Project Gotham Racing (spoilers)
 

I've had Project Gotham for almost two months. I played it a bit when I first got it, but it was very frustrating at first. I didn't really like it. I put it down after just a little bit of play and didn't look back. But last week I saw the movie Driven, and while it was a horrible movie, it made me want to play a racing game again. Not much left to do in GT3, as I got 98% completion on it a while back, so I figured I'd try Gotham again.

Well this past weekend I gave it another go, and I couldn't put it down. I ended up playing the whole weekend, going from 70,000 to 215,000 kudos (and still going). I've unlocked all the cars now except for the Impreza and the Vanquish. I think the key for me was to drive RWD cars exclusively. The Esperante, Vette, and especially Ferrari 360 are the key cars that helped me advance. I just couldn't get any kind of slides off to get the requisite kudos using a 4WD vehicle.

Anybody out there who has unlocked the Impreza and Vanquish? Getting golds on those arcade races, even with the F50, seems next to impossible.

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Also once you get a medal in all Kudos challenge events, a bonus kudos challenge level appears that consists exclusively of 12 or so street races. These are brutal. All competitors drive a Carrera or F50 and are really cutthroat in their driving. Has anyone managed to complete the bonus level? And what happens when you do? I don't think I'll be finishing them anytime soon, if ever.
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And if you haven't played Gotham or haven't played it in a while, give it a try again. I've played both Gotham and GT3 extensively, and I think both are fantastic games in their own way. Racing fans really should own both. Gotham takes a little more getting used to (it'll grow on you), but is more rewarding in the end. GT3 just got too easy after just a short while.