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Destroys the Racing Barrier

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 50 / 56
Date: September 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

An email I wrote in December 2003:

"Dear Criterion Games:

I hear that Burnout 3 is going to focus on wrecking opponents. This is a mistake. It's not going to work. Why turn your brilliant, traffic-weaving Burnout franchise into a demolition derby? Change is good, but this is too much - it's now a fighting game with cars instead of a racing game. Hopefully Burnout 4 will get it right.

Regards, A Fan"

Fast-forward to September 2004. Burnout 3 is now here, and I am now sending them my sincerest apologies. I now invite them to send me a very nasty "We told you so!" response, because they've managed to not only prove me to be completely and utterly foolish for doubting them, they've made what is hands-down the best arcade racing game we're likely to play.

Criterion has managed to tap into some kind of suicidal primal instinct all of us seem to have - the urge to fly through populated streets at near the speed of sound in a sleek automobile (or firetruck), careening headlong into anyone and anything in our path. Better yet, Burnout 3: Takedown now adds the lovely feature of a dream made virtual reality: smashing into pieces that no-good idiot who dared to try and tap you into the guardrail. We've all had those fantasies, right? Now you can live em in the comfort (and safety!) of your own living room.

For those of you who are skeptical, one thing should be made clear up front: Burnout 3 is very different from the first two games in the series. You'll still race through beautifully rendered courses at brain-searing speeds, missing traffic by millimeters. But even though B3 now focuses on making your race opponents wreck in the most ghastly ways possible, the intensity and rush is still here...no, it's actually been ratcheted up to a realm of insanity no racer has ever attained. It's different, but still more than worthy of attention.

One thing Burnout vets will appreciate is the single-player mode has been greatly expanded. There are a huge number of race events - close to two hundred, ranging from single races to burning laps to eliminations to crash junctions to....well, it doesn't get old. Add a ridiculous number of unlockables (including fake headlines, signature Takedowns, forty tracks, seventy cars, etc etc) and suffice to say you could finish the first two Burnout games twice each before seeing all B3 has to offer. You still progress by earning medals - only getting golds will unlock everything - but it's no longer just about finishing first. Peforming Takedowns is essential, and well-worth it, as the game lovingly displays the mechanical carnage you create, but it's not always easy. The AI is wicked this time round, and will even gain grudges for you......and go after you. If you do fall victim, you can always choose to enable the Aftertouch, a brilliant feature that allows you to control your wrecked car, and steer it into the path of your opponents. Revenge has never been so sweet.

Screaming down a Hong Kong-ish crowded street, golden Buddha statue looming overhead, desperately trying to keep your lead when two guys in F1-type racers are inches from your rear bumper.....yeah, it's exhilirating all right.

Crash Mode returns in all its destructive glory, but now it's deeper, and larger. Power-ups litter the course - yes power-ups, ranging from temporary boosts to points multipliers. Add the Crashbreaker - in which your car becomes a literal bomb that you can detonate at any time, and we're talking serious mayhem. And oh yes - this mode can be played co-operatively now. One more thing - there's 100 crash junctions now.

The multiplayer madness continues with Road Rage Mode (whoever takes down the most opponents wins), Elimination (whoever's in last place at the end of a lap is disqualified), Burning Lap (boost as fast as you can without crashing once), and normal Single Race, and there's a lot more meat here than before.

The bad? Well, the default soundtrack can leave a lot to be desired (and turn the announcer OFF, trust me), but this is easily fixed by lovely custom soundtrack support. HINT: Causing wrecks to bluegrass is poetry in motion. EA Games - who now owns Criterion - has plastered advertising signboards all over the courses, and they're kind of distracting in an annoying way. There are also many minor details (you race in car classes now rather than picking any you want, the scoring system is different, no nighttime races or weather changes, no licensed cars (like any respected auto manufacturer would let their lovingly crafted creations get dismantled like this!), Crash Mode repeats junctions) that one could complain about, but the core gameplay is so sublime, well-done, and addictive, it's silly to dock the score for any of them.

Burnout 3 is the epitome of what arcade racing should be: easy to pick up, hard to master, appealing to everyone, unimaginably intense, and unbelievably fun. Mark my words, you're gonna see Burnout 3 on a lot of Best Games of 2004 lists -- it'll be on mine, without a doubt.

Thanks for proving me wrong, Criterion. But I need to ask - what's next? You can't possibly top Takedown....can you?

The Takedown

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 18
Date: November 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Buckle your seatbelts... and prepare to die! While the first Burnout game had you dodging traffic through crowded streets like the best scenes out of your favorite chase movies, and Burnout 2 had you purposefully crashing into intersections for maximmum damage points (like some kind of crazy car crash physics puzzle game), the Burnout series yet AGAIN moves into an entirely different direction with the third installment: Takedown!

