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Gamersyde Retro: Remembering PGR 4 - RIP Bizarre Creations

This thread makes me sad I have PGR4 on the shelf... Yet no 360 to play it on.

I loved the garages and walking around to the arcade to play geo wars. Was a great way to break up the game
 
still the best game ever

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Hey, if anyone ever wants to play some PGR4 sometime, just PM me. I'm always down for some racing..

PGR2 was the best of the series, days and days of gameplay online, got to at least level 50
 
It's odd this thread appears now, I sold my PS4 a few weeks ago as there was bugger all on it, for a Xbox 360 and Project Gotham Racing 4.

Despite being over 7 years old, it still looks marvelous, has a wonderful track & car selection, the most satisfying single player racing structure of all time, the best sound design, fantastic weather effects and still feels perfect to tip toe round London in a Masariti 250F in the snow.

Best racing game of all time? Sega Rally, Gran Turismo 6 and Daytona USA come close, but this just tops it. As close to perfect as one developer can get and still shows up modern sim or Arcade racers.

Rest in Peace Bizzare Creations.
 
Despite being over 7 years old, it still looks marvelous,
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I don't think so, the lack of AF and the low resolution have made the graphics age very fast.
It's a shame because if it not were for these technical issues it would look great in a next-gen rerelease because of its assets.
 
Blimblim said:
I have no doubt it's just a coincidence. Anyway, our next retro videos are soon to be done, a certain OG Xbox rally game.
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*dies*
Can you post about it in this thread, just in case I miss a potential thread? Would appreciate it :)

undu said:
I don't think so, the lack of AF and the low resolution have made the graphics age very fast.
It's a shame because if it not were for these technical issues it would look great in a next-gen rerelease because of its assets.
Click to expand...
I call b/s... AF hardly makes the appearance of a game look dated, and neither does resolution. A 720p game on my PC does not look significantly less impressive than 1080p.
 
Blimblim said:
I have no doubt it's just a coincidence. Anyway, our next retro videos are soon to be done, a certain OG Xbox rally game.
Click to expand...

I'm sure it was nothing more than a coincidence. The game is years old, the franchise is dead, and the studio is closed. I'm surprised we don't have 50 websites every week talking about this one specific game ;)
 
I never got to play any of the PGR games, but I have MSR and it's gorgeous.
This makes me sad since I love "Arcade" racing games, but I can't plug my 360, and still have to finish bioshock Infinite, Vanquish etc..

I'll try Blood Stone for sure tho. And Geometry Wars 2, GOTG.
Activision you fucked up so bad.
 
PGR4 is my favorite arcade racer of all time, alongside OutRun Coast 2 Coast.

Such an amazing game, and the game I can think of that was robbed the most of success - I think it came out the same time as Halo 3 or something like that that cut its sales or something like that. Such a shame.

Still unmatched in style and gameplay for a major racing game to me.

AmyS said:
Project Gotham Racing on the original XBOX was the only 60 FPS game in the series.

PGR's predecessor, MSR (Metropolis Street Racer) on Dreamcast was one of my most anticipated games before that console even launched in Japan.

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Bonus: The CG teaser for PGR3 from E3 2005: http://youtu.be/59WLB0hNR98

Kudos to the series.
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MSR, my favorite racing game back in the Dreamcast days. Oh man, I played that demo so much in disbelief with how amazing the game looked and how fun it played before the actual game came out.

Always a shame to see amazing developer companies that were responsible for amazing games get shut down.
 
I preferred PGR3. PGR4's weather effects were astounding for console game.
An incredibly polished series that imo strikes the perfect balance between sim and arcade like no other racing franchise.
 
AmyS said:
PGR's predecessor, MSR (Metropolis Street Racer) on Dreamcast was one of my most anticipated games before that console even launched in Japan.

IlB9wXU.jpg


HWWmjF0.jpg


Kudos to the series.
Click to expand...

It was the first racing game I played were the time of the day (or maybe the weather ?) was the one in real life.

But I never played the PGR series. Can someone explain what kind of racing game it is ? Because all I see is everyone praising that series so, it must be something special. Is it like Need for Speed: High Stakes or more like Gran Turismo 3 ?
 
InsuRn said:
It was the first racing game I played were the time of the day (or maybe the weather ?) was the one in real life.
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MSR used the Dreamcast's internal clock to reflect the present time.

InsuRn said:
But I never played the PGR series. Can someone explain what kind of racing game it is ? Because all I see is everyone praising that series so, it must be something special. Is it like Need for Speed: High Stakes or more like Gran Turismo 3 ?
Click to expand...

PGR is the spiritual successor to MSR. It's a sim/arcade hybrid (in terms of handling).
You win races to earn Kudos to advance.
It has none of the tuning aspects found in sim games like GT or Forza.
 
Breakage said:
MSR used the Dreamcast's internal clock to reflect the present time.



PGR is the spiritual successor to MSR. It's a sim/arcade hybrid.
You win races to earn Kudos to advance.
It has none of the tuning aspects found in sim games like GT or Forza.
Click to expand...

Pure racing fun then ? I'm in !
 
AmyS said:
Project Gotham Racing on the original XBOX was the only 60 FPS game in the series.

