PGR4 faces heavy weather

By Tom Bramwell Published 2 April, 2007

Across 10 locations. New info.

Project Gotham Racing 4 will feature approximately 200 tracks built around 10 locations, with new Xbox Live initiatives, improved in-car animation and weather effects and a bigger range of vehicles.

That's according to a preview in the US edition of Official Xbox Magazine, which introduces the game in the most detail yet - following a teaser trailer at X06 last year and the promise of a winter release date, which the magazine claims is still the developer's objective.

Reports on the preview's contents have yet to be verified by Bizarre, but claim that the game will feature all of the series' previous locations along with Shanghai-based tracks, while name-checked cars include a 1963 Corvette StingRay, a 1954 Maserati 250F and the much newer Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano.

Graphically, scans of the screenshots suggest claims that the weather system is much fancier are on the mark, with freezing temperatures covered this time (snow, anyone?), weather that deteriorates mid-race, and even troubling fog in some areas of Nurburgring. Those of you who use the in-car view will find that the weather creates new problems, reports reckon, while the driver inside the car will feed the wheel as he turns into corners to add to the realism there.

Things get a bit sketchier from thereon out, but you can find lots more discussion on Xbox forums, while screenshots and cover artwork hint at graphical improvements. But beside all that, what would you like to see in PGR4? (Apart from Slitherlink.)

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (21) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • BadBoyBonner #1 5 years ago

    Snow sounds very interesting - odd bit of black ice to spice things up!

    Plus no scum-bag gritters spraying salt all over your car!

  • AL7AIR #2 5 years ago

    @disc
    Me too :) because I always use the in-car view and get the "No way!" response when somebody asks. especially on top of the Rain God Mesa.

  • BadBoyBonner #3 5 years ago

    Am still loving getting to grips for PGR3 with the MS Wheel.

  • Xerx3s #4 5 years ago

    The xbox 1.5 isn't capable of doing such graphics!

  • eurocloak #5 5 years ago

    Those scans look amazing.


    Despite this tepid writeup I'm still hyped.

  • SwedBear #6 5 years ago

    oooooooohhhh - "but claim that the game will feature all of the series' previous locations along with Shanghai-based tracks" .... does this mean I will race in Stockholm again ... ??? Would be cool to see what they could do with an updated engine compared to PGR2. Always fun to race somewhere where you live or have been.

  • Beano #7 5 years ago

    I want 60fps

  • Mashum #8 5 years ago

    The rain droplets onthe car bonnet look great - I wonder if they slide along the car when you are driving fast.

    Anyway more ordinary(ish) cars in this one please!
    Edited by Mashum at 02/04/07 @ 08:20

  • bluebird #9 5 years ago

    I agree with beano. Go for the graphics of PGR3 in 60 fps and I'd buy it in an eyeblink.

  • Oceadge #10 5 years ago

    I'd like:
    - accurate time of day modeling
    - Big Ben and other clocks showing accurate time in-game
    - the points from only your last attempt being saved
    - being able to set your own limits allowing you to gamble your kudos
    - joker cards
    - an odometer
    and
    - quick load times when restarting races

    I.e. Just remake MSR please

  • bonker #11 5 years ago

    Blimey, that's pretty photo-realistic!

    Bring it on, loved PGR3.

  • BrokenSymmetry #12 5 years ago

    I like this: "no more fishtail of death (so to speak) where you keep fishtailing and can't get control back". That was always pretty annoying in the PGR games.

  • The-Bodybuilder #13 5 years ago

    I hope bizarre remember that fog was used in MSR.

  • belziah #14 5 years ago

    @xerx3s

    The xbox 1.5 isn't capable of doing such graphics!

    Its true. Microsoft have done a deal with Pinnini. For £40 you get a big box of transparent transfers for your telly. Design your own track then whip out a digi cam.

    Upload your picture to Live to see where you rank.


    /sorry, too much time on hands

  • AtomicBanana Verified Level Designer, Playground Games #15 5 years ago

    60fps or gtfo. They've said they'd try and get it working with every game since pgr1 (which *was* 60fps iirc). Weather + 60fps + the cars people liked from pgr2 = win.

  • Toothball #16 5 years ago

    @Oceage

    I.e. Just remake MSR please

    That'd be nice, but I'd be satisfied if they brought back Capital Jazz.

  • Dreddnaught #17 5 years ago

    I hated Gotham 3.

    I found it a massive step backwards, gameplay wise, from Gotham 2, which for me , was a real heartbreaker. I put countless hundreds of hours into gotham 2, only to find 3 was insultingly easy and filled with the most ignorant of people. 2 for me, was my local pub, filled with mates, 3, was the nightclub that charges you more for drinks, where you end up fighting with some young knob who had one to many aftershocks.

    But this news this makes me feel all excited in my tummy - I could drive round Edinburgh again.....

    Gotham 4 could JUST be as good as 2.

    It look like the even numbered gotham games are destined to be better than the odd numbered ones - just like Star Trek movies...

  • AtomicBanana Verified Level Designer, Playground Games #18 5 years ago

    'I know what ten times the power looks and feels like over the Xbox360
    It's a 8800GTX with a E6800 with 2Gb/1Ghz Corsair Dominator memory

    10 times the power? Dream on mate . . .

  • Leathersoup #19 5 years ago

    @Xiphos

    Most hardware people will agree that ATIs R600, which the Xenos is based on, is a pretty damned powerful chip. It's not limited to Oblivion style graphics. That's what Bethesda did not the Xbox.

    As for your comment about the hardware? I don't doubt that if you throw enough money at hardware you can get better graphics than the Xbox 360. But your graphics card probably has a cost equivalent to the Xbox 360 alone. And there's the selling point for the Xbox 360 for me.

    I'll be able to play every single game that comes out for the Xbox 360 without having to upgrade my ram... or my video card... or buy a physics card... or whatever other hardware they decide is required for me to play a game on the PC.
    Edited by Leathersoup at 02/04/07 @ 21:29

  • sonsonate #20 5 years ago

    @Xiphos

    Gb != GB.


    On a computer, you have an OS to run in addition to all the other stuff that normal computers do. Consoles have a kernel of an OS. In addition, computer games are made to run on a wide array of set-ups of computers -- low-end to high-end; usually games are made to run on mid-level hardware, not top-of-the-line. Consoles have hardware that's never gonna change and therefore, developers can aim to extract its very best from it.


    Those were some fairly poor scans anyhow. Wait for a video of gameplay or something...



    Jeez.

  • Ryze #21 5 years ago

    OK Xiphos, so try getting a Pentium III 733 with Xbox equivalent graphics card and 64 RAM to run equivalent games.

    Doom 3? Half-life 2???????

    Dozy as hell. The Megadrive was 7.14MHz, the SNES less. It's about knowing the hardware specifically and extracting as much as possible from it.

    Look at God Of War II for Christ's sake.