Yes indeed, all the wishes of the people who played the first two games have been granted. Before, I had found myself wishing that the computer players would fight back more (instead of just trying to outrun me), the gas tankers would explode when you hit them (they do!!!!! In a flash of white and a fireball!), and that you could make the computer players crash in a way other than crashing right in front of them (now you can run them off the road, into walls, and manuever your crashing car right in front of them!). But ultimately this game is much more than just a remix, it's a revolution.

The graphics have been cranked up a notch yet again, with sparks, flames, glass shatters, crumpling metal, flying tires, big rigs losing their cargo, and cars doing the most amazing acrobatics you have ever seen. All this at incredible speed (looks like about 300 miles per hour to me!), silky-smooth framerate, and with perfect control. More than that, you the new Aftertouch effect allows you to put the car into bullet-time as soon as you crash (to make your car do wicked stunts, or hit other cars), as well as letting you precisely aim yourself in crash mode after hitting a ramp so that you hit right where you want to. And speaking of crash...

You didn't think they would just leave the crash mode alone, did you? Now there are crash icons you need to collect (or avoid) which can half your score, double it, quadrouple it, give you bonus cash, increase your speed, or make you explode instantly. And since when you rack up a certain amount of cars crashing you can make your car explode with the push of a button, and gas tankers explode on high-speed contact... it is indeed possible to make your car explode three times in a single crash!

I remember back when Need for Speed:Hot Pursuit 2 came out and everyone thought it was so great. It seems like garbage now compared to this game. That game had annoying bullet-time (too long, too often, poorly executed, and just plain irritating), this game has sweet bullet-time (unobtrusive, not too long, auto-steering when it happens, perfectly executed, and just plain cool). And while that game may have been fast and furious, this game is just...umm.... faster and furiouser.

With all the multi-player modes and single-player modes and unlockables and world tour ect., you'd think this was the perfect racing game. Sadly though, this is not the case.

The music soundtrack is quite frankly absolutely terrible. Ditto for the annoying annoucer. Thankfully, both can be turned off (and you can listen to whatever music you like). The interface for selecting music, however, is not as good as the previous Burnout. Also, the excellent cops and robbers aspect from Burnout 2 is gone as well. Just another reason to own all three Burnouts I'd say.

If you love racing games, and especially if you liked the previous Burnouts, this one is a definite purchase.

... and I don't even like racing games!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: September 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is great. The only reason I bought it was because I was craving a new toy and saw that Gamespot rated this game a 9.5/10. I think Gamespot/Gamespy/IGN/etc are a little easy on games these days, but a 9.5? I figured there must be something in this game worth trying.

They were right.

I don't particularly care for racing games. They just don't hold my attention. But Burnout 3:Takedown is just downright addictive. The controls are simple (even talked my wife into playing it with me!), but the gameplay mechanics are a perfect balance between art and science. I won't go into the game's details, since other reviewers have already done that. But rest assured, this game offers hours of adrenaline-pumping replayability.

Battling other cars (and players online!) for position by trying to nudge them into the path of an oncoming Mack Truck, over the guardrail, or into the deep blue sea, is just as fun the 1,000th time as it was the 1st time.

My only complaint is the soundtrack (just like everyone else). It's pretty bland (and the announcer is a little irritating). Both of these issues, though, are easily overcome. Queue your own tunes up in the playlist and disable the 'Im too cool for this gig' announcer, and you're ready to rumble.

If you don't feel like plunking down $50 for the game, at least do yourself a favor with a rental.

Worst case scenario: You're out $5.

Likely scenario: You'll go out and buy your own copy after renting it.

Phenomenal sense of speed, and overall one of the best

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: September 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is pure speed, adrenaline, and white knuckle racing taken to the extreme. I bought Burnout 2 some time ago and didn't think it could get much better than that. I loved that game for its insane speed, graphics, and especially the crashes. Crash mode in Burnout 2 was so much fun it was unreal.

Burnout 3 makes 2 look primitive by comparison. There is such a sense of extreme speed in 3 that no other game I've seen has come even close to having. This game feels dangerous. The addition of takedowns was a genius move: its added a layer of aggressive strategy that I can't imagine playing without now. I'm not going to go into detail about every little bit of the game, you can go to official magazine or website reviews for that.

There are a number of play modes to choose from, all of which are fun. The world tour mode (which is where everything is unlocked) is excellent, combining every aspect of the game into a system of increasing difficulty, but also variety. Some have complained that the crash mode levels are not all unique, with some being extentions or other minor changes, but I have to disagree. With all the additions made to crash mode, changing anything on a level changes it completely. With the ability to steer your wreck after a crash you are able to destroy more vehicles or obtain more power ups, and in fact this is often required in order to meet the requirements for the lowest of medals.

