A retrospective
This was the first game I ever bought for the 360, the following day after launch night and after the torrid 8 hour queue with friends on that cold December evening. To say I played this game to destruction would be an understatement (The disc started cracking before I finished the career mode). The visuals were extremely impressive back then, but looking at this now (I've recently bought a copy second-hand), it feels dated and limited, whereas its bigger brother, PGR4, ups the stakes with the same elements. However on the plus side, the controls still feel fluid. I have recently picked up PGR also and can see the progression having played all 4 games in the series.
Another criticism, and one that can be placed with the first PGR is that it is a tech demo. It's not meant to be a fully realised game and could be seen as a bridge between the generations. This could be argued with the point that the career mode of the game is incredibly short and repetitive. There are a handful of cities and tracks, and little progression between each, something that is rectified in PGR4 with the weather effects and the improved graphics.
All in all I feel that this game was great at the time but shows its age terribly at this stage. PGR4 is a better game in all respects and warrants at least another star for the improvements it makes.
