Burnout 3: Takedown

"My eyes! They bleed!"

Introduction -

This is the third addition to the Burnout series, and the concept of the games has always been simple. You get a car, you get part of a city, and you get traffic, oh, and you get to drive at breakneck speeds swerving all over the road, purposely trying to get your enemies killed while they are travelling at speeds in excess of 130 MPH. Burnout 3: Takedown follows the same path as the first two games of the series did, but with a few new tweaks, more vehicles, more environments, better graphics, and of course the normal EA stuff you would expect in one of their games.

Gameplay -

Wow. This is something special. The real-life physics of a car have been thrown out the window, and what we get here are some of the best arcade-racer controls you can imagine. With a bit of practice, players will get used to the way the cars are controlled, and will also get used to the different types of cars available, starting off from the small and slow concept cars, then onto the big heavy muscles, and ending with the super cars, which are super light and amazingly, super fast.

The game is split into different modes. You can have the normal career mode, were you will play races against similar cars in certain regions, then as you progress, you unlock better, faster cars, as well as more challenging races and opponents to compete against. You also have a Crash mode. Here, you are meant to do as the title suggests, Crash! You choose your vehicle (bigger and heavier ones are a better choice), you build up some speed, you pick up a boost along the way, and then you fly off a ramp and cause a huge pile-up, with many cars, trucks, coaches and 18-wheelers all crashing into each other, to make the worst damage possible, and by doing this, you get more money and a higher score, the bigger, the better. There is also a multi-player mode that allows you to play against friends/family, as well as being able to have a few computer-controlled opponents just to spice things up, and can play in either a normal race, crash or Road Rage (Takedown as many cars as possible). EA also offer you an online mode which I haven't played on, but I heard is good, so no real comment here.

Burnout 3 is a lovely game, but comes at a price, your patience and sanity. You can get lucky and have a great race, not really crashing or making any mistakes at all, driving well and skillfully, or you can have the exact opposite; crashing constantly, feeling the game is doing to you on purpose, which will get you very upset, and that will hurt your controller on the way to the wall.

The game really does need effort, determination, skill and patience to play. The Career mode does start off as you would expect, with gentile opponents, large, wide roads, and a pretty slow paced, easy race. Tens of races later, you will have unlocked some ridiculously speedy super cars, and things have just gotten very difficult. Roads have become narrower making it difficult to avoid obstacles easily, traffic has become more of a pain, with vehicles being spawned in your racing line after a sharp turn, and your opponents have become angry, violent and ruthless. You will really be given a run for your money in some of the later races, where you will be travelling so fast, a wrong move will have you in the back of a truck, into a wall, or flying off the road, into the mountains or forest, and your opponents flying past you laughing.

This is very challenging, but the adrenaline and excitement you get from it are really worth the effort you will have to put in. You will be rewarded with money, takedown records (how many times you have literally pushed your opponent into the back of a vehicle or into a wall), as well as signature move cards. This might just be novelty rewards to you, but in my opinion, they aren't the real reward. The real reward for me is the experience of a game this brutal. The smile on your face after a good race can't be beaten, with you swerving in and out of traffic, and your opponents getting into compromising situations.

Score - 9/10

Graphics -

Another breathtaking feature of this wonderful game. Everything looks unbelievably good, from the cars to the trees.

First off, the cars. They look very much like their real-life counterparts, but aren't branded for obvious reasons. All the details on them look amazing, with the sun shining off the perfect paint work, that will all be scratched, dented and lost in a race. The damage effects are also the best that a game can offer. Cars crumble like aluminum Coke cans, and really do please the eye. As you would expect, you will get a variety of damages to your vehicle throughout the race, for example, a crash head-on with another car would be different then a head-on crash with a wall, or the dreaded 18-wheeler. This all works very well, and gives off some truly spectacular visuals, even if it is your car that just got wrecked.

Now onto the environments. Again, wow. They just look gorgeous. Everything looks sharp and real, which makes it a joy to race in. All the small details are there, with lampposts, different signs and traffic, as well as EA's trademark, the advertising banners. So, while sometimes literally flying down the street, take in the beautiful visuals that lay before you, and enjoy their beauty. However, keep an eye on the road. A second is more vital then you think. See that nice forest down there? Want to take a spin in it, or should I say a tumble?

Score - 10/10

Sound -

EA Trax, love them or hate them. You will get s decent mix of songs here, with some better then others. There are a few different genres available, with mostly rock and some dance, but it mostly sounds like the opening "We are the lazy generation" tune.

Cars and smashes sound great too. The different types of engines in the cars sound decent and pretty realistic, and the crashes sound even better. A large variety of sounds can be heard, from skids, to horns from passing traffic, to the sound of shattering glass. Pretty much anything you can think of on a road.

Score - 7/10

Overall -

An amazing addition to an exhilarating series. This is another top-notch Burnout game that will have you playing for ages, either on your own, with friends, or online. This is a great game, and a great experience, both good and bad. Small annoyances like petty crashes can have your blood boiling, but overall, the good far out-weighs the bad. A must have racer.

Score - 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/05/06