From the new showroom that lets you test drive the sweet rides before you've unlocked them, to the unreal sights and sounds, anybody that has a pulse and likes cars should LOVE this game. The new cities are a HUGE improvement and they are so realistic that even natives will feel right at home. The game play has also been improved to allow for forward progression for all abilities (you can easily finish the game at the steel - novice - level or experts can wrestle with the gold level for an experience that is at least as challenging as PGR1. The addition of Nurburgring is just icing on the cake. Racing that wonderful track in a Koeing or an Enzo is just pure sweetness and worth the price of the game alone.
My favorite part about PGR2 is the car handling. While the handling in PGR1 was fun (albeit arcadey), the handling in PGR2 is much more realistic (but no so sim that it is dull). For example, if you are going down a long straight and need to slow down for the turn, easing off the trigger at a gentle pace will yeild better results than a quick release (which will cause you to lose traction just like in a real car). This game makes FULL use of the trottle and brake triggers such that any point of pressure has an impact, just like a real gas and brake pedal in a car. Until now, every game I've played basically had about 3 or 4 pressure points on the triggers so you had something along the lines of full/mid/zero brake and gas on the triggers which didn't allow for maximum control. PGR2 has real gas and brake implementation with new things like understeer and more believable oversteer so that you have total control of the car (but you can still lose control like real life). Furthermore, the track surfaces are spot on like the cobblestone in the St. Basil's Circle in Moscow where you face a decreasing radius high speed turn going down an incline. You feel the texture of the road, you feel the physics of the car, and you have to use all of the techniques of real world driving/racing to avoid massive understeer right into the wall. You lose braking functionality on cobblestone (as you should) and your tires lose traction on the downhill descent, so you really have to drive the proper line and brake properly before the road surface changes to keep your maximum speed through the turn. If you do then you smoke everyone, but if you don't you are tagging the wall with everyone else (especially on LIVE) due to the understeer caused by such challenging conditions (as you would get in real life). However, PGR2 is much more forgiving (especially at lower medals) so you can have fun and make your way through the game without getting stuck (unlike that stupid San Francisco Level 8 rainy night timed race in PGR1).
These guys thought of everything to create the most satisfying experience for everyone who likes cars.
Want to drive the new Cayenne? It's in there! Want to drive a classic Mercedes Gullwing or Ferrari Dino? It's in there! Want to haul ass through the streets of Sidney? It's in there! This game has it all in a beautiful package that will make GT4's graphics look like they were written for the PS/1 in comparison!
RUN, don't walk, to get your hands on a copy of PGR2 before it sells out and I'll see you online. This game is video crack, so don't start playing it until you are ready to give up your life for a few weeks!
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