both those game. The circuit creator feature made me love this game and I loved the ability to chose your opponent cars in the playtime feature.

[@ralliman320]

I played this game so freaking much back then. It was my first foray into online multiplayer gaming, and I was hooked. Fifteen years later, it's still a source of so many great memories. Good times, man.

[@markisaki979]

Awesome man, you actually went and continued the PGR series! I love this channel even more now.

[@roni6135]

perfect review as always :D

[@GTA4Forever]

Also can you you review Sega GT 2002 for the original Xbox? Some copies come with Jet Set Radio Future on the same disk as well. It was a lot of people's first game for the original Xbox, mine included

[@canadianmade7636]

This game was and still is an absolute gem!

[@saadhasan2518]

PGR 3 and PGR 4 were really fun and awesome

[@Alanzice]

Great review as always!

[@AJ6spd]

Would love to see the midtown madness trilogy review done by you!

[@games4850]

I miss Midtown Madness so much! Its such a shame it disappeared after the 3rd game.

[@AJ6spd]

@@games4850 same i have spend countless hours playing midtown madness as a kid back in the day

[@2pacaveli257]

This game never get old, classic 💎

[@erictweet410]

This game takes me back. I was always a fan of racing games as a kid on the PS2, but I remember being in a Circuit City sitting on one of the couches in front of the large, non-flat screen HDTV they had on display and I saw PGR3. It looked so good it ended up getting a 360 instead of a PS3. It was a pretty fun game and definitely holds a special place in my heart.

[@emilio_mlx]

Man, I loved playing this game back in the day. I always chose the interior camera and used then the right stick to look into the rear- and side-view mirrors - which would break off if you crashed into the wall or your opponents, thereby incentivising you at least to a certain degree to drive cleanly. It was the most immersive driving experience I knew back then.

[@digitalsmithy]

you need to review Tokyo Extreme racer! great stuff!

[@TsunamiSephi]

The garage walkaround feature is sorely missed in every single game since it. I'd walk around my garage for hours, sorting and showcasing my favorite cars. I wish more games had that. It's such a fun bonus.

[@MostafaAli-hu7pv]

Keep up the amazing content ma man Sorry for bad English

[@ev4n5eli0n01]

I remember getting this game when it came out and a major major selling point was the cockpit view. It was revolutionary.

[@emmansiva7538]

Can you review Gran Turismo Sport?

[@basithph8958]

Project Gotham is criminally underrated It’s like an arcade gameplay in a racing simulator

[@thisemptyworm4677]

nfs shift also plays in that role

[@basithph8958]

ThisEmptyWorm oh yes can’t forget about that game that was a solid game

[@thisemptyworm4677]

@@basithph8958 one thing I love about that spin off is the cockpit immersion

[@diegostime9634]

Nostalgia is hitting so hard right now

[@martman8886]

This was the first game i ever played online with my 360. It was amazing at the time. Played as part of a big group that was organised by a guy with the Gamertag TOBY CRACKERS. Also had an online rivalry with someone who went by Shiny Disco Panda. Good times.

[@SieTeppischfresser]

Some of my best memories are back then on 360. Burnout Revenge and PGR3 gave me fantastic memories. Like you, I remember the people I played with and still wonder about them sometimes. Blue Dewayne, I'm looking at you, buddy!

[@SamuelSantos_]

This was the first racing game I ever played, the first car I bought in career mode was an orange C6 Corvette. It was a great game, way ahead of its time, and some of its features have yet to even feature in newer games! A classic

[@jayda1k_]

Crazy to think both this and NFS MW were both of the many racing launch releases of the Xbox 360 in 2005!

[@i_am_raph]

it still blows my mind how you actually move to and step on the clutch when changing gears in this game. most noticeable when driving the ariel atom.

[@mro9466]

my first xbox 360 game, great series, from MSR to PGR4. R.I.P. Bizarre Creations

[@ERIC-65]

I drove that game, and I liked it! 😎

[@TheAcousticCitizen]

Absolute gem.

