Burnout 3 - Australian Review (Reviews)

Mitchell Bingemann, GamePro Australia

02/11/2004 11:40:56

Tired of seeing your hard earned street machines fly tightly around courses and into oncoming traffic only to miraculously reappear unscathed? Looking to add a bit of devastation to your driving? Then look no further because Burnout3: Takedown is here with its perfect blend of adrenaline, aggression and annihilation.

Developer Criterion Games are back for their third instalment of the Burnout series. Now published by EA rather than Acclaim, Burnout 3 continues on its destructive path and is, quite simply, one of the best arcade racers ever made.

The beauty of Burnout 3's arcade style play and focus on demolition means that anyone can grab a controller and bash it out. Instead of meticulously cornering your cars while trying to keep away from hazardous obstacles, Burnout 3 encourages you to grab your balls, clench your teeth and play chicken with traffic, smash your opponents and do everything and anything in your power to secure first place.

The single player mode mixes it up with a reward type style of play that ensures gamers will not tire quickly. So when you come across the various race modes such as Road Rage, Face Off, Eliminator etc, you can only advance if you meet the specific requirements they ask of you. This makes for a non-linear experience and if you follow the right paths it will allow access to other continents in no time. Even if you manage to get through the huge amount of varied events, there's still Signature Takedown Snapshots, Special Event cards, gold medals and much more to gain through your spree of damage and road terrorism of the streets.

In addition to the multitude of tracks, there are over 60 cars from seven different categories including; Compact, Muscle, Sports, Super Series, Heavyweights (the fire truck is a must have), Coupe, and Special cars. Again, you will be unlocking these as you progress through the game. In terms of driving, no fan could ask for more. Graphically the game is a knockout. Despite the speed and ferocity of some of the faster cars, the graphics never waver and deliver a solid performance even in multiplayer mode.

The controls are incredibly easy to adapt to and with experience your vehicles will handle like slot cars. Although some of the initial cars seem a bit heavy on the tracks, once you unlock some of the faster machines and master the art of drafting, you won't even notice. However the lack of a handbrake might surprise a few. You can't help but feel that while slamming down straights at over 200mph a handbrake could come in handy, especially when your brakes can't seem to handle the fierce steering needed to deliver a devastating T-bone crunch to your opponents. Nevertheless the ability to take advantage of your boost when drafting, more than makes up for this absence.

Burnout 3's AI is a lot more dynamic this time around. Opponents are as devious as they are expert drivers. Cool little enhancements to takedowns such as revenge smashings add to your opponents' diabolical ways. However, this just makes you all the more determined to get back up and kick their asses back to driver's ed.

The stand-out new play mode would have to be Road Rage. The entire focus is on destroying every ounce of your opponents' belief in their driving abilities and thus their self worth. Oh, and also their cars of course. Ram 'em, jam 'em, smash 'em or slam 'em, anything goes in this adrenaline filled crash fest. All you have to do is meet the desired takedown amount and you win! Smashing cars has never been so much fun! By far one of the best new features in Burnout 3 is Aftertouch. This awesome addition makes it possible to wreak even more destruction once your vehicle has been incapacitated! So if you happen to be driving on the wrong side of the road and collide with some hapless granny on her way to church, rest assured that your precious lead is not yet down the toilet. By the simple press of a button the game slows down to Matrix style bullet time allowing you to manoeuvre your car onto the path of oncoming opponents, taking them down with you in a blaze of glory.

Criterion knew they were onto a good thing with Crash mode and have included some nice new additions to make it even more enjoyable. Now with 100 crash junctions, the added ability of Aftertouch, and the co-op and head-to-head modes available in multiplayer, Crash mode is more vicious and strategic than ever! Aftertouch really makes Crash mode, allowing you to position your car mid-flight after being catapulted by exploding tankers or crashing through oncoming traffic when going after those precious multiplier tokens. This really is an essential feature of the game and will have you relishing your crashes instead of trying to quickly click through to a restart.

Whether you like to speed past opponents or plough straight up the back of them, this game has a bit of everything for driving and action fans everywhere. Hell, this game has something for just everyone! The speed of the game is incredible and as the roads and lights blur past you, it feels more like you're flying in the Millennium Falcon than some street machine dodging through traffic. The career mode and its awards will keep you coming back for hours and the multiplayer and online support will keep you coming back for years. This is a must for your collection!

Score = 10/10

Graphics: 5.0

Sound: 5.0

Control: 5.0

Fun Factor:

Scoring scale: 1-5

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Publisher: Electronic Arts / Developer: Criterion / Retail Price: $99.95 (PlayStation 2) /, $99.95 (Xbox) / Release date: 15/10/2004 / Genre: Driving/racing / OFLC Rating: M (15+)