Project Gotham Racing 2 – Geometry Wars. The best mini-games

Before the Forza series dominated the Xbox racing game market, The Project Gotham Racing series, developed by Bizarre Creations, reigned on Microsoft's console. It made four major appearances between 2001 and 2007, and is still remembered by fans of arcade racing. The Geometry Wars series lasted longer than the aforementioned games (and Bizarre Creations, which closed in 2011). The most recent installment of the former debuted in 2014. It is sort of a successor of the Gotham Racing Project, and more specifically, its second installment.

When walking around the garage in Project Gotham Racing 2 and getting close to the arcade machine allows players to play a game that is a variation of the classic Asteroids. The game involves flying a small spaceship around a two-dimensional board imitating interstellar space and eliminating the tingles of objects appearing on the screen.

Commercial versions of Geometry Wars are much more impressive than their original.

The minigame was successful enough that in its day it enjoyed huge popularity – there was no shortage of PGR2 fans who spent more time with it than actually driving cars. Seeing a positive response from the community, Bizarre Creations expanded their work to become a full-fledged game, released it as Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved... and broke the record for the most downloaded title on Microsoft service. This game made way for several sequels, but its roots were not forgotten and simplified versions were included in subsequent PGR releases.

1. More about Project Gotham Racing 2
2. More about Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved