Great graphics, Great gameplay, Great Online Play
Some people may complain that this iteration of the series has only super cars, but there is no other game that will allow you to drive exotic cars the instant after you turn on the 360. I always enjoy seeing a Gotham TV race where every player is driving a Ferrari F50GT, especially when even in the description of the car it states that only 3 of these cars have ever been made.
Graphically this is a great showcase for what the Xbox 360 is able to do. Every car in the game has been recreated with a painstaking detail that is only surpassed by Gran Tourismo 4 for the Playstation 2. Even the interiors of these cars have been detailed painstakingly well.
The damage to the cars seems to be a little plain. I know that there are only so many different ways to scratch the paint from nailing a curb, but it just seem to be that every car has a couple of different damage models, nothing terribly dynamic or revolutionary. Hitting the rear end of a car will cause the spoiler to bend in the same manor every time. Likewise running into a barrier will bend your mirrors, this usually happens in one or two stages depending on the intensity of the collision, but it is usually the same every time. Given that if you look closely you may be able to see that the fragmented mirrors will still reflect what is behind you. Also going over a sharp drop in a track will reveal if the hood latch has come loose, which is pretty good eye-candy.
The gameplay is also a high point in Project Gotham. The less expensive cars in the beginning of the game will allow for the player to get a grasp over how to play the game while the best cars will bite back will a vengeance if taken through a corner the wrong way by an inexperienced driver.
While Bizarre may have dodged a bullet as far as realistic driving physics are concerned, seeing as almost none of the people who will play this game will never, or have never driven any of these cars, each one performs as one would expect it too, the Dodge Viper SRT-10 Carbon will slip and slide through every turn, while any of the Mustangs(I want to say that there are about 5) stay firmly planted to the ground and generally drive like a heavy car.
The AI does leave something to be desired at times however. The different AI settings perform as expected, one gets the feeling that the difference is how fast that it drives. The computer cars will stick to the same line for the most part, digressing if passing, but it is obvious that you are not racing against other people. It should be noted however that the AI will do a good job of sorting out a pile up and getting back to the race.
Overall Project Gotham Racing 3 is a great pick for any fans of racing games. While the more casual race fans may not be able to find as much enjoyment here as others, it is still a worthwhile experience.