Burnout Revenge

"Compliments every major racing game that was released in 2005."

The only reason I have this game is because of my local BlockBuster. I rented this game, expecting to see the same results from Burnout 2, arguably the best "old" racing game for the PS2. And did I ever see the same results! That was the best thrill I've had since... ever! But once BlockBuster ran out of the copy, I got really bored. Sure, I was satisfied with EA's partner, Need for Speed Most Wanted, and Rockstar's Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition: Remix, but once I went to my local Best Buy and saw this game on sale for $19.99, I bought it. It was definitely worth owning, especially considering that I do have a lot more stress than you think... Allow me to explain.

Graphics: (why can't I give it an 11?) 10/10

For something made in 2005, a game like this looks something like a PS3 game without the effort in graphics, which is very, very good. The frame rate is even better than most games for the PS2 out these days, because everything flies by you at 60fhz, even at 200 mph, although it is lacking the natural blur of the boost, as in Need for Speed. But everything looks clear, crisp, and I can't see any of the curves that the road, the cars, or the menu have. Everything looks lifelike, and it looks like it is right up there with the Wii in terms of graphics. The game takes advantage of an HDTV's pixels, and nothing looks bland at all, definitely beating out Midnight Club and Need for Speed in terms of looks. It's so fresh!

Gameplay: 10/10

Plot: N/A

Basically, you're an unknown racer that has to compete in the "Revenge World Tour". You have to "burn" (or travel) around the world 3 times and then compete in global events. Since there isn't really much of a story with distinguishable characters and everything has the same effect, this area doesn't get a rating.

Arcade Resemblance: 10/10

Frankly this takes the place of Need For Speed's Customization. Noticing how not many of the cars look like a normal car in this world, there's plenty of carnage that you can inflict on the automobile. And since this is Arcade Resemblance, not reality, the idea of speeding to 200 mph in less than 5 seconds using boost truly is something that shouldn't be on a gaming console, rather it should be like Mario Kart Arcade GP style. We did pay for something that wasn't supposed to be too realistic, did we? The only things that do resemble real life were the tracks and the cars' handling, which is pretty crisp, actually.

Racing: (again, needs an eleven) 10/10

There's a lot to cover in this section, so good luck paying attention. Anyway, this section is as good as Burnout's Racing ever got. You unlock very good racing cars from the beginner cars that get a good 160 mph top speed to the best exotics that can get kicked up to 209 mph top speed. As you progress through the game, you'll notice some changes from Burnout 3. The newest edition to the Burnout saga is the ability is to "check" traffic, or in human terms, you slam into cars from behind and they go flying forward at insane speeds, and they are very likely to hit another car. The event that was developed with respect to this idea was "Traffic Attack", where you drive around on the right side of the road, depending on your location, and "check" traffic to cause a set amount of damage. There's the normal Race, or otherwise known as the Circuit in Professional Racing, where you drive around a set path in which the finish line is the starting line for a certain amount of laps, or times driven around the circuit and crossing the finish/starting line, and as rules have it, Bronze Medal is 3rd place, Silver is 2nd, and Gold is 1st. (The medals can help or hurt your rating, which helps you beat the game) After you make it halfway through the series, you get to unleash the "CrashBreaker", or in this case an explosion that can kill your opponents, scoring you one of the many ways to get a Takedown in this game, or to put it simply, touching your opponents and causing them to crash, and helpful when you're angry. Speaking of those, they're the only way to survive the Road Rage event. You have to get a certain amount of takedowns in order win a medal, again Bronze, Silver, or Gold. After you make it through 60% of the events, you get to have the CrashBreaker for a weapon, and you're going need it, as some of the toughest road rages have sometimes a high gold medal record. Good luck. There's also the new eliminator, which did show up in Burnout 3, but this is different. The guy in last place is eliminated every 30 seconds, with the guy in 1st at the end being the winner. It's just as hard as the Race, but note that it takes skill to win these. CrashBreakers are available from rank 7. Then again, the crash mode was revolutionized from Burnout 3, or so I hear. Now that we can Check Traffic, we can create separate crash areas. There is WAY more cars to crash and they work: big-time! The power-ups have disappeared, and now we have a sort of Burnout 2-like test of skill. The CrashBreaker is here for every person to utilize, and you're really going to need it! Making it worse, there's a meter that makes your starts perfect, fast, slow, or even not to start at all. Did I mention that now there are Grand Prixs? They're basically a series of races cramped together on different courses, and they must be completed for you to beat the rank's events. Overall, there are so many races, and they all take place in different locations in the real world, and it hurts to beat them all. It's 169 challenges of sheer skill, adrenaline, and everything else you can find here.

