"Comprehensive Burnout Legends Review"

Gameplay: This is the core element to any Burnout game; they're sheer enjoyment. Like Burnout 3, the new option that puts this game over the edge is the ability to ‘Takedown' your opponents. You can takedown your opponents by slamming them into walls, or traffic, and then your boost bar increases. To gain boost, you have to do various dangerous actions, such as racing in oncoming traffic, or almost hitting traffic. Boost isn't as essential in Road Rage modes, but they are incredibly helpful in races.

This game has seven modes of play, and they are Road Rage, Race, Face-Off, Eliminator, Grand Prix, Crash Mode, and multiplayer. Four of the modes are just races, but with slight twists. A Race is when you complete three laps on a course, against three other racers. Face-Off is the same thing, but instead of three racers against you, there's only one opponent against you. The Eliminator mode has you race on a coarse and having four laps. After every lap, the racer who crosses the lap line last in eliminated. I personally think this mode is too long, and it just becomes repetitive after the second lap. Lastly, Grand Prix mode is a competition with you against three racers, and on three tracks. Even though all of these have to do with racing, they're different enough for some good variety.

The last three modes are pretty different from the other four modes. Road Rage mode has you against other racers, and the mission is to Takedown as many of them as possible. This is by far the most fun mode in the entire game. There are multiple different takedowns, and it's just hectic fun. Pursuit mode, one that was missing from Burnout 3: Takedown, has been implemented in this game. Unfortunately, it loses its original charm because of the inclusion of takedowns. In Pursuit mode, you have to ram into your target enough, until it loses all of its health; it's just bland. Lastly, the mode that made Burnout 2: Point of Impact so awesome, Crash mode. In this mode, you ram your car into a logical position, and try to make the most cars crash as possible; the more cars that get damaged, the higher your score is. They added pick-ups in Crash mode, which gives you boost, and extra points. Compared to Burnout 2, the scales of your crashes are much smaller, making it less satisfying. Overall though, the gameplay is incredibly satisfying. 8.5

Sound: 21 tracks. In my opinion, only 13 of them are good, but that's just my opinion. The sheer amount of tracks is just incredible, but I was slight irritated when I first listened to one of the songs; the quality for each of them aren't too good. If the tracks are mp3's, I'd say their bit rate is lower than 112 kbps. Also, the soundtrack loops, and it starts over after every race; this gets very annoying. But in general, I absolutely love the soundtrack.

Although the soundtrack rocks, the sound effects for the cars are incredible; each cars motor sounds different, or there are a lot of different motor sounds. When you honk the horn, it actually sounds like a real horn, and this also applies to the over-the-top crashes. As the cars scrape and slide into walls and pavement, it sounds like your right there in the middle of it (if you're wearing headphones). All in all, the sound is terrific in this game. 9.0

Replay Value: With 100 Crash events, and 75 other events, there's enough to keep you coming for a while. Also, the pretty good multiplayer mode should have you coming back, because you only need to have a friend with a PSP to do two-player. This is the first game to incorporate this feature, and it's the right game to show it off. I've been playing against my friends every study hall I have; it's great fun. Besides, how can you get tired of Road Rage? 9.25

Graphics: This section is probably the best part of the game, and the most upsetting as well. To start with the good, the graphics are incredible; the best graphics on the PSP. The physics engine is great, and when cars fly in mid-air, it looks incredibly real. The location specific damage is great too. When you crash because you hit a car going in the opposite direction you were, the front of your car will look like it took a massive blow, as it should. Even though the console counterparts have better spark effects and physics, the PSP imitates it very well. It sounds pretty good, right? Not too fast. Burnout is known for how awesome it is to watch. Sometimes, it's more fun to watch the game than play it. This game doesn't follow in those footsteps. This game doesn't run at 60 fps, making it look less smooth. It doesn't have motion blur when you use boost. Motion blur literally makes your adrenaline pump on the consoles. Lastly, the game repeats the same shattered glass texture over and over again. I think there are only three different glass textures. Although it is a very solid, graphical game, it feels a little less than Burnout than it should. 7.75

Controls: The most remarkable thing about the controls in this game is that you can change between the Xbox style controls, or the PS2 controls. But this is overshadowed by the control over your turns. Using the D-Pad and the Analogue nub are practically the same thing. If you move the nub just slightly, you turn as if you move it all the way in that direction. This also goes for the D-Pad. The one thing that I really hate about the controls is that you have to hit select to change the song. Sure, you can customize your soundtrack, but it loops after every race. The select button is out of reach, and you need to let go of acceleration, if you use the PS2 style controls, to change the track. All circle does is honk the horn. Stupid, stupid developers… 7.25

Difficulty (and Tilt): very easy to get into, but the challenge certainly picks; the AI becomes a lot more aggressive towards the en of the game. It's not one of those games you'll be stuck on. Easy, pick-up-and-play fun, that's what Burnout has always been about, and it keeps that tradition with the transition to the PSP. 9.5

Overall Score: 8.5, B+

Recommend?: If you haven't touched your PSP for weeks, and really want a fun game to play, you can not go wrong with Burnout Legends.

Buy or Rent?: Depends, are you willing to spend $50? If you are, buy it. It's too much fun to pass up.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/22/05