This product is like new. At NexWave Games, like new means:
Additionally, all discs at NexWave Games are carefully inspected and assessed for quality. When discs arrive, we do not accept any that are so badly damaged that they are unlikely to work. We only accept discs with light scratches at most. Discs with scratches are then treated in our professional disc repair machine. By warming the disc and polishing it with soft brushes, these machines can remove a very thin layer from the disc. This removes the layer containing surface scratches and improves the disc’s readability. This ensures the disc works properly, even on consoles with ageing lasers that have difficulty reading games! Great news for the player.
Project Gotham Racing 2 for Xbox Original
Project Gotham Racing 2 for the original Xbox combines racing with a scoring system for stylish driving. You drive real cars through closed city streets in locations such as Edinburgh, Sydney and Florence. Speed remains important, but a good drift, slipstream or sequence of clean manoeuvres also earns Kudos. You therefore watch more than your finishing position, looking for a line that maintains speed while allowing your score to keep building.
The Kudos World Series takes you through different car classes and challenge types. Sometimes lap time matters; sometimes you pass cones or reach a target score. You choose a difficulty that determines the medal you are trying to earn. Higher requirements demand tighter cornering and fewer mistakes. New cars then change the balance of grip, weight and power. Alongside the cities, the long Nürburgring Nordschleife provides a very different rhythm and view.
You can play alone or with up to four players in split-screen on one Xbox, with a separate controller for each participant. A steering wheel is not needed. This is PGR2 from 2003 for the first Xbox. The original Xbox Live service has ended, so online races, downloads and worldwide rankings are not promised to work. Local races and the extensive challenge series remain the focus; four players sharing a screen is therefore distinct from the historical online player count.
Region and language
Our Xbox Original games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Project Gotham Racing 2 for Xbox Original includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Project Gotham Racing 2
Liverpool-based Bizarre Creations developed Project Gotham Racing 2 for Microsoft Game Studios. Its European release followed in November 2003, two years after the first Xbox entry. The developer expanded the idea that racing need not be solely about the fastest time. Kudos made a neat corner, a daring manoeuvre and a collision-free sequence visible in the score. The sequel enlarged that approach with more cities and a broader range of cars.
The cities provided recognisable buildings, but did not function as freely explorable worlds. Streets were closed into circuits that you learned more thoroughly through successive tests. Different car classes required applying the same skills afresh. A compact car asked something different of you than a heavy sports car. The medal structure also let you revisit a familiar challenge under stricter requirements without needing a completely different setting or objective.
Xbox Live received considerable attention at the original launch. PGR2 used the service for races, rankings and downloading ghost runs, among other things. Those are historical features, not a promise of current availability: official support for original Xbox games stopped on 15 April 2010. The local game still shows how Bizarre combined speed and style. This remains the second Project Gotham Racing for Xbox, not a later entry with different vehicles and features.
Similar games for Xbox Original
Project Gotham Racing 2 shares the interest in real cars and controlled cornering on the original Xbox. It awards Kudos for stylish driving in defined city challenges. Forza Motorsport gives the garage a larger role: buying parts, changing setups and meeting entry requirements contribute to progress. A well-taken corner helps in both games, but it does not earn rewards in the same way.
The first Project Gotham Racing already offers city races and Kudos for your driving style on the original Xbox. PGR2 develops that principle with more cities, a different selection of car classes and a larger challenge series. Precise steering and building a score remain familiar. Players who know the predecessor need not learn a new sporting idea, but gain different routes and cars on which to apply the same accuracy.
OutRun2 likewise lets real sports cars slide through broad corners on the original Xbox. Its road passes through successive landscapes, with junctions offering the next route. PGR2 instead uses closed city circuits and separate tests to assess driving style. Both make cornering more important than simply holding the accelerator, but OutRun2’s continuous journey has a different structure from PGR2’s medals and Kudos challenges.
Burnout 3: Takedown rewards speed and risky driving on the original Xbox, but makes collisions with rivals an objective in themselves. PGR2 instead asks for controlled sequences of manoeuvres to build Kudos. Hitting another car can disrupt that sequence. Reading a corner quickly helps in both; the difference is whether you deliberately hit an opponent or protect your score through a clean passage.
Midtown Madness 3 also uses recognisable cities as a driving setting on the original Xbox. Paris and Washington provide traffic, missions and free driving. PGR2 closes streets for races and style tests, without the same open city exploration. Players who enjoy using buildings as landmarks will find that connection, but PGR2 offers a more tightly defined race with a different role for points and medals.
