Best PGR yet, despite arriving with a whimper

THE Project Gotham Racing games have always been a big deal. The original Metropolis Street Racer that started the series off in 2000 was massive on Sega's Dreamcast, and the new PGR releases since have been timed to coincide with the big launches of new consoles.

So you can imagine my surprise when Project Gotham Racing 4 for the Xbox 360 *** (£44.99) was posted through my letterbox without any fanfare, or indeed a whisper. Perhaps Microsoft has blown its marketing budget on the launch of Halo 3, which possibly means it no longer feels the pressure to sell PGR4 as the best thing since sliced bread.

The game is good, though not fantastic. This title, as with its predecessors, is not about how fast you drive, it's about how you drive fast. So, you gain points for not hitting walls or drifting and sliding around courses. The more points you get, the more levels you unlock and the further you get on in the game. It's pretty simple really.

But there are a few new features and some work well and are welcome additions, though others are a little pointless. The first thing you notice when you look at the box is that there are now motorbikes and the good news is that is easier to stay on them than it is in Moto GP. The bad news is that they just don't feel like they belong in the game, even with the ability to earn extra points by popping wheelies and doing tricks. The 10 new locations are fantastic though, ranging from Shanghai to St Petersburg.

There's also a new season mode in this game that lets you play through the dates on a calendar. Weirdly and frustratingly, if you fail an event there's no option to try again and you just get forwarded on to the next day. This means there is no opportunity to learn from your mistakes and really nail those tracks, which is a serious downside.

Nevertheless, the weather effects are brilliantly sophisticated. Suddenly, half way through a race, the heavens will open following a slight drizzle or you could find yourself in the middle of a snowstorm which affects the way your car handles and makes you drift further. You also get heat waves.

When playing PGR4 online it's also a solid racing game and you can watch races and clips if you don't want to join in. Essentially, everything from PGR3 is tightened up in this newest instalment. Okay, so you still get the occasional lag with cars breaking the laws of physics and sometimes teleporting, but this too is part of the perils of online play. Overall, PGR4 is a great driving game, though, for me, it's just a little too technical. Nevertheless, for fans of the series it's definitely the best PGR title to date.