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Platform: Xbox
Genre: Racing
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Criterion
ESRB: E 10+ (Everyone 10+)
Release Date: Q3 2005

 

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Burnout Revenge

Score: 9.2 / 10

 

Pros:
- Improved graphics, especially vehicle models
- An intense sense of blistering speed; may be the fastest racing game today
- Tons of different goals to accomplish and a multitude of unlockable content

Cons:
- Connecting to Xbox Live games wasn't always easy, particularly with races
- Longer than necessary rewind on crash levels
- Extended playing sessions may cause carpal tunnel syndrome
- Generic cars once again

Related Articles:

Reviews: Burnout 3: Takedown (Xbox)

Review: Brunout 2: Point of Impact Director's Cut (Xbox)

 

"...the brilliant twist of the encouragement to crash cars for gaming pleasure and reward pushes the petal to the metal and zooms Burnout Revenge past the average racing game."

 

Revenge is a dish best served cold - unless it's dished out in Burnout Revenge, Electronic Arts new update of the Burnout franchise. Then revenge is best served by scorching hot, blisteringly fast vehicular mayhem on sizzling asphalt during torching races more concerned with smashing and crashing cars than crossing the finish line first.

 

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The developers at Criterion treat gamers once again with the most innovative racing title around. The Burnout series is a racing game, but the heart of the gameplay isn't racing against other drivers, trying to garner the checkered flag (although that's one of the many different game modes in the game). Instead, the game focuses on smashing the hell out of cars. It's not who finishes first; it's who finishes first and destroys the most competing cars. And in Burnout Revenge, the Burnout formula is comprised of blistering speed, annihilation of motor vehicles and causing massive auto wrecks. It generally goes completely against the grain of the typical racing game, which advocates staying away from crashing into other cars. Instead, Burnout Revenge completely encourages hitting each and every car you find in your path of automotive chaos.

 

The last time I played a Burnout title was Burnout 2, and the dramatic jump in not only the look of the game, but the improved gameplay and sheer amount of modes and unlockable content is amazing. While Burnout 2 was a sharp-looking game, it's clear that Criterion has adeptly learned all the tricks necessary to get the most out of the graphic capabilities of current consoles that are in the latter stage of their lifespan. The cars are beautifully rendered in Burnout Revenge, the equal of what's presented in Gran Turismo or Need for Speed games. The levels that you'll be driving through at blazing speeds seem to be just as 

well maintained visually as the cars, but since the roads and cities just blur by while you're driving it's really hard to tell definitively how good they really are visually. This is by far the fastest racing game out there, with an intensity of speed you'll encounter in no other racing game today.

 

One real negative is that once again the cars and even the roadways and cities you are driving don't really exist - everything you drive and everywhere you drive are totally fictitious creations of Criterion. The only feature you can even change on a car is its color. 

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Guess not too many car companies wanted to be affiliated with a game that encourages 100% road-raging, vehicle destruction; nor is any city going to be too happy being subjected to being labeled as a haven for races of revenge and demolition. On top of that, the explosions of twisted car metal are the best around (although Sega's next-generation title, Full Auto, looks like it will obliterate that when it appears on the Xbox 360 this winter).

 

Sounds of the game are done well, but all the cars start to sound almost the same after a while, especially since the cars are motoring at nitro-induced speeds and sound just like a jet fighter boosting its afterburners. Since EA is now the publisher of Burnout Revenge, the same type of soundtrack that you'll hear in most EA Sports titles pops up in Burnout Revenge, with plenty of fast-rocking tunes to get your blood boiling and fuel your fire for roadway revenge.

 

<<<Continue to Page Two of the Review>>>

 

 

 

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