So there I am, racing along at 185 mph in downtown Motor City, and this car comes zinging up to my bumper, trying to slam me into oncoming traffic. So what do I do⢠I swerve hard to the right and ram into the jerk, sending him careening into a concrete pillar. Boom, ha-ha!
That's just a taste of the testosterone-laden road-rage fantasy "Burnout Revenge" offers. Takedowns, traffic checking, crashburners -- Electronic Arts serves up virtual dreams of payback.
"Revenge," for both the PS2 and Xbox, is the follow-up to the hugely popular "Burnout 3: Takedown," which many critics set as the standard for arcade racing games. But instead of just rehashing that success with new tracks and cars, the studio boosts up the violent mayhem with new aggressive goodies.
The most significant change: Instead of cars being mere obstacles of sure-death when you slam into their bumper, they're now weapons of mass destruction. Smash into same-way traffic to create lethal metal projectiles to take down competitors.
In traffic attacks, you're charged with taking out as much traffic as possible in a limited amount of time. Why do motorists slow down before tunnels⢠Who cares⢠Just plow through 'em. Tired of intersection gridlock⢠Gracefully catapult your vehicle into the air to take out a busy intersection with your flaming wreckage in crashburner events.
"Revenge" also includes timed-elimination races and straight-out beat the clock challenges. But don't think racing clean will earn you points. No way. "Revenge" likes it when you race dirty, earning you more points, which means you'll burn through the ranks faster from "harmless" amateur to seriously deviant "elite."
Driving controls are tight and responsive, and the graphics and environments are slick, but loading times can really gnaw on the nerves, especially when you have to retry an event a couple of times.
Although lower ranks are a breeze, the higher ranks can prove challenging. But when you're taking out rivals left and right, who cares whether you win or lose⢠It's how you take revenge. Additional Information:
Details
'Burnout Revenge'Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Criterion Games
Platform: PS2, Xbox
Genre: Battle racing
ESRB: Everyone 10+
How good is it: A-
