by Bouchie
Ok, before we start let’s just put a little glossary in place, otherwise some of the things I say here will make no sense whatsoever!!
Takedown – When you make another car crash, either by ramming it into a wall, ramming it into the path of an oncoming car, ramming it into another car etc. The object of some modes is to get as many takedowns as possible.
Traffic Checking – Driving into traffic on the roads that are not part of the races you are involved in; they’re innocent road users. Note they have to be going the same way as you are in order to be checked. Driving into oncoming traffic is not a good idea and thankfully has not been incorporated into this game.
Revenge Rival – Someone who has done a takedown on you becomes your revenge rival. Basically get them back before the end of the race! Hence the name ‘Burnout Revenge’.
Crash breaker – A bar which fills up during a crash junction, which when full needs to be pumped up to blow your car up again and get you even more damage to add to your total.
Right then……
Burnout Revenge is the fourth game in the Burnout series; following Burnout, Burnout 2: Point of Impact and Burnout 3: Takedown. Takedown was the first to have takedowns as a major feature, and indeed these were introduced to Burnout 3 at the 11th hour as they thought it might be a good idea! Picking up were Takedown left off, Revenge is faster, more aggressive and ten times as fun; allowing drivers to smash practically who they like in the course of a race. Where in Takedown a single clip of a car not involved in the race with you would lead you to crash, Revenge allows you to plough through the traffic that gets in your way, leading to other cars crashing into those and mayhem following.
In order to progress through the tracks, you will need boost to help you get there. Boost is achieved by takedowns, drifting round corners, near misses on oncoming traffic and driving in the oncoming traffic. Boost allows you to drive at breakneck speed through the tracks. Be warned however, the faster you go the harder you crash!
Favourites from Burnout 3 still feature: including Crash Junctions (cause as much moneys worth of damage as you can at a busy junction); Road Rage (takedown as many cars that are involved in the race as you can. Certain numbers for certain medals); Races; Grand Prix’s; Burning laps (drive round one lap as fast as you can beating the cut off times for medals) and face off’s (beat your rival to win their car). But Burnout 4 also features new modes such as Traffic attack which involves you ploughing through the traffic and getting as many cars as you can in the time limit. Time extensions are offered the more cars you takedown, which means you can drive like a maniac and just drive through every car you see!
Tracks also offer different routes for you to take. Instead of just taking the same route as everyone else, routes are pointed out with blue markers that you can take. These offer routes with little traffic so that you can speed your way through. These are present whether you are doing a road rage or a traffic attack, so if you’re looking for a fast time through the circuit these are the ways to go. Some are difficult to reach however, leading you to smash into the wall and lose any time you were hoping to make!
Burnout revenge features the revenge rival, outlined above. If you are taken out by anyone they become your revenge rival. You can then get them back for what they did during the race, which in turn unlocks extra goodies and ticks off more boxes in the challenges you can complete throughout the game. These can include signature takedowns, 20 takedowns a race, destroying a certain number of cars in a crash junction the list goes on.
What makes Burnout 4 so different from other driving games available for the PS2 is that it is easily accessible for gamers. There is little need for the skilful driving required of Gran Turismo or Formula 1. Instead you just speed your way through the tracks, with a slight dab of the brakes to create a slide round corners as complicated as it gets. Drivers can just hurtle round the tracks at top speed and smash into whatever they feel like – obviously a car gives you better points than a wall…. The easy controls and helpful onscreen explanations make is easy to pick up and play, without leaving you working through an inch thick instruction book (who reads those anyway….)
In single player mode the object is to compete in a world tour at a variety of events in order to earn more cars and a higher rating. Starting out with a rating of harmless, the more damage you cause the more dangerous your rating becomes. Accumulating stars will bump up your rating, a possible of 5 stars to earn at each event. Bronze awards 2, silver 3 and gold 5. You participate in events from crash junctions which require you to cause a high amount of damage to win those medals to burning laps, where you must drive round as fast as possible. The biggest challenge being eliminators, where the player in last place is eliminated every 30 seconds, the idea being to get into first place and stay there!
Burnout 4 is the most fun a driving game can be, and it makes itself playable by not being too complicated or too difficult. Anyone can play this game, and have fun doing so. Chasing all the gold medals, getting a top rating and beating the top lap times give this a very high replay value. You will want to keep coming back for one more go, just to see if you can get that extra $1,000,000 worth of damage, or just beat that lap time by the 2 seconds you need. Burnout lasts beyond simply playing the tracks through. There are signature takedowns to achieve, where you have to take a car out in a certain place such as knocking them into the river or causing them to hit a bus after you’ve just rammed them. Where Burnout 3 left off this game has picked up, dusted off, tweaked the bits that needed it and built on what was already a winning formula. You don’t have to be the best at driving games to do this, I for one am rubbish at any driving game I pick up bar this series.
The game is visually stunning, with the cars reflecting everything you drive past, the damage shown by more than just a few polygonal triangles flying off your car. And while it is fast, it’s not so fast that you can’t see what’s going on. Every takedown is beautifully replayed in slow motion and looks stunning. Every crash is brilliantly simulated, letting you see just how much damage you have caused and how many explosions you have created. During crash junctions you can fill your crash breaker, which creates even further damage and notches you up more money.
Burnout 4 has a huge list of things to do and see and it will take months to get through them all. Gaining all the gold medals takes serious practice, not to mention a few sleepless nights I’m sure! With a massive play life and replay value, this game is fantastic value for money and a must have in anyone’s game collection. It’s not just for driving enthusiasts and I can guarantee it will leave you laughing like a maniac as you drive through the towns wreaking havoc!!