Line #19 VideoGame/ProjectGothamRacing


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/project_gotham_racing_classic.jpg]]
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3	->''"Life starts at 170 mph."''
4	-->--'''{{Tagline}} of [=PGR3=]'''
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6	''Project Gotham Racing'' was a racing game series developed by Creator/BizarreCreations. All games in the series were published by [[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft]]. The series was a SpiritualSuccessor to the Platform/SegaDreamcast game ''Metropolis Street Racer'', also developed by Bizarre.
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8	Unfortunately, the series would be abandoned due to Creator/{{Activision}} buying Bizarre Creations and eventually closing the developer shortly after releasing ''VideoGame/{{Blur}}''. It was highly believed that Creator/Turn10Studios, creator of the ''VideoGame/{{Forza}} Motorsport'' series, has picked up ''PGR'' and a ''[=PGR5=]'' might be in the works, but these rumors, unfortunately, have been long since debunked. The gap ''[=PGR=]'' left in the market is now filled by Creator/PlaygroundGames'[[note]]Which was founded by several racing game veterans from the UK, including staff from Bizarre![[/note]] ''Forza Horizon'' series, which is also considered the spiritual successor to ''[=PGR=]'' (''Forza Horizon 4'' even has Edinburgh, complete with a recreation of one of ''[=PGR2=]''[='=]s tracks in the game). Another spiritual successor was ''VideoGame/{{Driveclub}}'', released in 2014 by Creator/EvolutionStudios for the Platform/PlayStation4.
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10	Known for being the series that introduced the world to ''VideoGame/GeometryWars'', which is included from the second game onwards as an EasterEgg.
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12	[[JustForFun/IThoughtThatWas Despite the name]], the game has no connection to [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham City]]. Although, if it did, it would be awesome. In fact, the name of the series was originally its [[WorkingTitle development codename]], which became a PermanentPlaceholder due to said codename being printed on the billboard prior to the game's true name reveal, and without any time left to reprint the correct one, Bizarre and Microsoft opted to use that name[[note]]Later ''Bizarre'' projects would use codenames filled with profanity, so the mistake would not be repeated again[[/note]].
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14	See also ''VideoGame/BattleGear'', the series' rough Japanese equivalent.
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16	!!List of ''PGR'' games released:
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18	* ''Project Gotham Racing'' (2001, Platform/{{Xbox}})
19	* ''Project Gotham Racing 2'' (2003, Platform/{{Xbox}})
20	* ''Project Gotham Racing 3'' (2005, Platform/Xbox360)
21	* ''Project Gotham Racing Mobile'' (2007, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Mobile]])
22	* ''Project Gotham Racing 4'' (2007, Platform/Xbox360)
23	* ''Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition'' (2009, Zune HD)[[note]]A free mobile spin-off of ''PGR'' focusing on one make, much like ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeedPorscheUnleashed''.[[/note]]
24	----
25	!!Project Gotham Tropes:
26	* AllOrNothing: The Arcade challenges provide an example: either you achieve the objective and you gain Kudos (the higher the difficulty, the higher is the Kudos quantity received), or you go home with nothing.
27	* AllThereInTheManual: The manuals for ''3'' and ''4'' are chock-full of info about the game, but the former is more comprehensive: it even goes as far to talk about the [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic huge soundtrack]], with even a few examples from each playlist.
28	* BoomTown: Almost all scenarios are actual real life cities such as UsefulNotes/{{London}}, [[BigApplesauce New York City]], UsefulNotes/LasVegas and UsefulNotes/{{Tokyo}}, to name a few. ''4'' adds in St. Petersburg, Quebec City, Shanghai and UsefulNotes/{{Macau}}.
29	* CharacterTiers: InvokedTrope. The series constantly divides cars into classes. Here are the car classes in ''4'', with a few examples:
30	** Class G: old and new city cars ([[GlassCannon Austin Mini Cooper]], [[LightningBruiser Mazda MX-5]], [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture DeLorean DMC-12]])
31	** Class F: old sport cars ([[CoolCar Aston Martin DB4]], Lamborghini Miura, [[FragileSpeedster Lancia Stratos]])
32	** Class E: new high-end cars and old supercars ([[CoolCar Ferrari 250 GTO]], [[PimpedOutCar Audi RS4]], [[LethalJokeCharacter Subaru Impreza]])
33	** Class D: mid-end supercars ([[JackOfAllStats Aston Martin V8 Vantage]], [[SuperSpeed Lamborghini Diablo]], [[JackOfAllStats Audi R8]])
34	** Class C: recent supercars ([[JackOfAllStats Ford GT]], [[LightningBruiser Ferrari 599]], [[FragileSpeedster Lamborghini Gallardo]])
35	** Class B: exotics (Lamborghini Murcielago, [[InfinityMinusOneSword Ferrari Enzo]], [[{{Expy}} Maserati MC12]])
36	** Class A: hypercars and race cars ([[InfinityMinusOneSword McLaren F1 LM]], [[GlassCannon Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Supersport]], [[GameBreaker Ferrari F50 GT]])
37	* CoolBike: The fourth game adds several sportbikes such as Ducati 999 R, Suzuki Hayabusa and Yamaha R1. And they all can be pitted against cars too, like in ''VideoGame/MidnightClub''.
