Burnout 3: Takedown

"Nearly Missing Perfect."

When Burnout 2 came out, it was looked upon as a great and ambitious game. It had great, fast gameplay, great multiplayer, and what everyone liked, crash mode. Now, we have gotten Burnout 3, which has improved in every area over its predecessor, and brings its unique and fun gameplay back to consoles. In a genre that is now being otherwise littered with games like Midnight Club 3, Street Racing Syndicate, or, more realistic racers like Forza Motorsports and Gran Turismo, Burnout 3 is a breath of fresh air.

As a huge fan of Burnout 2, I was eagerly anticipating this game from the day it was announced. With the promise of online play, it increased the hype even more, instantly getting back everyone that loved the previous games in the series. And has attracted new users by setting itself apart from any other racer coming out this fall. The wait seemed forever, but in the end, it was all worth it for this incredible racing title.

Graphics-9.5: Despite what some have said, the graphics in Burnout 3 easily top Burnout 2. Sure the graphics in Burnout 3 probably will not make you stand in awe of you're used to Project Gotham 2, but how great the graphics are considering all that's onscreen is incredible. Besides you and you're opponent's nicely modeled cars, there is traffic, (which does not look too shabby itself) sometimes heavy and concentrated. The particle effects really set the game apart as do numerous other things like the way you're car gets banged up, twisting into a crippled mess after you slam into a wall or another car. Bumpers and hoods will hang and then fall off, and entire fronts, sides, and rears of cars look like they are missing they are smashed so bad. What's more, unlike in Burnout 2, you can smash and distort traffic to. Slamming into a tanker at high speed will make it explode, and turning a city bus (yours or in traffic) into an accordion, because you jus plowed into it and 200+ is even more fun than it sounds. When you do boost, and rocket up to 200mph, the screen blurs, And the cars around you become smears of yellows and blues. All of this, plus the way the camera cuts away, Matrix style, during crash mode and takedowns adds a lot to the experience without taking away from the sheer speed of this racer. Even little touches like smoke from you're car when you peel out, fire from you car's exhaust when it boosts, real time reflections, and sparks flying from under cars, although may seem small, combined, add a great deal to the game. All of these running at steady 60 frames per-second. On the downside, it would have been nice to include more camera views than the same two from previous games. Using the third person, especially when using big cars like the tractor-trailer, and other high cars, obscures you're view. But switching to the first person, which helps you avoid traffic better, result in given you blind spots on the right and left, leaving you venerable as you won't see nearby accidents or soon to be takedowns. Some HDTV users have also complained about some low-res textures

Sound-9.5: The sound is the game is nicely done, tires screech, sirens wail, and cars honk as they swerve to avoid you. The crippling sound of metal crunching when you hit something is even better than in Burnout 2. The cars themselves are also more distinct, hell, most of the muscle cars sound more American than the ones in Project Gotham. Muscle cars sound like muscle cars, and high speed racers sound like they should. Even vehicles like the tractor-trailer sound normal, even down to the airbrake. The distinct “whoosh” noise when flying close by cars further adds to the speed, and the sound when hitting the boost (which gets louder the more boost you have) just pumps the adrenaline more. The soundtrack does not have a lot of variety though, but then, that's what custom soundtracks are for!

Gameplay-10: The gameplay, so much gameplay! All of the good qualities from Burnout 2 have come back, but now have been built upon and are better than ever. Swerving in and out of traffic in this game is unmatched by any other racing game. You get rewarded for taking risks like getting near misses, shunting and battling with opponents or by doing the newest added feature, which bares the game's subtitle, getting takedowns. By smashing into opponents cars, you can knock them off the road, launch them off cliffs, hit them into traffic, and smashing into them at full speed., flipping them. This will get you a “Takedown”, which then extends you're boost meter and fills it. The sheer speed of the game is completely insane, possibly even faster than F-Zero DX, dodging cars, getting a takedown, then boosting to win a race is quite a thrill. The tracks are also longer and much better designed, especially in crash mode. Crash mode itself is back as well, and it's only improved more. There is now a crashbreaker, in that once you get a certain amount of cars involved in an accident, you have the option to blow up you're car, damaging anything nearby, which is useful in damaging larger clumps of cars or getting power ups. The power ups can increase you're money, either by giving you, say, $30,000 more, or by multiplying it, by two or four times. You can also get instant crash breakers, in effect, if you play it out right, you can get three crashbreakers in a single crash, keeping in mind you get money by just using it, even if it does not damaging anything but you. It is also easier to tip buses, jackknife 18-wheelers, and otherwise damage heavy cars easier, which seemed hard in Burnout 2. Cars also now have a speed rating, as well as a weight rating. You can do allot of damage in crash mode by using a city bus or longnose cab.

Features and Replay Value-10: The replay value is just insane. Firstly, they did away with the menu-based career and now have a “World Tour” setup similar to Top Spin's, whereby you go around the world unlocking events, from regular races, road rage, crash, face-off, and a lot more similar in fashion to Project Gotham 2. This variety extends to the crash mode tracks, many of which are ingeniously designed. Not only that, you can play all this offline with a friend (or 8) as well as online. Including a co-op and competitive crash mode, where you both race at the same time, or party crash, similar to burnout 2's crash mode. The power ups also change positions from each mode, added even more variety. In all, there are dozens of races, 100 crash junctions, and 67 vehicles ranging from simple coupes to Indy cars and tractor cabs. Even a fire truck! Again, all of this online. The only disappointment in this area is the lack of savable replays, which would have been nice to have, even if only for crash mode.

Overall-9.5: Though it does pull a “near miss” for perfection with the a few graphics issues and the lack of savable replays, this is easily one of the best racers ever made. It sets itself apart from other racers, packs insane amounts of speed, and nearly infinite replay value. Online the game is a blast with 8 player “Party Crash” and offline is just as fun even without LIVE! Forget Midnight Club 3, Need for Speed, and every other racer coming out, because this is the racing game of the year for sure.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/10/04