[@duck74UK]

I remember playing this on the demo booth at toys r us. I was so impressed by how good it looked, I only had a ps2 at the time

[@modifide]

Oh boy, can wait for the PGR4 review to come out. I put so many hours into that game 😊

[@blakecooper669]

PGR4 was my first pgr game. Then I got the third. Never regretted it

[@modifide]

@@blakecooper669 PGR3 was tons of fun. it did help me get back into the series as i skipped out on PGR2 unfortunately. I wasn't to fond of PGR1, which lead to skip the next game in the series.

[@bobbob6472]

people still play it nightly, also played the shit out of that game (I was out outside the top 100 on the global leader boards for PGR2)

[@liquidjubb3672]

You should review the Test Drive Unlimited series!!

[@justinpmartin6460]

loved the pgr series would be so great to see it come back

[@LBEvideo]

Forza Horizon was sort of a way to reboot the PGR series for Microsoft. a spiritual successor if you will. but wouldn't mind like a 4k remaster for 20 euros or something.

[@gameboyterrorysta6307]

@@LBEvideo Driving model is completely different. PGR4 is more arcade yet more in depth. Cars feel more unique, you can feel its weight, its characteristic... In Forza everything seems to be one model with oversimplified stats copied and pasted. It's fun. But PGR is better in case of "smoothness" and casual rivalry online.

[@Uz7Racer]

Nice Video, if you want, you should try out the Sega GT Series. i like theme much

[@CHERN0BYLCH1LD]

PGR 3&4 you could either pay like the stig or Jeremy Clarkson and that was awesome

[@tougeruzbay]

First game I bought for my 360 in 06 at Circuit City

[@kangurRrod]

One of the best racing games for 360 IMO.

[@manygatos885]

this was amazing game when I purchased this in 2007

[@jackh.3052]

Thoughts on Project Car 3 pls

[@TWilsonSE]

You should review the Grand Tour Game. I'd be interested to hear what you think about it.

[@games4850]

I forgot it existed! Did the developers ever make the rest of series 1 and 2?

[@RieklinRideR]

did you notice any aliasing? im trying it on a 1366x768 tv with hdmi and the aliasing is pretty distracting, same with full hd monitor

[@shnubdawg7730]

I can’t believe this game out in 2005, the graphics are on par with today’s games.

[@sanghelian]

"this game would be handy tool for Hermann Tilke" yea, i have no idea if that is a compliment or a stealth burn

[@SApcGUY]

The handling in this game was awesome - it felt so good from cockpit view as well. PGR4 was also awesome and looks so good for an x360 game.

[@thegameingfox]

Have you done a vidieo on nfs most wanted yet? 2005 most wanted

[@Isaackariuki775]

He has.

[@thegameingfox]

@@Isaackariuki775 cool

[@forrandomsites3336]

Please review PGR4 next,and then maybe Blur or maybe the flatout games

[@chucklefun487]

Good video well done you make good video.

[@Lucky_9705]

It’s insane that this game is nearly 18 years old

[@jimross5838]

Do Sega GT2002 on original Xbox, that was my first real life styled racing game I ever played

[@marciomaiajr]

First game I played on the XBOX 360. I remember being really impressed with this game.

[@jimross5838]

This guy has literally just reviewed possibly the 3 most influential car games I've ever played one after another, Forza Motorsport 4, Driver2 & now PGR3

[@TheWHEATISHweet]

The game that got me into cars and racing!

[@xDuNnY]

A racing game well ahead of it’s time, such a classic, and still pleasing to the eye graphically in todays era of games, i completed this again on Platinum only a few weeks ago, still play it on 360 from time to time, shame there is no backwards compatibility for it on Xb1 due to licensing!

[@pandaonios83]

The nostalgia..