This is not a game to read about. Like intimate encounters, its all about the experience. Secondhand information is good, but its all about the experience.

Minor faults aside, this is one amazing racing game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: September 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Having been a huge fan of Burnout 1 and 2, I was really looking forward to this release.

This truly is an amazing racing game. I love the non linear progression through the world series and the added bells and whistles such as the 'crash FM' announcer.

Graphically it is different to both Burnout 1 and 2. Personally I feel that not as much detail has been given to the buildings, however everything is moving so fast that you don't really have time to notice it.

One major complaint for me is the lack of the vibrational effect. I thought the effect added so much to the previous burnout games - drive over cobbled stones for instance and the controller vibrates madly. In Burnout 3 there is some slight vibration during some crashes. That's it. Though this is one minor glitch in an otherwise hard to fault game.

I rarely pay full price for games but just couldn't wait for Burnout 3!!! Hopefully there will be a Burnout 4 next year!

Wonderful for lovers of speed

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: April 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The highway code for this game rewrites the rules of the road. Aggressive racing is required; the longer you sit on the wrong side of the road, the quicker you will fill your "boost bar"; you speed as much as you can before entering a one-way street the wrong way to cause mayhem, and on highways you get as close to other cars as possible to cause multiple vehicle pile-ups. If you're overtaken, you are urged to fight back and the longer you battle, the more points you gain. As for speed limits, stop signs and traffic lights, what are they again? If you thought Need for Speed was an adrenaline rush, you'd love this. Just don't tell the LTSA about it.

Oh. My. God.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: September 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I am going to make the blanket statement that if you own an XBox, you really ought to own this game...even if you have no interest in driving games. I held off getting it because the price stayed high. Now I know why the price stayed high. Recently this became a platinum hit so it's now twenty bucks, and it is worth every penny of that and then some. This game is just a riot, it takes a simple premise - that the real fun in racing games is in the crashes - and executes it extremely well. I actually catch myself giggling while I play this game. There is just an element of pure fun here that can't be ignored nor quantified. I haven't experienced such fun in a video game in a long time...I don't know how else to describe it. Yeah okay, the music stinks, big deal. If you can't enjoy this game, you just don't like video games.

Awesome Racer

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: September 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Addictive as crack.
Once you get started, you can't put it down.
I got so used to Burnout 2, that when I heard they were releasing Burnout 3, I was a little bit interested. Knowing how much I liked "2", I purchased "3". What a huge difference. Unlike Need for Speed, kick up that boost, and you can truly feel the speed. Hard to explain, but you almost want to lean in your chair to avoid crashes, or go around turns.
The addition to "Rage" matches, where you are pitted against cars of your own class, you get points for take downs, and special take downs, earn points, and $$ that unlock better and more wicked cars (or trucks in the crash mode.
Man, I need to try this "Live" for X-Box....but for now, pitting against friends is awesome, and a great way to get rid of road rage without getting pulled over by cops.

Do yourself a favor, and even if you aren't in to racing games...try this one man...it is way wicked.

Takes Down The Competition!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: July 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The racing genre is perhaps the hardest for developers to produce good games for. After all, it even seems hard to continuosly innovate a genre that is all about running laps around a track. Thankfully, EA's Burnout 3: Takedown has so much innovation it keeps itself alive play after play.

Graphics- 10/10
From textures to particle effects, (Which, by the way, are the best I've ever seen in a game) they aced everything.

Sound- 10/10
The music fits the game perfectly, as well as the sound effects do.

Control- 9/10
This game has great control, but just not much better than most games. (That is, unless you have a wireless steering wheel)

Story- N/A
While this game doesn't have a story, it just doesn't need one!

Gameplay- 9/10
My only problem with gameplay is that road rage mode is so fun, you won't play the other modes!

Overall- 10/10
This game is just different enough to make it a winner!

Excellent Racing Game!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is an excellent game by any standards, and is enjoyable for anyone with a fast enough reaction time. Having never played NFS: Underground myself, or many other racing games for that matter, I was very open to suggestions about racing games. I do own the first Burnout game, and was impressed with it when it came out, but quickly got bored.
I didn't play Burnout 2: Point of Impact, but didn't really want to. So when Burnout 3: Takedown came out, and recieved a 9.5 at Gamespot.com, and my friends told me it was cool, I had to check it out. I went to Best Buy and played the demo for a few minutes, and had to have it!!
This game has excellent graphics, sound and replayability. It is definetely not lacking in debth and length, with it's 170+ events, and 67+ vehicles. The game also never lacks in motivation to continue playing. With tons of stuff to unlock, and the knowledge of what things unlock what stuff, you'll never be satisified until everythings done!
If you like fast paced, action packed adventure, with mind-blowing crashes and tons of awesome cars...buy or rent this game today!

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