PGR3 is...well...it's not that great.
Well, first off, let me just state that I've never played any previous installment from the PGR series, so everything was new to me, except for the fact that I knew if was a sim racer...To be quite honest, I don't feel that I've missed out on anything special by not playing any of the older games. Anyway, what I did expect right out of the box was that the graphics were going to be top notch, able to show a little power of what the 360 is capable of producing, because that's all I had heard about the game prior to launch, how nice it would look. Graphically, the game is rather impressive, very detailed, right down to the interior of each individual car, not to mention the way the driver's hand actually shifts gears when the player does...that's pretty cool. Also, being a native of Las Vegas, I thought the devs did a great rendering of the Strip, especially when driving in the dark, everything lights up like the mighty Strip itself. So yeah, for the intention of buying a launch game to show off the graphical prowess of a new launch system, I think, for the most part, PGR3 did a pretty decent job of that. However, that's about all this game did for me.
The gameplay is not the type where you can simply pick it up and start driving and expect to win every race on a moderate difficulty like most "fun" racing games. Even on the easiest difficulty, it can be difficult. If you're off by a hair turning those corners, or steer slightly to the side while hitting straight-away speeds of 185, forget it. Fish-tail, hit a wall, face the opposite direction or stop altogether, it can get pretty ugly, especially without the use of a place-reset button, which would have alleviated some of the frustration I think. Add the pressure of being in first place, completing the race you've practiced so many times on, and knowing that the slightest screw up will finish you, and usually does, really makes for a truly frustrating and tiresome game. It's like you almost have to read and memorize a blueprint of each course to be ultra successful. With that in mind, let me discuss the achievements wating to be unlocked...it is simply an ABSOLUTE chore! Hours and hours of playtime over the same repetitive tracks makes me feel like I should be doing something better with my life...and for what? The only easy achievements this game has to offer, is playing geometry wars in the garage. Other than that, you'd have to seclude yourself in a confined room for days just to finish every race on the novice difficulty setting for that achievement. There has to be at least a hundred races to go thru to get that one. Once you do get that, however, you'll need to repeat the whole process on easy, medium, and hard for another set of achievements...and if you've really got nothing better to do than play this game all day, try your luck at the hardcore setting. Waste of time if you ask me.
Throw in some rediculously long load times that you can almost nap through, and there goes some solid potential.
It's quite apparent that the mastering of this game requires endless hours of practice and determination...but when it's all said and done...ithis sequel just isn't worth all of my time and effort, especially with all of the other great games out there.