SFX/Music: 8/10

Sounds: 10/10

This is the best part of the game. EA and Criterion really must have put a lot of time in this. There's a very wide range of sounds in this game, and they all sound very, very good. There's a whoosh when you zip by traffic at 185 mph, there's the tire screeches when you drift, there's even a bit of a crunch when you crash, and my all-time favorite, the boost's and CrashBreaker's explosion. Everything sounds so realistic, and they sound like the real thing! And better yet, there's no dialogue to interfere with it!

Music: 6/10

This is the weakest point in the game. Allow me to explain. There's an awful lot of rock, and even though I like rock, most of it stinks, which does kind of kill the sense of speed. Good thing we can turn it off! The only reason this place doesn't have a zero is because some of the songs are really good, and they can help you unleash your anger when you sing along.

Controls: 10/10

For the PS2, in a race, X or Right Analog-Stick up is to floor it, Square or Right Analog-Stick Down is to brake, reverse, or drift, R1 is to unleash the boost, L1 is "Impact Time" (slow down time when you crash to smash your opponents), L2 is to change the music, and the Left-Right Directional Buttons or the Left Analog Stick is to turn. In later events and the crash events, R2 is to detonate your CrashBreaker. In the menu, X is to select, Triangle is to go back, and the Left-Right Directional Buttons or the Left Analog Stick are to move around, either vertically or horizontally. They're so simple, a caveman could understand them.

Replay: 9/10

There's an awful lot to do in this game. You can set records, unlock the coolest cars that can't be pimped, nail Signature TakeDowns, and get 100%. It's worth your time to play for 5 hours to get that last possible Gold Medal into your rank, however it does get redundant a little too easy, and then you can get angry very easily, but then again, just let it all out in the Road Rages! Trust me, I have 100% completion after almost 35 hours with the game, and yet I'm still missing 1 car, 2 challenge trophies and 5 Signature TakeDowns. The Difficulty can get to you, so I bid you farewell if you feel like muttering curses at the guy who slammed you into a Big Rig.

Buy or Rent?

Honestly, this game is worth a lot to rent. If you can't find it, you should bribe a friend who has it to give it to you. You definitely won't be disappointed when you try this game out the first time, unless you're that person who likes to play strategy or board games 24/7. But if you find it at a gaming place like I did, you should buy it off of their shelves. So basically I'm recommending both.

The End

Burnout Revenge: that title definitely brought gaming fame and fortune to EA and Criterion. I don't understand why they would ditch the PS2 for the 7th gen consoles! Thankfully EA and Criterion seem to be working in another Need for Speed title, because that's really what Burnout is all about! If you get disappointed with this game, I don't know why or how, but just keep playing. There's so much to do! Have fun!

Pros:
7th Gen console worthy Graphics
Fast Cars
Nice sound
Good for a lot of playing time
Simple controls that everybody can use
Best of the Best Racing (beats out its cousin Need for Speed, Gran Turismo, and Midnight Club)

Cons: Basically only the cheesy music.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/08/09, Updated 08/14/09

Game Release: Burnout Revenge (Greatest Hits) (US, 2006)