PGR's predecessor, MSR (Metropolis Street Racer) on Dreamcast was one of my most anticipated games before that console even launched in Japan.

IlB9wXU.jpg


HWWmjF0.jpg


Bonus: The CG teaser for PGR3 from E3 2005: http://youtu.be/59WLB0hNR98



Kudos to the series.
Click to expand...

I was afraid no one would've posted this... GAF deliver as usual :)

MSR is one of the best arcade racing game I ever played. MSR was laying the first brick for the PGR series. PGR 4 kept the same spirit... then it changed a little. Not that the games are not good but year after year it seems to me that the forgot what was the essence of the game : perfect control.

Now I remember how Rallisport Challenge, Amped and other Xbox gems are missing in the Xbox One library... maybe I must go play more Titanfall (or not).

Edit :

Blimblim said:
I have no doubt it's just a coincidence. Anyway, our next retro videos are soon to be done, a certain OG Xbox rally game.
Click to expand...
Rallisport Challenge please ^^
 
I still say PGR2 was the pinnacle of the series. The single player campaign was great, and the online was phenomenal. That game was almost perfection.

PGR3 was a major disappointment. The single player game progression was off. Giving you the ability to just buy any car right away was a mistake. It killed any reason to want to progress, finally get that kick ass car you wanted, and take it online. Plus the visuals had a strange optical anomaly. Overall the game looked good, but the lighting seemed off. I've never been able to aptly describe what the issue was, but basically anywhere in the daylight that was supposed to look bright had a certain darkness to it. It's like the in-game brightness or contrast was set really low. I dunno, but I notice it every time I play.

PGR4 was the perfect send off to the series. The visuals were outstanding, they still look good today. And the handling was perfect. I wasn't sure at first how to feel with the single player 'play thru the calender year' setup, but really - it worked. It also let you go into these really cool special events where you would race against some really odd but very cool vehicle. The only drawback to losing a race, however, was not being able to re-enter for another full year.

But jesus, what a way to go out. They focused a little too much on the rain, it seemed every other race took place that way, but man overall that game was so under rated. It's like every one had moved on when that game came out. Every time I played I felt like I was the only one who was.

RIP Bizarre. You made some really great games over the years.
 
abracadaver said:
Hated the introduction of motorcycles.
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But they were so fun to run over, especially will drifting around a curve. Muahahaha!

PGR4 really nailed the sweet spot between arcade and sim racing for me. In not a huge racing fan, but it was probably my most played title on the 360. Kudos system, single player challenges, and paint customization were all great. Nurburgring in the dark with rain was something else!
 
InsuRn said:
Pure racing fun then ? I'm in !
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Yup, you can play the whole series on a 360. Although I've heard that there are some emulation issues with PGR2.
You might want to also check out Bizzare's last racer, Blur. It's like a fusion of PGR/Mario Kart/WipEout with real cars.
 
Breakage said:
Yup, you can play the whole series on a 360. Although I've heard that there are some emulation issues with PGR2.
You might want to also check out Bizzare's last racer, Blur. It's like a fusion of PGR/Mario Kart/WipEout with real cars.
Click to expand...

I heard a lot about Blur, but the game isn't on Steam anymore :(
 
PGR2 was my favourite of the series. The diversity and range of courses and cars made it so much fun. Driving 'slow' (relatively speaking) cars around the difficult and technical courses like Paris and Edinburgh was as much fun and taking a Ferrari around the Nurburgring. PGR3 only had one speed and one setting: fast cars on fast courses and that spoiled it, slightly. PGR2 had a perfect balance.
 
I almost bought original xbox over ps2 just because PGR looked so amazing. PGR3 gave my 360 rrod after less than 10min playing. :(
 
I see a former Bizarre Creations member, Alan_M, posted on Eurogamer:

I was lucky enough to work on PGR 2, 2DLC, 3 & 4 and its great to hear so much positive feedback for those games and the series as a whole.

The "core" team didn't end up at Playground but quite a few of us did, mainly in the art and sound design disciplines and while some of us have moved on from PG there are a few Bizarre types left! Evolution, Codemasters and Rockstar North as well as the usual suspects in Sweden, Germany, Canada and California all picked up staff when Bizarre closed and Lucid Games in Liverpool was founded by ex Bizarre staff.

Personally I'd love to make another PGR, the city based racer with a few interesting real world tracks thrown in is the perfect mix for a racing game in my opinion. I was always pissed off that we never built Miami, just imagine racing along Ocean Drive, across the Macarthur Causeway and into downtown Miami all whilst listening to Jan Hammer! Maybe sometime in the future eh?
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He now works at Lucid Games - make it happen!
 
I reallly loved PGR3 never played PGR4 but hated blur. The track design was bad and had no sense of achievement at all . It sure did looked pretty with all those effects .

Its also foolish of developers to try to sell publishers that game will sell like cod. they wanted to be cod of racers and this is what caused their demise
 
TJP said:
I see a former Bizarre Creations member, Alan_M, posted on Eurogamer:



He now works at Lucid Games - make it happen!
Click to expand...
Too busy fooling us into thinking they're making a new PGR game when they're really making 2K Drive 2 or something :/
 
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