If you plan to make the jump onto Xbox Live there are several points of interest, the most intriguing being eight person races, obviously, but I'm also very fond of Gotham TV, a feature that basically allows you to be a spectator during a ranked Xbox Live match. Then of course there's the ranking system to check out and another slick feature that I'm fond of, the scrolling stock market-like ticker that rolls across the screen, informing you of the online goings on. And much like the previous games, you have full voice chat functionality, so feel free to pile on the trash talk.

PGR3 runs smooth both online as well as off and to sweeten the deal it's just a hell of a lot of fun. The controls are super tight and the sensation of speed feels just right. That's really why I enjoy this game so much, because it's a great combination of different styles, yet at the same time this feels very much like Project Gotham Racing in the sense that Bizarre Creations didn't take any extreme risks with the formula. It's what ultimately makes this sequel feel more like its predecessors than I'd like it to, but at the same time I don't mind all that much that the developers elected to play it safe. Casual players will be able to pick this right up and fans shouldn't be disappointed as it's just more of what they already love.

Being that this is a next generation game, its graphics are obviously its most appealing feature, though that really depends on your entertainment setup. On an HDTV or TV with component inputs Project Gotham is a 16 ounce sirloin steak that's been grilled to near perfection. The cars are close to being photo realistic, the motion blur that occurs whenever you make quick turns is lovely, and the scenery is friggin' gorgeous to the point that just racing around Las Vegas made me want to book a flight back to Sin City. Then you've got the cockpit view, a new perspective that shoves you into the driver's seat and provides you with an ultra realistic perspective of the action.

There is vehicular damage but it's a bit light. I've had mirrors bent and my windshield cracked, but nothing's happened that seriously damaged one of my cars, though I cringe every time I smack into something. Unlike other racing games, you'll really feel these crashes and it'll make you think twice about screwing up on the next lap.

Unfortunately, all that glitters is not always golden. I disconnected the Xbox 360 from the component inputs and plugged in the standard AV cables only to watch in disbelief as the game lost much of its luster. I hate to be the bearer of bad news because I've been holding out on buying an HDTV for months, but to truly maximize your PGR3 enjoyment you absolutely must play it in high definition. Otherwise, you're truly playing Xbox 1.5. That really saddens me, but it's the reality you're going to have to face. But trust me, once you see this game running at 720p it's going to be really hard to just "window shop" at Best Buy.

I'm also a little bummed with the amount of locations in this game. New York, Tokyo, London, Vegas, and Germany's Nurburgring race track are great spots and they all look fantastic but I want my Paris and my San Francisco, which will probably be made available as well as other content on Xbox Live. But will I need to pay money for these content downloads? If it's cheap and I'm getting a lot for the cash I'll probably splurge, but I don't have much of a desire to make my $49.99 purchase a $69.99 shot.

It's really obvious that Bizarre Creations decided to play it safe with this launch title, probably so it wouldn't risk compromising its overall quality. That's all well and good since the Xbox 360 needs excellent games, but I also feel like this isn't exactly a true extension of the series. If you only have enough money to blow on one racing title I'm not going to recommend you buy PGR3 over Need For Speed Most Wanted or Ridge Racer 6 because I've yet to play those games, but know that you should definitely play this one no matter what. Not only does it handle well and the gameplay provides tons of intense moments, but it's really a phenomenal show piece for the hardware as well as an HDTV. Kudos to Bizarre Creations for designing another highly enjoyable product, kudos to Microsoft for publishing it, and kudos just for the sake of kudos!