The National Voices section features commentaries and reports on PGR 4 action throughout the world. The contributors have been chosen from the most active members of the PGR community and will provide a unique voice for current and upcoming events.

Project Gotham Racing 2 was the game that sold me on the Xbox platform back in 2003.  With the launch of Xbox LIVE, Bizarre Creations was tasked with realising the potential of the new service.  PGR 2 was released to great critical acclaim, its LIVE integration was a revelation, and it single-handedly ushered in a new era of online gaming for millions of Xbox owners around the world.  I had to get in on the action.

Hi, my Gamertag is LemonJelly, I am 29 years old and I live in the United Kingdom.  I am married with two beautiful young children, and although I didn’t get any gamerscore points, they are my greatest achievement and make me proud on a daily basis.  Though family life has naturally required my gaming habits to be adjusted, my passion for games and the industry still remains as strong as ever.  40 hours of my week is taken up working as a Software Development Manager, managing a core team of 23 developers and creating some of the most important commercial software in the world.  If luck and the right opportunity were to present itself in the future, I would very much like to transition my skills into the games industry.

I would class myself as a recreational gamer playing primarily for the social interaction amongst friends, rather than playing to be ranked no.1 in the world.  Don’t get me wrong, I still like to win; however, fair and honest competition as well as fun is what ensures I keep coming back for more.  From a genre perspective I enjoy playing sports games, shooters, platformers, and, of course, racing games.

As I mentioned earlier, PGR 2 was the game that drew me to the Xbox.  Having previously played Metropolis Street Racer on the Sega Dreamcast, I was eager to see Bizarre’s second generation Xbox game in motion.  What struck me immediately was how assured and confident the whole experience was.  Walking around a virtual car showroom and test driving the car of your choice, then handing over your hard-earned kudos tokens felt so fresh and immersive.  Online was where things really heated up and kicked into high gear.  As I was still building my friends list I frequently raced random gamers; the sense of community was immediately apparent and it was extremely addictive.

Fast forward two years, and once again Bizarre were in the frame to deliver a new PGR game to launch alongside the Xbox 360.  Having now been fully converted to the Xbox platform, I snapped up any snippet of information I could on both the hardware, as well as what was new in PGR 3.  It was at this time I became a member of Bizarre’s community.  Reading their studio updates only fuelled my anticipation, and when launch day finally arrived, I sat for hours playing PGR 3 and earned my first achievement of this new generation of gaming.

PGR 3 is still one of the most visually impressive games on the 360.  The single biggest addition in PGR 3 for me was the inclusion of an “in-car” view.  It is unlikely that I will ever own a real Ferrari, but for a few glorious minutes I can at least pretend and look around my virtual F430 before I tear around Las Vegas at 180 mph.  The latter also being something I will never do in real life.

With the imminent release of PGR 4 I am often left wondering what key feature will be most important to me.  Will it be the inclusion of bikes, PGR On Demand, five new locations, or dynamic weather?  To be honest, I think it will be a factor of them all.  The appealing change for me however, is the ability to customise my identity whilst playing through the career. I like the idea of having a sense of purpose about the game I’m playing.  Driving through a set of races for the sake of getting to the end has been fun, but this provides a new dimension and depth.  This change, although not the most glamorous or technically challenging, is what I am most looking forward to seeing…

…Although, Macau in storm conditions at 180 mph does sound immense.

I can’t wait.

Comments? Sound off in the forums.