11/21/05 >> Burnout Revenge (Xbox)

Genre: Extreme Driving / Racing

 

 

 

 

 

Last year, Criterion gave the gaming world a shock to the system with their huge hit, Burnout 3: Takedown. Now they look to follow up that success with Burnout Revenge. Did they do it?

 

GRAPHICS:
The cars in this game look ultra sleek and shiny, and the crashes look pretty realistic. The damage modeling is excellent, and can really show what happens if you're a stupid driver. The tracks themselves look very nice, and there's little repetition in them, as most of the tracks are unique. Only a few really look like each other, but there again, those are only minute differences. The sparks looked kind of funky last year on the Xbox, but thankfully they've fixed that. The overall style and visual presentation of this game is over-the-top and crashes are spectacular. They really pull it off with the way they made the graphics in this game. Not only does it look great not wrecked, they even look great when they're totaled! That's a feat.

 

 

SOUND:
Last year I wasn't too impressed with what they did. They did go with the alternative rock again this year, but I actually did like this year's music a lot more than last years. The sound effects are the best-in-show here. Skidding and squealing and crashing have their own sound effects, and every crash does sound different. I guess racing purists could complain about how every car does sound alike, but heck, I wasn't even paying attention. I really think they made a step up in the series with this installment.

 

MULTIPLAYER/REPLAYABILITY:
Firstly, the game is so fun even after you finish the single player mode, you'll come back for more. There is split-screen multiplayer for those who don't have a computer, because guess what...just like last year...ONLINE PLAY! If you haven't read any of my past reviews, you don't know I'm an avid online gamer, and this game especially I'm overjoyed to see online. Set-up for races is simple, and although the number of people in a race is somewhat limited, I still have fun smoking people I don't even know. They also have a plethora of modes to go through, like the all-time favorite Crash Mode, so it'll take a while to really get 100 percent. Really this area is defined firstly by how fun it is, and it hits its mark here.

 

 

GAMEPLAY:
This is pure arcade racing style fun at its finest. Most of the gameplay I'll admit does feel a lot similar to last year, but I am not complaining. The racing is fast, furious (sorry Vin), and fun. The game really makes you feel like you're going as fast as you're going. There are a few things they did add. First, you can now execute Revenges, where you take-out a guy who took you down earlier. You can get bonus points to unlock more with this feature, and a lot of them look really cool. There's also the fact that there's more oncoming traffic. Not only do you have to worry about other guys, you have to worry about random cars not in the race. This adds a little bit of difficulty and strategy to how you race. If you drive recklessly, you could take out people, but you could take out yourself too. If you drive to carefully, you'll almost never inadvertently take out yourself, but you're bound not to hit anyone anytime soon. Like I said before, those who played last year's volume will feel at home here, and there's still enough to bring everyone back for more. This is a true fun classic for any system this game comes out for.

 

OVERALL :
While nothing has changed significantly from last year's installment, this game is still extremely fun to play over and over again. And that's what video games are supposed to do.

 

 

------------------------------------------------------------

 

Game Score: 9.2

 

 

Reviewed By: Staff