I love my racing games. They usually don't have stories and are based just on gameplay. Seeing this game and what I have heard about it I couldn't pass on it.
Gameplay -We'll start off with the basics. A thing many racing games needs is lots of cars, and PGR2 brings lots of cars. There are 102 to be exact, ranging from Mini Coopers and Ford Focus' to Enzo Ferrari's and Porsche 911's. So we have the cars covered. Next we need different types of races. Here we are given The Kudos World Series, and arcade mode, and the time attack section. Before we get into the details of those I will have to explain kudos.
Kudos' are the points awarded to doing certain thing while racing. It's basically the feature of the game that makes it more of an arcade type racer than a simulation. You rack up Kudos points for doing power slides, running a good line, going through cone gates, catching air, going on two wheel, running a clean race, and finishing the race. There are also the combos. You can string together power slides, good lines, and so on to start combos. Each time you add a feat to a combo you will get bonus kudos that will only be added to your score if you finish the combo with out hitting any cones or railings. Luckily you don't get penalized for hitting other cars. The kudos can be used to level up and get kudos tokens. Kudos tokens are used to buy new vehicles.
In the Kudos World Series you will go into different car classes and complete races with certain cars. The races will be street races, one on ones, speed cameras, cone challenges, time attacks, and hot laps. You'll have to run through these one every difficulty to get to the next and get new cars. Every time you complete the Kudos World Series on a new difficulty you will unlock a not purchasable car.
The Arcade mode ends up being twenty races in each of these sections. There will be twenty street races, twenty time attacks, and twenty cone challenges. The difference here compared to the KWS is that you don't get to select the cars. You are given a certain car to complete each one with. You still rack up kudos and tokens here. So, this is a very important part of the game.
The time attack mode is just what it sounds like. You are trying to set the fastest lap on each track. There happens to be two different kinds, though. There is the circuit mode where you pick the track and the car. Then there is the car challenge mode where you pick the car and then you are given a track that has been preset for that car. These modes are for fun and don't allow you to rack up kudos.
Graphics - This game is quite possibly the best looking racing game ever made. The textures are extremely well done and the draw distance is unnoticeable. The cars shine in the sunlight depending on the angle to the light source. The scenery and backgrounds are simply splendid. I only can wish I could see the views that you see in the game in real life. Sliding leaves tire marks on the ground that will usually stay there for the entire race. The cars show some nice damage, although not entirely realistic.
Sound - The soundtrack is a little odd and lacking. There really is nothing there to be happy about, but customizable soundtracks are enabled. The car sounds are near perfect, and the collision sounds are fairly realistic. For the most part the sounds in the game are good, but it is definitely the worst part of the game.
Replay Factor - The replay will last for just about ever. With the ability to go onto Xbox Live and play people from around the world, or download ghosts from people around the world, you can keep playing this game for years.
Bonus – Keeping some cars unlockable only through completing the game was ingenious. They happen to be the best cars, but they did still keep an extremely good car buyable, the Enzo. So, it is worth the time to complete the game to get the Speeder 12, but you can still play with just as fun cars if you can't.
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