The Project Gotham Racing series occupies a potentially awkward space between the gearhead realism of Gran Turismo and the exhilarating, arcade-ready mayhem of Burnout. PGR puts a premium on skillful driving, but the game's "Kudos" system rewards showoff moves like powergliding, catching air, or driving on two wheels, especially when they're strung together. Though it sounds like the game of choice for the chronically indecisive, PGR really does offer the best of both worlds.
Released exclusively on the Xbox 360, Project Gotham Racing 3 leans on the powerful new console to create the slickest-looking driving game on the market, which should be enough to separate it from the pack, at least for the time being. The 75 cars available, which include some quirkier concept models alongside the expected Ferraris and Lamborghinis, are designed from the inside out, with interior views and working dashboards. Better still, the four major cities that host the bulk of the events—Tokyo, London, Las Vegas, and Manhattan—have been rendered with startling attention to detail, so when you whisk along the Vegas Strip at 200 mph, you can almost map out your vacation plans. The single-player career mode sends you to these cities (and later, the formidable German playground Nürburgring) for a variety of challenges, including street races against the AI, breakthrough runs where you have to hit set times at various checkpoints, and "style events" that require you to maneuver around cones or amass Kudos points. Centered on the Gotham TV feature, the Xbox Live version allows you to watch highlights of the best PGR racers in action while you inch up the leader board against other online competitors.