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The PSP gains another, top-notch racing game. Burnout Legends takes the best parts of the first three Burnout games, mixes it around, and produces what is arguably the PSP’s best racing game. The game may also be the most technically capable PSP game available, once again showing Criterion Games’ technological eminence.
The game’s primary single-player mode is called World Tour. In this mode, you begin with a single car class and a few maps. You’ll race through a number of events and eventually unlock more car classes. There are also a few crash events that will also unlock additional car classes. All in all, the game features about 175 events to play through. Burnout Legends provides plenty of bang for your buck and will take many several-hour stretches to get through.
The game’s modes are should be familiar to fans of the series. The game includes normal races, burning laps which place you against the clock, faceoffs which place you against another car as you compete for each other’s car and road rages where you need to get as many takedowns as possible. The game also includes pursuit mode where you play as a cop and need to destroy a target vehicle. It wouldn’t be Burnout without a crash mode, where you’re given money for destroying cars and the mode is definitely found in Burnout Legends. The crash mode is made more exciting because of the after touch move where you can move your destroyed car into traffic to destroy other opponents before you go out. Additionally, crashbreakers allow you to blow up your car in an effort to destroy other cars as well.
Burnout Legends’ racing doesn’t steer too far from the typical Burnout formula. You’ll essentially boost like crazy through the game’s tracks. This behavior is definitely encouraged since you earn boost by drivingly insanely, including partaking in activities such as smashing into opponents, nearly smashing into civilian cars, and driving into traffic as often as possible. Burnout has always been about breaking cars (preferably a car that isn’t yours) and Burnout Legends retains that familiar feeling very well.
Burnout Legends supports up to six players via local wireless play. A number of game modes are included including races, party crashes, double impact, road rage and pursuit. As is the case with any good multiplayer game, more people will definitely make things more interesting. Two player multiplayer, though, is still quite rewarding.
The game’s visuals are excellent. The car models are very detailed for a PSP game, and the same compliment can be given to the environment. All of the cars go insanely fast, assuring that Burnout Legends keeps the same crazy sense of speed found in previous Burnout games. Because of the PSP’s limitations relative to the consoles, you won’t see quite as much detail as you expect from the series. This is particularly noted in the crashes. The explosions are subdued a bit, but still look amazing. The framerate rarely stutters, though we noticed a slight lag when the game was getting ready to play another song. All in all, it is another commendable effort by Criterion Games.
The game’s audio is quite good. The soundtrack includes some 21 tracks from bands like Yellowcard and Finch. The tracks fit the game’s theme rather well; there are no undoubtedly questionable choices in the game. Like the console versions, the game’s sound effects are excellent. You’ll hear everything as you go by, though the crash effects are particularly satisfying.
Burnout Legends calms any anxiety some Burnout fans had about a portable version of the series. The game manages to take the best features of the series, shrink it into portable form, squeeze every ounce out of the PSP, and deliver a compelling experience. Despite the abundance of racers on PSP, Burnout Legends is the one you don’t want to be without.
-- Edited by: Jose Liz -- Adam Nunez, PGNx Media
---- Sep 21, 2005
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