|
A year later, Criterion Games does it again. The Burnout series has always been aptly satisfying through it reached its high point with last year’s EA Games-published Burnout 3. Burnout Revenge makes things a little faster, makes the game a little more intense, sharpens the graphics just enough that the Burnout experience feels fresh.
Burnout Revenge features a new world tour mode. The game now features 11 different ranks for you to go through. You need a certain number of stars in order to be moved up to the next rank, which in turn unlocks additional races. You earn stars by driving forcefully in the different events. The goal is to get four stars per race; you get an additional star if you finish the race with a gold medal. The 169 events in the mode encompass the game’s different events. There’s the basic race, in which you need to place first. Burning laps places you against the clock. In road rage, you attempt to make as many opponents crash as possible. Eliminator eliminates the last place person every 30 seconds. There are crashbreaker versions of these races, which enable you to blow up when you crash thus taking out nearby opponents.
A huge portion of Burnout, some would consider it a bigger portion than the races, is the crash mode. In crash mode, you are placed into an environment and tasked with making the biggest pileup possible. Crashbreakers allow you to make even bigger pileups. The power-ups found in Burnout 3 are gone it a bit more challenging.
The game mechanics of Burnout Revenge have changed since the last version. You are now able to crash into small cars in a feature called traffic checking, allowing you to use these cars are projectiles and slam them into other vehicles. It’s an interesting feature and makes the game a bit more complex. The tracks have also changed considerably. They have many alternate routes, shortcuts, and ramps that allow for some awesome crashes into the ground.
Burnout Revenge features offline multiplayer. The most enticing mode is crash battles were two people can play crash mode simultaneously. Online, the games allows up six players to compete in a number of races including road rage and crash battles. You’ll still have to go through the ranks online, unlocking cars that you’ve already unlocked offline. It is much quicker to do so online, though, and you can set it so you only play with people of your same rank. Additionally, the game gives you separate rating for crash and races, so you’ll be matched up with someone of your same caliber.
The game’s graphics are awesome as expected from the series. Criterion Games pushes the hardware to extremes and it shows with the final product. The game’s cars, though not licensed, are cool enough on their own and certainly look the part. The environments are equally impressive with detailed tracks and sharp textures. The presentation is what really enables Burnout Revenge to be set apart. The framerate never fails, and combined with some fancy camera movement and blur effects gives you the impression that you really are pulling off these insane moves. Needless to say, the crashes look amazing. The game looks considerably sharper on Xbox, though the PS2 version of the game is still good.
The game’s soundtrack is quite varied, considerably more so than Burnout 3. It’s noticeably edgier and goes along well with Burnout Revenge’s more aggressive theme. The game’s sound effects are excellent. You’ll hear everything as you go by, though the crash effects are particularly satisfying. If you have surround sound, the experience is made that much better.
Burnout Revenge is an amazing racing game. Criterion Games recently commented that they were disappointed that this generation was going to over soon. After seeing their work with Burnout Revenge, I’m inclined to agree. It may not be as dramatic a change as Burnout 3, but changes just enough to be a worthwhile game.
-- Edited by: Jose Liz -- Adam Nunez, PGNx Media
---- Sep 21, 2005
|
