Japanese version of Project Gotham Racing, essentially identical to the international version. For collectors seeking the JP version of this elegant Xbox-exclusive racing game.
Your verdict
Category
Racing1 player3+
Description
Stylized urban racing through the world's most beautiful cities, with a Kudos points system rewarding flair as much as speed. Published by Microsoft Game Studios, released in the United States in 2001 and in Europe in 2002. Xbox launch title set in London, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo, featuring over 40 licensed cars, gymkhana challenges, and a host of neighborhood-based timed events.
Project Gotham Racing review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
The replay is treated as a television broadcast: the race played back runs through fixed cameras placed at junctions, helicopter shots and slow motion on the tight passages, with an overlay of banners and figures. Driving is therefore not only to be pulled off, it is staged to be watched.
Before each start you assemble your own station: the tracks are sorted by genre and you keep the ones you want to hear, so that two players never cross the same city to the same music. That prior choice makes the soundtrack a race setting on a par with the gearbox.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Rewarding style as much as winning, through the Kudos system, transforms the whole spirit of the race: drifting, overtaking on the outside and nailing a clean racing line earn you as much as crossing the finish line. That balance of skill and panache, neither pure simulation nor pure arcade, keeps a flavour all its own. The presentation has aged, but the joy of driving with flair endures.
Project Gotham Racing, Bizarre Creations' launch city racer that established its Kudos points system rewarding style as much as speed, a showcase of the console's debut. Sought, its desirability rests on this status as a notable, exclusive launch game and measured Western runs rather than a general scarcity, the Asian pressing being harder to find. A prime piece for a racing set on the machine.
Is Project Gotham Racing still worth playing in 2026?
Released alongside the Xbox launch in 2001, Bizarre Creations' project redefined nervous arcade racing on console. The Kudos system, which rewards style more than raw victory, still structures the driving today. The urban circuits reproduced with real attention to detail, the high end car roster and the music played through carefully designed radio stations build a coherent universe. A few technical limits and the absence of a damage model betray its age. Recommended today for fans of demanding arcade racing and for Bizarre Creations admirers curious about the starting point of one of their finest series.