[@SuperballsSupervidsOnYT]

The MSR/PGR series is one of the greatest racing series ever made. It was unapologetic in what it was, it was JUST simish enough to make sense, while being loose enough with it's physics model that it could be played on a controller as well as a racing wheel. Not a full on sim, but very believable in it's driving model. The graphics, sound, and gameplay mechanics were consistently fun throughout though the game did demand a certain amount of dedication. I own every one of the racing games put out by Bizarre Creations, as far back as the Sega Dreamcast and have enjoyed all of them. Sadly, as my XBOX is in a weird spot and I can't bear to lose what's on the hard drive (some original recordings that I will never be able to replace) and it is, as of yet, unmodded, and both my XBOX 360s failed, I am unable to play any of them, and XBONE BC will probably never have these great games due to several licensing issues, I haven't been able to play them in some time. I will still never forget, buying my OG XBOX, with the JSRF/Sega GT 2002 package, and having to wait a month to get PGR, a game I had been waiting to play for almost 2 years, while using Sega GT 2002 as a bit of a filler (though honestly JSRF really did help fill that time the best, what a game). The continuation of the Dreamcast library WAS the reason I chose XBOX over Gamecube that generation, and I really wanted a Gamecube, PGR was a primary reason, and I sunk a huge amount of time in that game. I remember getting to a point where I had unlocked the Corvette, after playing a large amount of time with the Focus Cosworth (I've owned two Focuses largely because of this game, as dumb as that might sound) and the Porsche Boxter, and eventually hitting a wall with the Boxter, and having to push myself to really learn to control the unweildy Corvette, it was such a great moment. Then going back with the Corvette to all the early series to unlock the platinum medals until I unlocked the 911 Turbo, and eventually the grand daddy in that game, the Ferarri F40. Thanks to that Corvette, though, the F40 was actually quite manageable. I wish I could find the replay of this one 28 lap race in San Fran, in the endurance Series, where I fought tooth and nail to get the platinum medal having taken first place with maybe 4 laps left. It was such a triumphant race for me and really felt like a battle the whole time.

[@lm_dccxl4078]

one of the things that this old racing games do very well is the camera fov, it make it feel so fast and dangerous, not like the modern racing games were they literally put the rear bumper on all of my face

[@thatmotorfreak]

Revisiting this game after playing PGR 4 makes it feel a bit barebones. I've been spoiled by the weather options (snowy Nurburgring baybeeeeee), slightly expanded selection of cities/tracks, and the inclusion of bikes (though I still prefer using cars). Still, I wish they had kept some of the concept cars from this game in PGR4. I loved the Ford Indigo and Mustang GTR.

[@xXxNoisemaker]

On the other hand, PGR4 was missing the garages, which made me feel like I owned the cars. Selecting a car from a list isn't the same as walking up to it among all the others.

[@johnrussell8086]

Project Gotham Racing three. Did you find it was rather dark in shadowed areas? Through HDMI the blacks seem very vibrant and hide the track causing me to crash. However through VGA this correct this. Just curious as I'm playing this again since I bought it at launch.

[@ralcolfwolfcoon8207]

Nope, was able to see

[@pgr3290]

PGR3 sold me on X360. Nobody believed it looked like that when Bizarre showed it off earlier in 2005. It launched. It looked like that. Easy purchase. it was a fantastic game, played beautiful, looked amaing. It only actually ran 1024 x 600 but had some nice 2x MSAA to smooth a lot of edges, locked solid at 30FPS though and the motion blur made everything feel so smooth.

[@12345mouser]

Pgr 4 please and love your reviews keep them up

[@bobbob6472]

Many people skipped PGR3 and went back to PGR2 until PGR4 came out, of which there are still active lobbies nightly.

[@V8RacerGT]

ColourShed I'm confused, because you said that the cars can't be damaged, but in some scenes you car was slightly bent and dent.

[@worldhello1234]

Dude, to put it like an Aussie, "It is bedda than the first one!" :)

[@The101Point1]

The graphics still look good to this day and the car list was good it had Eleanor and the 07 GT500

[@ralcolfwolfcoon8207]

Lets not forget Volkswagon's unreleased supercar the W12 Nardo. That was my first car I bought in the beginning. It sounded amazing!

[@halojimmy7]

when I first got Xbox 360 Project Gotham Racing 3 was my first game to play on Xbox

[@mikeb620]

This was my first racing game.

