PGR4

PGR4
Microsoft Xbox from 11.99

Learning curve

Exploring the limits of the cars is good fun, and before you know it you'll be drifting like a pro. All the controls are easy to get your head around and you shouldn't find yourself having to try the same race or mission a million times to progress.

Size

There are well over 100 cars to collect in PGR4 and you can also race on insanely fast superbikes as well. There isn't quite the variety you might find in other games, though. The list of tracks looks a little short, but each circuit is based in a city, which is well recreated to a high degree of detail.

Graphics

The weather effects are wide-ranging and look great, and although the fine grain of the graphics can't match the best such as Gran Turismo on the PS3 this is a fine-looking game that creates a great sensation of speed.

Realism

The handling of the cars comes more from the arcade end of the spectrum than the super-realistic, so don't expect to be able to use PGR4 to train to become a real-world racing driver. Unlike most other games in this round-up, however PGR4 is packed with different weather effects, including snow, ice and rain. These add another dimension to the game.

Off- and online

It's a couple of years since PGR4 was released and with newer games such as Forza 3 soaking up a lot of interest, the online community isn't as buzzing as it might once have been. There are still online rivals to find, however, and the offline gaming is good.