38	* CoolCar: The A car class breathes this trope. Nothing else than non-road-legal race cars and hypercars. If you ever race in this class, get ready to see a free-for-all brawl of badass race cars to see who's the best on the track.
39	* DarkerAndEdgier: ''3'' has a much darker, more minimalist and more streamlined design than the first two installments. Also ''Blur'' has cars attacking others. Although in both cases the game itself really isn't all that dark. It's just a racing game. Even in ''Blur'' it's more silly and unrealistic. It could be said that the whole franchise was rather dark, as it was one of the first games to feature hardcore metal music, some of which was very dark.
40	* DenserAndWackier: A rare case in which this is darker and edgier. ''Blur'' features competing cars actually trying to attack each other with some warp-type weapon. It makes the game somewhat ''Franchise/StarTrek''-like.
41	* DevelopersForesight: When you listen to your music in ''3'', you can see the song title and the artist appearing in the game. The feature has been dropped in ''4'' for unknown reasons.
42	* DiscOneNuke: In ''4'', Quick Race mode and the DrivingTest will give you all of the hundreds of cars in the game right off the bat, so you can test them all and find the ones that fit your style... And even test out the [[GameBreaker Ferrari F50 GT.]]
43	* DrivesLikeCrazy: InvokedTrope - you are ''encouraged'' to do powerslides and grab air.
44	* DrivingTest: The Michelin Test track for trying out any car in [=PGR4=]. From the straightforward oval circuit to the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Ultimate Test]], the player can measure any of the cars and bikes in the game (in this mode, all of the vehicles in the game are available from the very beginning) in three tests: a time trial in any of the five layouts of the test track, a speed run in the oval circuit, and a solo drift contest.
45	* DynamicDifficulty: On normal and hard difficulty, beating the AI will be nearly impossible if you mess up too much in career mode.
46	* EasterEgg: ''VideoGame/GeometryWars'' originated as this in the second game.
47	* InfinityMinusOneSword: In ''3'', the [=McLaren=] [=F1=] LM, the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Supersport and the Panoz Esperante GTR-1 are this to the [[GameBreaker godlike]] Ferrari [=F50=] GT.
48	* LevelEditor: ''3'' interpreted it in a different way: there is a special mode called "Route Creator" where the player is able to create his own circuit by putting checkpoints in the various roads in the 4 main scenarios of the game (London, UsefulNotes/LasVegas, Tokyo, New York City).
49	* LevelGrinding:
50	** ''3'' suffered from this. While MoneyGrinding wasn't a big deal at all (one can acquire the [[GameBreaker Ferrari F50 GT]] within a few hours of playing!), the real problem was Kudos grinding.
51	** Fixed in ''4''. The championships in the Career mode can net you several thousands of Kudos, and in some cases, you earn enough Kudos to buy certain car packs containing a set amount of cars including the Ferrari FXX, Lamborghini Murcielago, and even a [=McLaren=] F1!
52	* LighterAndSofter: ''4'' has a more colorful and poppy design than ''3''.
53	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: There is a car in ''3'' and ''4'' called the Callaway '''Sledgehammer''' Twin Turbo. The thing is essentially a tuned fourth-gen Corvette: [[DifficultButAwesome it is really, really fast, but has very touchy handling.]]
54	* NintendoHard: Platinum difficulty. Oh god: in this difficulty setting, the AI will always be on the back of your neck, and the objectives in solo challenges require nigh-inhuman skills to beat. The latter example is much stronger in ''3'': in style challenges (where you have to gain a determined amount of Kudos with certain moves to win), in Gold difficulty you sometimes have to reach a few thousand Kudos, but not that much to be NintendoHard. In Platinum? You have to beat an objective which is '''from 3 to 10 times bigger''' than the Gold difficulty one!
55	* RacingGame: Well, this is ''Project Gotham Racing'', after all.
56	* RealityIsUnrealistic: Almost every game in this series warned players that the depictions of the game is unrealistic despite the fact that each game showed semi-realism such as breaking for turns instead of speed-turns, etc.
57	* RubberBandAI: You have to be nearly perfect to beat most of the AI in higher difficulty if you want to win the races.
58	* SceneryPorn: The city buildings in [=PGR4=] look absolutely stunning even by today's standards.
59	** 3 and 4 both detain a Guinness World Record: "Most Complex Scenery in a Racing Game", with New York City. Just the Brooklyn Bridge ranks up at over a million polygons and an half.
60	* ShaggyDogStory: There is a pack in ''4'' which costs 1 million kudos, [[spoiler:which turns out to be a gamer picture, and an achievement]]. It also counts as a BraggingRightsReward.
61	* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Metropolis Street Racer'', as noted above. As for ''PGR'' itself, the ''Forza Horizon'' series. Also, note the StealthPun in play. This series' predecessor was '''''[[Franchise/{{Superman}} Metropolis]]''' Street Racer''. This was ''Project '''[[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham]]''' Racing''.
62	* TurnOfTheMillennium: Including ''Metropolis Street Racer'', the entire series was released during the 2000s decade, with the Zune HD-exclusive ''Ferrari Edition'' being released in late 2009 to cap off the series.
63	* VariableMix: The menu theme of ''4'', "Shadow" by Music/TheProdigy, changes depending on which menu screen you're on.

Context VideoGame / ProjectGothamRacing