[@donhatter159]

Do the pgr4 review please

[@robnorish6515]

First game on my Xbox 360 I was buzzing

[@ganjaman59650]

16 years laters i'm still more hyped for this than most actual racing games, if not for assetto corsa(even if it's not the same type of racing game). I wish this was on pc, it would be glorious. It was on this game i learned the ring, and i still remember every turn and it served me well in a lot of games.You could even get the replays of the best time to see how they did it, for the time it was really great. Also: geometry wars. AND NO geometry wars 2 is not on pc, it's another game, a pretty bad one compared to gw 2 missing a lot of modes, i had it on xbox live arcade long ago, and it's not on pc, the first one and another travesty only are on pc, but not gw 2.

[@Hero-sp3xr]

It’s been a while since you reviewed a project Gotham racing game And to be honest this looks like a great early 360 game to play

[@Starfire_Storm]

The 4th game is BY FAR the best one in the franchise. I really really like the 2nd one, but there are a few things that I don't like about it that make me prefer the 4th game, that for me, it's almost the perfect racing game

[@txcforever]

PGR4 is the one I like most but maybe it's just nostalgia. I skipped 3 but from what I see it feels like 4 when out of it's way to put more interesting challenges every now and then. Blur is even more arcade-ish but I would love hearing your opinion about it. Not that great on single player, but man it was amazing online and with 4 player split screen.

[@frankwren8215]

Gotham TV was one of the best services in any racing game ever. Every single racing game should have it.

[@3rodox]

One of the most fun racing games I've ever played.

[@benvids]

3 is my absolute favourite of the series.

[@Chaz_Mahoney]

Does anyone know where I can buy a "Black Dong Matters" t-shirt?? Asking for a friend

[@Wally17.]

I wish the PGR series would come to backward compatibility. I understand if licensing would be a problem due to music or whatnot, but couldn’t Microsoft just let someone play it if they have the disc and not sell it on the digital marketplace?

[@TeamGeist06]

I think you can still play this game online, the servers were still up last time I checked maybe two months ago

[@charoleawood]

Ferrari F50 GT baby!! What a difficult car to handle in this game, but once you've got the hang of it then it SINGS!

[@marcusphoenixish]

PGR 3 was brilliant played it to death when it first came out

[@tatsuyaukyo654]

Would you be willing to review the Flatout games? Ignore the 3rd obviously...

[@JZStudiosonline]

The biggest issue with Flatout is the inconsistent environmental props physics. Sometimes hitting telephone poles and cardboard boxes are fine and they bounce right off, other times they send you careening through the air. That and the ridiculous rubber banding. You can be in the fastest car, fully upgraded, using boost, and the AI will go careening past you with so much horsepower they literally can't control it and fishtail into the nearest object. And then other times they're just so far behind you're basically racing by yourself. You don't really get a chance to rub up on opponents like the Burnout games. You're either in first, or you're restarting the race.

[@thisemptyworm4677]

@@JZStudiosonline still a good ass game. better than wreckfest

[@JZStudiosonline]

@@thisemptyworm4677 Wouldn't know. Haven't tried Wreckfest. I finished Flatout 2, but randomly flying through the air was pretty frustrating in a lot of races. Also it's pretty limited in locations, even compared to other titles at the time.

[@tatsuyaukyo654]

@@JZStudiosonline I think that at least it's somewhat miles better than the rubberbanding and unpolished physics in the first NFS:Underground.

[@luichinplaystation610]

I never have those physics problems in Flatout 2 still can't make the last rocket man challenge in 1st

[@Cez-ario]

playing in first person seems better in need for speed shift 1/2 too, when I race in the external camera (in shift 1/2) the car is all over the place sliding like crazy

[@franciscojavierparga2799]

This was a great and amazing game, nostalgia come to me ... I don't know why they buried this saga, what a great games it was. Forza Horizon is its substitute so to speak but open world

[@ferrarifrank7854]

I hope they make a new one

[@iansteelmatheson]

hey, Montreal's F1 circuit is purpose-built and on its own island (mtl is also on an island). it's not a street circuit.