At the 2007 Tokyo Game Show, I had a chance to check out the ever so popular racing series PGR4. On display were two tracks, Singapore and the native Tokyo. The lines for the games were relatively short, with 4 monitors displayed the action with two, 2vs2 match ups.

A few new elements were brought to the game as much as your car gets pummeled as it takes damage; it is now the environment that you’ll need to keep your eye on. With the rain coming down, the track was certainly slippery as the 3 lap race begun. Careful not to start too fast or your fancy tires will have you skidding.

One of the newer additions to the game was the speedy Ducati racing cycle that was added to the list of what was typically a car game only. My competitor chose a very nice looking Lamborghini to test his might with.

The look and feel of the courses was only on par with expectations, but did not exceed what has been seen from previous games. The streets were sectioned off with barriers so the racing could go uninterrupted. Hard curves with plenty of breaking earned several kudos points which were tallied for every successful move.

As I noted the ground was a bit slippery and I’ll note that I am not the best PGR player, so there were some very animated wipe outs. When riding the bike and are then involved in a crash, your little driver simply flies off of your bike and in its surroundings. Keep your eyes peeled and you’ll probably get a glimpse of the streaks of blood that get shot out from your rider. Have no fear however, in a few moments time you’ll be back on your bike and quickly examining your lead as my competitor started to catch up to me.

Luckily I’ve been in several more high-speed pursuits that I’m sure my employee or the Japanese police department would like to know about, so in a few moments time, I was busy lapping the poor bloke, finally finishing well over a minute before my not so worthy opponent did.

Grinding into turns hasn’t always been my cup of tea, but the feeling I got out of PGR4 was a solid, somewhat innovative game. Although it may appear to be a similar game to previous experience, rest assured that the feel of the game has been unchanged, and the only improvements will further not only the game played casually, but competitively. It is a very fair assumption that soon PGR3 will be phased out for part 4, and I am confident the transition will be smooth and without a hitch.