PGR4 out next winter - first details

The first solid details on Bizarre Creations' fourth entry in the Project Gotham Racing series have emerged in the pages of Official Xbox Magazine.

The biggest feature in the fourth installment seems to be a whole bunch of fancy weather effects, including water that beads realistically on the paintjobs, sprays from the tires and causes madness in the in-car view.

While we're still not convinced of how much photoshop trickery has gone on, the OXM screens are looking absolutely gorgeous.

Expectedly, there's also a broader set of vehicles promised for PGR 4 ranging from the vintage '63 Corvette Sting Ray all the way to the slick Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. There's no shortage of tracks either; according to OXM PRG 4 will sport over 200 racetracks from 10 different locations.

Above: This is a car? Note: This isn't one of the new OXM screens

The last of the mentioned improvements are a number of tweaks to the series' famous in-car view. Apparently there's a significant bump-up in animation, with your driver feeding the wheel as you screech around turns and a slight vision blur effect when you have a nasty encounter with a wall.

More screens and details should emerge next month, but don't get too impatient - according to OXM Project Gotham 4 won't be out until next winter.

April 2, 2007